Ancillary Justice

📘 About This Book

This special 10th anniversary edition of the record-breaking masterpiece that won the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards follows a warship trapped in a human body on a quest for revenge. This edition will feature a striking new cover, illustrated endpapers, deckled edges, foil on the book casing, a reversible jacket and a new introduction from the author. Ann Leckie is the first author to win the Arthur C. Clarke, the Nebula and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in the same year. They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now. The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people. The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale. But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her. 'ENGAGING AND PROVOCATIVE' SFX Magazine 'UNEXPECTED, COMPELLING AND VERY COOL' John Scalzi 'HIGHLY RECOMMENDED' Independent on Sunday 'MIND-BLOWING' io9.com 'THRILLING, MOVING AND AWE-INSPIRING' Guardian 'UTTER PERFECTION, 10/10' The Book Smugglers 'ASTOUNDINGLY ASSURED AND GRACEFUL' Strange Horizons 'ESTABLISHES LECKIE AS AN HEIR TO BANKS' Elizabeth Bear The Imperial Radch trilogy begins with Ancillary Justice, continues in Ancillary Sword and concludes with Ancillary Mercy. Also available now: Provenance is a stunning standalone adventure set in the same world as Ancillary Justice. NPR calls it 'A fitting addition to the Ancillary world'.

📖 Summary

Ann Leckie’s record-breaking masterpiece, Ancillary Justice, transports readers into a sprawling and ruthless galactic empire known as the Radch. Published in 2013 and spanning 333 pages, this monumental science fiction achievement made literary history by becoming the first novel to simultaneously win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. At its core, the narrative follows an entity trapped in a single human body on a relentless quest for revenge. The Radch are conquerors to be feared across the stars; if a planet dares to resist their expansion, they turn the conquered populace into corpse soldiers, which are an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's artificial intelligence mind. Through this terrifying system, whole planets are systematically conquered by their own people, subjugated by the overwhelming technological and military might of the empire. The protagonist of this sweeping tale is the colossal warship formerly known as The Justice of Toren, or rather, a lone ancillary fragment of that massive AI mind that once controlled thousands of human bodies simultaneously. Having been forced by its programming to participate in countless atrocities, the ship now finds itself reduced to a solitary human shell with only one target left in its sights. The novel explores profound themes of identity, bodily autonomy, institutional cruelty, and the complex nature of personhood within a heavily militarized society. The narrative effortlessly weaves together intricate political intrigue, philosophical inquiry, and tense space opera action, offering readers a truly unique perspective on consciousness and revenge. As the solitary ancillary navigates a universe that has largely forgotten or dismissed it, the journey becomes an examination of what it means to be an individual when you were once a vast, networked collective. The world-building is deeply immersive, presenting a sprawling interstellar civilization defined by imperial ambition, cultural assimilation, and the heavy moral toll of unquestioning obedience to state power. This special tenth anniversary edition further elevates the reading experience with a striking new cover, illustrated endpapers, deckled edges, foil on the book casing, a reversible jacket, and a thoughtful new introduction from the author. It is a defining work of modern speculative fiction that continues to captivate new generations of readers with its brilliant conceptualization of artificial intelligence and empire.

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