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brigdhWhat did you just finish?
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. The sequel to Ancillary Justice, which ended with former-spaceship-AI/current-human-body Breq having started a civil war in the Radchaai Empire (though one mostly conducted through propaganda and cold-war-ish maneuvering than outright battles) and, rather than assassinating the emperor, having been co-opted to fight for her side. In that role, Breq is given the captaincy of a new spaceship and sent to Athoek Station: a system not particularly wealthy, important, or strategically located, but which might be fought over if the war goes on long enough. There Breq discovers that the imperialism and military hierarchy of the Radchaai – shockingly! – goes right down to the roots of even the most random of places, and sets out to correct what injustices of slums, sharecropping, debt cycles, and ethnic tensions she can.
It's a much smaller book than Ancillary Justice. The war is far away throughout this book, and not particularly relevant. Instead of the fate of the entire empire, Breq changes the lives of three or four people, none of them particularly important. There's Breq's new 'baby lieutenant', a 17 year old from a minor family in her first job; an illiterate worker on a tea plantation and her younger sister; the abused girlfriend of a rich, spoiled young woman whose privilege has left her bored and cruel; an underling whose criminal record makes her the first suspect when a new crime is committed. Ancillary Justice was a critique of imperialism on a grand, life-or-death galaxy-wide scale; Ancillary Sword is a critique of the petty, everyday consequences of imperialism, the sort of thing that you might not notice even when you're looking directly at it because it's become part of the expected background of your world.
Which is not to say it's a bad book, or a boring one! Not at all. People are shot, bombs explode, and the climatic scene is a masterpiece of drama and action that ties together several plot threads in ways I hadn't seen coming at all. And that's aside from the interest of just watching these characters interact, the messy underappreciated work of trying to figure out the right thing to do and to actually accomplish something in situations of multiple stakeholders, and Leckie's engaging, straightforward prose. I've seen this described as a 'novel of manners', and while I don't think that's quite right, if you enjoy that genre you'll probably enjoy this book. Leckie is also a master of "cool bits" (elements that aren't particularly important to the plot or themes, but are just enjoyable to read about): Breq's collection of songs, many based on real-world choral shape singing; penis festivals and mourning rituals; a minor character's collection of fancy dinnerware sets.
I absolutely adore this book and this trilogy, and can't possibly say enough good things about it.
Write Smart, Write Happy: How to Become a More Productive, Resilient and Successful Writer by Cheryl St. John. There are a lot of writing books out there, for every possible type of, approach to, and interpretation of writing. St. John is a romance author, and while she doesn't actually mention that within this book, I think it's discernible through the style of her advice. I've noticed that romance authors tend to approach writing as a job, a craft like any other – potentially explained by the fact that it's a genre where it's not uncommon for authors to put out three books a year, unlike literary fiction, in which famous authors who publish once a decade (or less!) are easy to find. It's an approach I personally find very appealing, while books on writing with a more mystical or therapeutic bent put me off. Nothing wrong with either method, but Write Smart, Write Happy is very much not Bird by Bird or Writing Down the Bones; it's a more practical, businesslike, unsentimental take on writing. Basically, Write Smart, Write Happy is for you if you're interested in a writing book that's more about getting the words on the page and meeting deadlines and less about writing from the heart or finding your personal muse of inspiration.
Which is not say it's a perfect book. I was hoping for lots of specific tips, and there was a bit too much pep-talk/self-help esque advice about believing in yourself and not giving up than I personally would have preferred. Nonetheless there was good advice in here, enough for me to take notes and end up with some new things to try. Overall Write Smart, Write Happy is a quick, easy read with some helpful information, particularly on planning, time management, and setting goals.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
What are you currently reading?
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. I'm very upset that this is the last book in the trilogy and I'm about to have no more to read!
Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie. The sequel to Ancillary Justice, which ended with former-spaceship-AI/current-human-body Breq having started a civil war in the Radchaai Empire (though one mostly conducted through propaganda and cold-war-ish maneuvering than outright battles) and, rather than assassinating the emperor, having been co-opted to fight for her side. In that role, Breq is given the captaincy of a new spaceship and sent to Athoek Station: a system not particularly wealthy, important, or strategically located, but which might be fought over if the war goes on long enough. There Breq discovers that the imperialism and military hierarchy of the Radchaai – shockingly! – goes right down to the roots of even the most random of places, and sets out to correct what injustices of slums, sharecropping, debt cycles, and ethnic tensions she can.
It's a much smaller book than Ancillary Justice. The war is far away throughout this book, and not particularly relevant. Instead of the fate of the entire empire, Breq changes the lives of three or four people, none of them particularly important. There's Breq's new 'baby lieutenant', a 17 year old from a minor family in her first job; an illiterate worker on a tea plantation and her younger sister; the abused girlfriend of a rich, spoiled young woman whose privilege has left her bored and cruel; an underling whose criminal record makes her the first suspect when a new crime is committed. Ancillary Justice was a critique of imperialism on a grand, life-or-death galaxy-wide scale; Ancillary Sword is a critique of the petty, everyday consequences of imperialism, the sort of thing that you might not notice even when you're looking directly at it because it's become part of the expected background of your world.
Which is not to say it's a bad book, or a boring one! Not at all. People are shot, bombs explode, and the climatic scene is a masterpiece of drama and action that ties together several plot threads in ways I hadn't seen coming at all. And that's aside from the interest of just watching these characters interact, the messy underappreciated work of trying to figure out the right thing to do and to actually accomplish something in situations of multiple stakeholders, and Leckie's engaging, straightforward prose. I've seen this described as a 'novel of manners', and while I don't think that's quite right, if you enjoy that genre you'll probably enjoy this book. Leckie is also a master of "cool bits" (elements that aren't particularly important to the plot or themes, but are just enjoyable to read about): Breq's collection of songs, many based on real-world choral shape singing; penis festivals and mourning rituals; a minor character's collection of fancy dinnerware sets.
I absolutely adore this book and this trilogy, and can't possibly say enough good things about it.
Write Smart, Write Happy: How to Become a More Productive, Resilient and Successful Writer by Cheryl St. John. There are a lot of writing books out there, for every possible type of, approach to, and interpretation of writing. St. John is a romance author, and while she doesn't actually mention that within this book, I think it's discernible through the style of her advice. I've noticed that romance authors tend to approach writing as a job, a craft like any other – potentially explained by the fact that it's a genre where it's not uncommon for authors to put out three books a year, unlike literary fiction, in which famous authors who publish once a decade (or less!) are easy to find. It's an approach I personally find very appealing, while books on writing with a more mystical or therapeutic bent put me off. Nothing wrong with either method, but Write Smart, Write Happy is very much not Bird by Bird or Writing Down the Bones; it's a more practical, businesslike, unsentimental take on writing. Basically, Write Smart, Write Happy is for you if you're interested in a writing book that's more about getting the words on the page and meeting deadlines and less about writing from the heart or finding your personal muse of inspiration.
Which is not say it's a perfect book. I was hoping for lots of specific tips, and there was a bit too much pep-talk/self-help esque advice about believing in yourself and not giving up than I personally would have preferred. Nonetheless there was good advice in here, enough for me to take notes and end up with some new things to try. Overall Write Smart, Write Happy is a quick, easy read with some helpful information, particularly on planning, time management, and setting goals.
I read this as an ARC via NetGalley.
What are you currently reading?
Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie. I'm very upset that this is the last book in the trilogy and I'm about to have no more to read!
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Date: 2018-03-23 09:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2018-03-25 12:26 am (UTC)