Ancillary Sword

Not quite as good as Ancillary Justice but I still really really liked it. It's a direct continuation of the previous book. The Lord of the Radch (or a part of her) made Breq a Fleet Captain and sends her off to Aethok Station. The civil war is spreading, and travel through gates is limited.

Ancillary Sword is a bit more narrow in scope, more character- than plot-centric. As Breq settles in at the space station and deals with the various tensions there, we get to meet an interesting cast of characters. There's none of the befuddlement that readers had in the previous book, there are no mysteries that we get tossed into, and the gender stuff should be clear now.

All in all, very enjoyable, but for me lacking the wow-factor of the previous book a bit.

Good sequel, too many characters though.

Ancillary Sword is the sequel to Ancillary Justice and it is the second book in the trilogy.

Breq is now (again?) in command of a star ship, but times have changed. She's not connected as she was before and is she really in control?

The entire story takes place in the Athoek station and planet and is smaller in scope than the previous book. It's about the local history and culture and the reasons why things are the way they are. It's not so much about the galaxy and the aliens that live in it.

Although the story is still interesting it feels a bit preachy from time to time and the parallels with our earth are obvious and intended. Combined with the smaller universe, I greatly preferred the first book, but I'm still looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I enjoyed this, I wouldn't say it was mind blowing but it evoked fond memories of the culture and I'm looking forward to the next in the series

Different than Ancillary Justice, which is good - she didn't have to explain the Radch anymore, so could show us a corner of the Radch. I was struck with the how much I kept comparing the Radch to the Roman Empire - the way the religions of the conquered were made part of the Radch religion, the focus on citizenship of the conquered, the rituals and stress of propriety, all remind me of ancient Roman culture. This book moved along at a quick pace, and didn't waste a lot of time, but the Sword of Inil thread was lost on the way. I'm definitely looking forward to the last one...

A ghost ship! An example of a ship that went mad due to the loss of its captain. Will the Presgr finally make an appearance?