Ancillary Justice

Few books have the power to transform the way you think about reading. Ancillary Justice raises deep questions about the nature of personality and of social roles; questions that may remain with you long after you've finished reading and may affect how you think about language. (Note: the reading itself may be tough going at times. Stick with it). I can't say much more without spoiling your experience, and this is one voyage you need to take your time on.

Clumsy in places: some plot elements involving superstition, religion, military command structure, and family intrigues were hard to swallow, and IMO detracted slightly from the story, but they're forgivable. Worth taking off one star but the rest of the book is so damn good (6-7 stars) that it balances out to 5.