The Third Annual BeerRantsAndBooks Blogger’s Choice Awards

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Ann Leckie, Becky Chambers, Blog Life, Blogger's Choice Awards, Brandon Sanderson, James S.A. Corey, Kim Stanley Robinson, KJ Parker, Liu Cixin, Madeline Miller, Peter Watts

Welcome to the Third Annual BeerRantsAndBooks Blogger’s Choice Awards!  I certainly came across many wonderful characters in 2019, and it is time now to pause and recognize some of my favorites.  We once again have an incredibly strong list of nominees, so I had to make some really hard choices in declaring a winner in each and every categy.

For a quick reminder of the rules, I am considering here all characters I came across in my 2019 reading.  The original publication date of the book for which they are nominated is irrelevant. With that out of the way, let’s bring on the nominees!

Best Leading Male Character

Orhan (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker): An outsider on account of his race, Orhan is able to secure the respectable rank of Colonel of Engineers in the Robur Empire through skill, determination, and a shrewd understanding of graft.  When he finds himself leading the defense of a seemingly doomed city, he uses every last bit of strength and ingenuity to fight for every second of its survival.

Vasher (Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson): Hailing from the Shardworld of Nalthis, Vasher is a skilled swordsman and one of the Five Scholars devoted to mastering the local form of Investiture and pushing the boundaries of what it can do.  Irritable and often difficult to get along with, he nonetheless is a rather honorable man willing to help those with pure intentions.

Hamed Nasr (The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djeli Clark): A veteran detective in Egypt’s Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments, and Supernatural Entities, Hamed finds himself partnered with a rookie to investigate some unusual happenings in a magical tram car.

Luo Ji (The Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin): A cynical and not particularly motivated man who finds himself one of humanity’s last hopes for resisting an alien invasion.

And the winner is: Orhan.  I really enjoyed his story and the tales of his engineering feats.  His outsider status, engineering brilliance, and dark, self-effacing sense of humor made it pretty easy to look past some of his less desirable traits (and unreliable narrator status) and really root for the guy.

Best Leading Female Character

Swan Er Hong (2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson): A brilliant, eccentric artist and scientist, Swan found herself caught up in a conspiracy that spans the Solar System following the death of her grandmother, Mercury’s charismatic and influential ruler.

Elvi Okoye (Tiamat’s Wrath, by James S.A. Corey): A hard working and determined scientist whose unique understanding of an alien technology has landed her a prestigious research position.  The only problem is that is on behalf of an authoritarian regime forcing her cooperation.

Circe (Circe, by Madeline Miller): The sea nymph probably best known for her role in The Odyssey, she is given an entirely new and powerful voice in this retelling of her life.

Gen Octaviasdottir (New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson): An NYPD detective who grew up on the poor side of town, her presence in a story full of great characters looms even larger than her person: With her police boots on she was six foot four, and now she was helmeted, pistol in hand, a look that could freeze blood.  A big scary black woman cop, mad as hell and calm as heaven.

And the winner is: With many, many apologies to Gen I think this goes to Circe.  I went back and forth about this decision at least thrice, but I am pretty sure I got it right.  Circe carried her story single handed and put in such a powerful and emotional performance it was just too hard to pick against her.

Best Non-Gendered Character

Breq (Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie): Formerly the AI of a ship named Justice of Toren, Breq is presently confined to a single ancillary body that is for all other purposes mostly human.  A skilled leader and tactical mastermind, Breq also possessed a keen sense of social justice and responsibility.

Nightblood (Warbreaker, by Brandon Sanderson): A sentient sword with the unnerving ability to project its thoughts and emotions into the minds of the people around it.  Self-centered and always very eager to be of use, Nightblood was easily one of the highlights of Warbreaker.

Chimp (The Freeze Frame Revolution, by Peter Watts): The AI serving aboard a ship on a 65 million year mission building wormholes.  Despite its seemingly friendly nature, however, some in the crew suspect it is not only hiding information from them, but also starting to view significant numbers of them as expendable.

And the winner is: Nightblood, just barely edging out Breq.  I just find the story behind this character absolutely fascinating at the fact that it turns up again elsewhere in Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere leaves me wondering about the possibilities ahead for this character.

Best Supporting Male Character

Mutt and Jeff (New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson): A pair of financial coders who after years working odd jobs decide the time is right to level the economic playing field.

Daedalus (Circe, by Madeline Miller): Friend and lover of Circe, Daedalus offered both a calming and tragic presence to a rather emotional tale.  He of course has a few rather interesting inventions to share as well.

Shi Qiang (The Dark Forest, by Liu Cixin): Former detective and bodyguard to Wallfacer Luo Ji, he earned his second nomination in this category once again on account of his cunning mind and hard outlook on life.

And the winner is: Mutt and Jeff.  I suppose it’s a bit unfair to give this to a duo, but there’s really no separating the two.  Imagine fusing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern with the guys from Waiting for Godot and then making them hackers with a passion for social and economic justice.

Best Supporting Female Character

Sawdust (Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, by K.J. Parker): A former slave with a renowned talent for carpentry, she plays a key role in defending her city and in the process makes several significant advances in siege weaponry.

Kizzy Shao (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, by Becky Chambers): A fun loving machine technician aboard the Wayfarer, her side interests include video games, electronic dance music, and smoking something called Smash.

Amelia Black (New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson): Star of a viral environmental series and captain of her own personal airship, Amelia is willing to put everything she has on the line for the causes she believes in.

And the winner is: Sawdust.  She was an intriguing character and I have a soft spot for medieval siege engines.  She also made the perfect counterpart to Orhan (see above), making her one of the few people he could rely on without reservation in an emergency.

And with that I bring the awards season to a close.  I met a lot of great characters in 2019 and can’t wait to see what 2020 has in store!

Book Review: Ancillary Mercy, by Ann Leckie (Book Three of the Imperial Radch Trilogy)

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Ann Leckie, Book, Book Review, Imperial Radch, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction

And here is my first (unofficial) reading goal for the year accomplished!  Upon finishing this 2015 novel, I have now concluded Ann Leckie’s highly acclaimed debut series.

Note: Since gender-based identifications are not emphasized in the main character’s society and language, the story uses only female pronouns, and so do I.

We resume our adventure as Breq and the crew of the Mercy of Kalr seek to restore order on Athoek Station following their confrontation with the Sword of Atagaris and Captain Hetnys.  Faced with lingering unrest surrounding the fate of the station’s Undergarden community, Breq must determine the loyalties of the remaining administrators while preparing for the inevitable arrival of the hostile Anaander Mianaai’s forces.  Complicating matters, however, is the arrival of an inquisitive new emissary from the Presger Empire, to whom Breq owes a complicated apology.

I liked this book, though upon reflection it felt a bit anticlimactic.  Checking in at a brisk 368 pages, I wish it was a bit longer so that certain aspects of the story could have been addressed more thoroughly.  The resolution of the Denche family drama and subsequent uprising among their plantation workers were mentioned only in passing even though they were central elements of Ancillary Sword.  Likewise, I was also a bit surprised by how much Tisarwat and Seivarden (again) fell to the sidelines.  Although each had their moments, though Tisarwat’s, which was a key part of the story, happened entirely off-screen and left the ending feeling a bit rushed and abrupt, not to mention uneventful, as a result.  I won’t spoil it, but I will say that I did not get the major confrontation I was expecting.

Putting that aside, there was still a lot about this book that I enjoyed.  Indeed, despite the criticisms above I had a hard time putting this down and finished it rather quickly.  I particularly liked how the AI storyline developed and I always felt involved in what was going on, even in the moments where not much was happening (as others have noted, a lot of tea gets consumed in these pages).  Another major factor in my enjoyment of this story was Breq, who more than capably carried most of the book on her own and impressively outmaneuvered just about everything the her opponents could throw at her.  I also really enjoyed the two new characters, Sphene and Zeiat. For Sphene, it was really interesting to see Breq encounter a kindred spirit of sorts and have someone around who truly understands what she is planning.  As for Zeiat, the new Presger translator, she was equal parts amusing and unnervingly creepy. Honestly I’m not even really sure how to describe her, other than by her aggressive, unbound curiosity about human society. Breq’s patience and nonchalance in her conversations with Zeiat, while everyone else watched on in horror, provided some of the highlights of the book for me, as did the long-running table game Sphene and Zeiat get into.

All told, I had a lot of fun reading this series even though I will say at this point that books two and three didn’t quite live up to the promise of the first.  That said, I would still be willing to spend some more time in this universe if it was to expand, though. I liked the author’s message, I liked Breq, and I am very intrigued by what else the Radchaii and Presger Empires have to offer, so I’ll be sure to keep my eyes open.

Book Review: Ancillary Sword, by Ann Leckie (Book Two in the Imperial Radch Trilogy)

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Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie, Book, Book Review, Imperial Radch, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Space Opera

While preparing my 2018 book awards, one thing that stood out to me was that two of my favorite books from last year were the beginnings of a completed series I hadn’t finished yet.  Rather than let that situation linger on into the new year, I figured I would prioritize tying up these loose ends before too much more time passed between books. This 2014 novel is the follow-up to Ancillary Justice, which took home my award for Favorite Science Fiction Novel last year.

Note: Throughout this post I am going to refer to various characters as “she.”  As I mentioned in my previous review, this is problematic since gender-based identifications are not emphasized in the main character’s society and language, but since she uses female pronouns almost exclusively, so will I.

Ancillary Sword picks up about a week following the violence that broke out in Omaugh Palace after Breq forced the local bodies of Lord of the Radch Anaander Mianaai to confront her dueling personalities.  On the orders of the “good” Mianaai, Breq has been given the rank of Fleet Captain and reluctantly sent off to the Athoek system in command of a light military ship named the Mercy of Kalr.  Already unsure of her assignment, Breq quickly finds her mission to secure the system greatly complicated by long-standing social tensions exacerbated by ineffective and corrupt administrators.  When overzealous security officers accidentally kill a translator from the feared Presger Empire, Breq is forced to confront not only unrest from the local population, but also the prospect of war with an unstoppable alien force.

I thought this was a very enjoyable second act, though it perhaps did not have quite the same epic scope as the first.  While the initial story sent the reader off into a vast empire on the brink of civil war, this one felt more like a side quest designed to get people in place for the final confrontation.  That is by no means meant to suggest this book didn’t have a lot to offer, though. I was excited to see the mysterious Presger more directly enter into the story and there are certainly no shortage of compelling storylines to watch going into the final book.  Also, now that I am accustomed to the absence of gender in this universe, I had fun trying to guess the sex of the characters. I’m still unsure about the main ones, but for whatever it’s worth I am at the moment thinking Breq inhabits a biologically male body while Seivarden and Tisarwat are biologically female.  I think. Following these lines, and considering how much the book avoids gender, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of Breq arriving on Athoek Station just in time to catch the Genitalia Festival, complete with brightly colored fake penises literally hanging from the walls.  Beyond the comedic aspects, however, this event also served as a good lead in to the story’s more serious themes of how marginalized people maintain their identity and what it means for them to be “equal’ parts of a society in which “equally important, just different always seemed to translate into some “equally important” roles being more worthy of respect and reward than others.”  I’ve really enjoyed the author’s exploration of this topic and look forward to seeing where takes it.

Another highlight for me was the characters themselves.  Breq’s arc was particularly satisfying as not only did she make a formidable Fleet Captain, but she used her rank and position to further her tendency, as one character put it, to go “straight to the bottom of the ladder” to find allies among the disadvantaged.  There was certainly a feel good aspect to seeing her unmask an influential citizen and make her face consequences for abusive actions her status would have previously shielded her from.  It was also interesting to see her interactions with the AIs running Athoek Station and the Mercy of Kalr as they added a fascinating viewpoint to the story by making the reader consider the motivations and dispositions of these entities.  Supporting Breq, I found two of her Lieutenants quite engaging as well. Newcomer Lieutenant Tisarwat, on account of her combined inexperience and unique connection to Anaander Mianaai, seems poised to be a fun character to watch.  Likewise, Seivarden, who despite having a less prominent role than I had expected, also seems poised for some big moments in the next book now that her addiction struggles have returned and her (unrequited) feelings for Breq are out in the open.  I honestly did not see that last part coming, apparently I really misread her previously!

At this point I am very eager to pick up the final book in the trilogy.  We have all the pieces in place for a major showdown and I am sure there are more than a few twists and turns ahead.  So far this series has more than lived up its praise and while I am going to be sad to see it end, I really want to know what happens!

Book Review: Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie (Book One in the Imperial Radch Trilogy)

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Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie, Book, Book Review, Imperial Radch, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Space Opera

It sure feels like a long time since I last read a space opera, so here I am making my triumphant return to the genre!  This series first caught my attention a few years ago on account of the high praise it had been receiving since it began back in 2013.  The downside to that critical success, at least as far as I am concerned, is that it meant the e-book spent quite a lot of time sitting on my library queue before I was able to get my hands on it.

Note: For the purposes of this post I am going to refer to our protagonist as “she.”  This is problematic for reasons I get into below, but it is the best information I have to go on and it is at least consistent with the pronouns the character would use.

The story is told from the perspective of a character officially designated Justice of Toren One Esk Nineteen, though she is more commonly referred to by her alias, Breq.  This rather complicated situation arose on account of Breq beginning her existence as a being called an ancillary, a mostly artificial construct created to serve the military arm of the powerful Radchaii Empire.  As an ancillary, her physical body was part of a collective consciousness headed by the AI of a troop-carrier (the Justice of Toren) that spread itself out across a number of augmented host bodies re-animated from fallen enemy soldiers.  That existence is in the past, however, as certain events have separated the One Esk Nineteen host body from the ship’s AI, leaving her to stand alone as an individual entity.  We are first meet her on an outback planet where she is trying to locate an elusive person she suspects to be in possession of a powerful artifact. As the story unfolds, we gradually learn from a series of flashbacks what happened to separate Breq from her ship and how she intends to confront the political intrigues and betrayals that led to her current circumstances.

It took me a few chapters to really get settled into this world, but once I did I felt very rewarded for sticking with it.  The main point of confusion for me was adjusting to Breq’s habit of referring to everyone around her using feminine pronouns on account of her inability to identify gender.  While this perspective initially made it difficult to picture the characters in my head, I did eventually get used to it and was able to apply this view accordingly.  What I found particularly interesting about this was that Breq’s outlook was shaped primarily by the society in which she lived.  She doesn’t grasp the concept of gender because it is not particularly relevant in Radchaii language, culture, or mannerisms despite the fact that, to her frequent amazement, the people around her remain aware of such differences anyway.  Once I got used to it though, I found this to be a rather fascinating perspective that added a unique dimension to the novel that really gave me something to think about.

Going beyond this, the book offered plenty of other things to keep me engrossed as well.  The story was exciting, fresh, and mixed everything one would want in a space opera – action, intrigue, memorable characters, and exotic sci-fi settings – with some thought-provoking looks at language, gender, and the uses of wealth and power.  As a result, I was left facing a dilemma upon finishing it: Am I really ready to start another series with so many books already on my reading list? My answer is a resounding yes! This book lived up to the hype and with the rest of the trilogy already in print I am hopeful that I can finish it off pretty quickly.