I just finished this second book in the trilogy, and it was good.

The story has evolved and now the Lord of the Radche is at open war with herself with Breq, our favourite ancillary, caught in between her various parts.

And so it's off to another planet and a space station for more wonderful shenanigans within this fantastic universe that Ann has created for us all to enjoy immensely.

If you're into sci-fi and you haven't started reading this series already then just drop whatever you're reading and pick this up instead, you won't be disappointed.

I'm now diving straight into the third book, Ancillary Mercy.

Bye for now. ( )

A really good sequel, picking up right after where the last book left off. While I did enjoy the split timeline narrative of the last book, I did appreciate the solo narrative here. The play on gender and split perspectives still holds up well here, as in the last book. I appreciated delving more into the class politics of this world, and some of the labor politics as well. ( )

I loved Ancillary Justice SO much and then I desperately needed to take on the rest of the series IMMEDIATELY. I kind of regret rushing through the series rather than savoring it. Nonetheless, I think Sword, while struggling a little with the pacing problems of a middle book in a trilogy, brought a lot of unique strengths to the series. I particularly liked Leckie's take on colonialism. I felt like she captured the ways in which SciFi can be a lens to reflect back on the issues of today, without weakening her own imaginative and unique setting. This is definitely a smaller book than Ancillary Justice -- more focused on Breq and her crew, their interpersonal relationships, contrasted with the interpersonal relationships of those on the station and downwell and how those ultimately result in systemic flaws. I liked to have this lull in the series to really bathe in Leckie's universe and its social rules. ( )

Having been swept away by the first book of the trilogy, Ancillary Justice, I dove right into this second book. This one starts almost immediately after the end of the previous book and has Breq being appointed ship's captain (and also being given the family name of the Lord of the Radch) by that part of the Lord who won the battle in the previous book. Her job is to ensure the security of the citizens of Athoek, not just from general unrest resulting from the events in the prior book but from the other part of the Lord of the Radch.

Having gotten a handle on this universe, I found this book less puzzling and more of a space opera (grand sci fi action adventure) and that was fine with me!

It was interesting to listen to this as an audiobook as the narrator Andoh pronounced things differently than I had imagined them when reading. Some of that was her English pronunciation (as opposed to my American one) such as in the oft repeated word "ancillary". ( )

This book feels like a cozy detour from the galaxy-shaking events of Justice. The war is the backdrop, but it's really a story about a colonial space station. Breq spends most of her time challenging injustice, reminiscent of Auditor Vorkosigan, but we also see how terribly Breq misses being a ship, and the loving, caring side of life in the Radch. ( )