Ancillary Mercy

The fact that this trilogy is now complete makes me very very sad.

As a final part in this trilogy, though, the book makes me very very happy.

I fell in love the Leckie's Radch trilogy almost three years ago, and the first book changed the way I read. Leckie's sense of language and culture make her novels unique among science fiction. She gets compared to LeGuin a lot, which is fair as she tackles some of the same social issues, but I would also compare her to Joe Haldeman for her sense of scale or Heinlein's take on artificial intelligence. There's a lot of science in her fiction as well as a lot of social awareness. That combination makes her my favorite discovery this decade.

Mercy has everything I love about the previous two books: Snarky Seivarden (lots of it!), Breq tormenting people with song, petulant ships and stations. It also features some of the sweetest non-romantic bonding I've read in ages, which is always a plus in my book. What really makes this installment stand out, however, is the Presger who play an even bigger role than before. Our new translator, who may be Dlique or may be Zeiat, provides a heaping serving of humor as well as tension. I was lucky enough to hear Leckie read Zeiat's introduction at a signing a few weeks ago, and the entire audience was laughing, even ones who were only there for fellow signer, Greg Bear.

Side note, Leckie brought a bag full of memorial pins to give out to fans. Spoilers apply for books one and two, but there's one for Leiutenent Awn and one for Translator Dlique and a third one which she handed out in a manila envelope with “DO NOT OPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETELY FINISHED ANCILLARY MERCY” holding it shut. It made me read the book very quickly. Inside was a Republic of the Two Systems pin and SEIVARDEN IS STILL ALIVE SO I DON'T HAVE TO BURN ALL THE BOOKS LIKE I EXPECTED!.

I imagine a lot of people will find the ending a bit harried, but to me it fit with Breq's quick thinking nature and the themes of personhood Leckie has been building all along. It's really nice to see a Singularity in which AI really does want to protect people and not in an “I will trap you in suspension pods so you can't hurt yourself” way either. A little rosy, but an enjoyable change of pace.

The entire Radch trilogy changed they way I think about gender, artificial intelligence, and tea. If you are interested in science fiction on any of those topics, you really should read it. If you're a fan of the first two books, you're doing yourself a disservice to skip this one. I know there's a lot more story in this universe, and I can't wait for Leckie's promised exploration beyond the Justice of Toren.