432 pages
English language
Published Oct. 12, 2023
Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior". I's the type of behavior that results in elimination.
But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots—or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.
As a Conclave of the various species approaches—and the long-standing treaty between the humans …
Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior". I's the type of behavior that results in elimination.
But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots—or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.
As a Conclave of the various species approaches—and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presger is on the line—the decisions of all three will have ripple effects across the stars.
Masterfully merging space adventure and mystery, and a poignant exploration about relationships and belonging, Translation State is a triumphant new standalone story set in the celebrated Imperial Radch universe.
2.8 stars for me. I feel like the lore and complexity of the characters would have fit better a saga. Compressed into a single file book made it not work great
Good space opera, but also packed full of text and subtext about things like identity and authority
What a lovely tale of identity, family, acceptance, and binge-watching Pirate Exiles under a blanket fort.
This follows the Imperial Radch Trilogy much more directly than Provenance did - I would definitely read those books first. But do. And then read this one.
I think the part of this book that I enjoyed the most was the worldbuilding dive into Presger Translators, as this is the first character with this POV. In previous books, Dlique and Zeiat both are wild characters who felt like comic relief foils compared to the over-serious Radchaai. So much of all of their nonsense along with various other mysteries get some partial explanation here. It's delightful to go back and rethink parts of previous books and have at least a slightly better understanding of what's going on. I'm not even sure that I need to know anything about the Presger at this point; I think I enjoy enough all of the wrangling in their ominous shadows.
It is definitely a wild narrative turn to have this POV though. There is a lot of body horror and casual violence going on that is treated very normally by all …
I think the part of this book that I enjoyed the most was the worldbuilding dive into Presger Translators, as this is the first character with this POV. In previous books, Dlique and Zeiat both are wild characters who felt like comic relief foils compared to the over-serious Radchaai. So much of all of their nonsense along with various other mysteries get some partial explanation here. It's delightful to go back and rethink parts of previous books and have at least a slightly better understanding of what's going on. I'm not even sure that I need to know anything about the Presger at this point; I think I enjoy enough all of the wrangling in their ominous shadows.
It is definitely a wild narrative turn to have this POV though. There is a lot of body horror and casual violence going on that is treated very normally by all of the characters. It worked for me, and put a lot of the Presger Translator behavior into context, but it was also a surprising change of tone.
I enjoyed all of the characters on their own individually, but I feel like in some ways there wasn't quite enough meat on the rest of the story. It's hard for me to really put my finger on it, but if I had to pin it down to one piece, it's that I feel like Enae felt like the third wheel. Enae is handed hir investigation that nobody wants solved and the answer to a two-hundred year problem just appears right before hir. If anything, sie mostly just seems like support for Reet. I would have also wanted some more local politics or repercussions for Enae actually making progress on an investigation that some people probably didn't want solved in the end?
At any rate, in Ancillary Mercy, Provenance, and now Translation State it feels like there's a very consistent theme in this universe on the question of what makes something a Significant Species as well as legal shenanigans of how to determine who gets to be part of which species. The conclave continues and continues to come up, and I am really excited for the potential of some space politics / legal theater book wrangling all of these pieces together.
I blew through this too fast and now I want more, but there isn't any, I ate it all. I've been dying for a book about Translators, and Leckie delivers, and I can only hope that there's another one coming with more of everything and everyone because I love it all and I'm oh so greedy. Like the other Radch books, there's a pretty strong theme pointing a finger directly at our current society. This one is about consent (and identity because all the Radch books revolve around identity in a beautiful, subversive way). I love this series, and this book fits in with a satisfying snick.
I blew through this too fast and now I want more, but there isn't any, I ate it all. I've been dying for a book about Translators, and Leckie delivers, and I can only hope that there's another one coming with more of everything and everyone because I love it all and I'm oh so greedy. Like the other Radch books, there's a pretty strong theme pointing a finger directly at our current society. This one is about consent (and identity because all the Radch books revolve around identity in a beautiful, subversive way). I love this series, and this book fits in with a satisfying snick.
Leckie continues to build worlds and cultures that turn a lens back onto contemporary struggles around identity and sovereignty. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have read her other Radch books as they do build on some earlier stories and a few characters turn up again. There is also a deeper dive into the Presgers (or at least the Presger Translators), but the author does a great job keeping terrible mysteries mysterious.
Finally, a slight spoiler, in this installment Leckie fixes the greatest flaw in her universe: the lack of coffee. I applaud her courage in bringing this beverage into a heretofore tea-centric narrative.
Leckie continues to build worlds and cultures that turn a lens back onto contemporary struggles around identity and sovereignty. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have read her other Radch books as they do build on some earlier stories and a few characters turn up again. There is also a deeper dive into the Presgers (or at least the Presger Translators), but the author does a great job keeping terrible mysteries mysterious.
Finally, a slight spoiler, in this installment Leckie fixes the greatest flaw in her universe: the lack of coffee. I applaud her courage in bringing this beverage into a heretofore tea-centric narrative.
