Molly > Recent Status Updates

…min teori var rätt.

Jag har en teori…

I take back my previous complaint. It actually served the story!

Ingray once again taking literally every opportunity to mix up Tic and the Ambassador, even when it should be obvious which one she’s dealing with… This is the only pet peeve I have with this story so far.

“I have done things I should not have done. I must say to you, I apologise, Ingray Aughskold. Those are the words. I say them.”

I low-key love the ambassador honestly.

I like it. Everyone said it’s the worst of her books, and I keep being disappointed by the books that are supposed to be better than this one, and yet I like it :/

This one is a bit cozier than the others, less ambitious, so maybe it won’t crumble under the weight of its own too promising setup just like BBC’s Sherlock? Right? Right?!

One small note on the neo-pronouns: I’m not a huge fan of the use of them in this book overall; I think the Radch’s worldbuilding of recognising fewer social genders is more interesting and intuitive than this which suggests a larger number of social genders. However, I find that it kind of takes me out of the story whenever the neo-pronouns have obviously been forgotten, such as on page 132 :/

I like it so far! The mix of perspectives is probably a good thing, although I do find myself most interested when we get to Qven’s pov. Still, the mix between pov’s reminds me of Ancillary Justice in a good way. So far Translation State feels closer in tone to Justice than to Sword or Mercy, which I am happy about. Presger worldbuilding continues to be wacky as hell 👍

The trend of exposition of details from previous instalments of the series is continuing, which I’m not a huge fan of. However, I am interested in the greater presence of the Presger, as well as the return of the Lord of the Radch.

The pacing still feels a lot slower than the first book, partly due to the more linear narrative. I kind of wish that some more time had been spent on the relationship between Breq and Seivarden, not necessarily defining it, but just giving it some page time. I'm somewhat undecided about the plotline on Athoek. It feels less well handled than the plotline on Ors from book one, condescending almost.

My first impression is that I don't find this book quite as striking as the first. Between the change from jumping between two timelines to sticking to the present, and the consequent limitation of Breq's perspective to her single remaining body, the storytelling feels less dynamic. There's also quite a lot of time devoted to exposition in the beginning, in a way that feels a bit unnecessary.

I really got into the story about halfway through the plot line on Ors. Right now I’m enjoying the dynamics between the Esk liutenants and the ship. Leckie has a compelling way of characterising One Esk’s emotions and loyalties through actions rather than narration at times. For instance, the serving of the tea on page 178, subtly “rewarding” Dariet for supporting Awn, and punishing Issaaia for the opposite.