Ancillary Mercy
(Imperial Radch #3)
By Ann Leckie
Published Year: 2015
Page Count : 300 pages
Medium Used: Kindle PW
Genre : Space Opera, Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, Ancillaries, Action, Adventure, 2025-read.
Rating : 5/5
Blew my mind. What a story. Anaandar Mianaai,the lord of the sprawling empire of Radch is split in two. She is at war with herself. She has destroyed the ship Justice of Toren and sent the only remaining Ancillary of the ship, Breq, to take control of and govern Athoek Station. This is one half of her which is good and located at Omaaugh Palace. The other half, situated in Tstur Palace and which comes towards the end of the story to fight Breq and take over Athoek Station is also Anaandar Mianaai.
In book 2, we have already seen how Breq takes control over the Athoek station and escapes a bombing attempt that was targeted to kill her. She comes to care for a couple of the station residents more than others. In this book, learning the arrival or his enemy, the Tstur palace Anaandar Mianaai, Breq and his Mercy of Kalr take flight. Even while jumping through the interstellar gates, she manages to blast off three of the Anaandar Mianaai's fleet/Sword ships. She loses her left leg in the attempt and will be bed ridden for a while. He sends his lieutenants Seivarden and Tisarwat to take control of the station and kill/arrest Anaandar Mianaai.
I liked how the Station is given complete control over itself and how it thwarts the attempts of the Lord of Radch from infiltration. I also liked, how, albeit being female, the narrator comes across, everytime she recounts an adventure, as if she were a male. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
I dont think the ending is fully explained here .. like what happens when the presger aliens find out about the Anaandar Mianaai's exploitation of humans and AIs .. what would they do? Will they interfere and break the treaty forged between humans and aliens ? Will they back off and then how does the split of Anaandar Mianaai resolve? This last book in this triology was published in 2015 and its been a while - a decade, exactly - but I sincerely wish they are more books in this series. I love the idea of multiple ships and connected Ancillaries. I don't dislike Anaandar Mianaai despite the horrendous human loss she caused. Her ruthlessness and ambition don't make me hate her. I want to get more dosage of humanness, kindness and Justice and sentience out of the AI ancillary Breq.
I loved book 1 and 3 very much in the series!! Will re-read them again.
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