Jul 25

Jul 25 Translation State

About the book

Author: Ann Leckie
Publisher: Orbit

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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Bookshop.org (print) | Libro.fm (audio)

My Review

Lucky for me that Translation State was nominated for the Hugo, because it’s unlikely I would have picked it up on my own. I had not heard of the Imperial Radch trilogy (although appears to be quite beloved!), which is the primary work where this book’s universe is established. Translation State is one of two standalone novels that widen the trilogy’s scope by focusing on other planetary systems and species/civilizations.

Although I could definitely tell that I was missing context — easter eggs and recurring characters and things like that — to Leckie’s credit, I never felt lost. And this was a very fun story with cool, deeply lovable cannibal aliens. (Of the three main characters, two are humans — well, kinda — and one is an alien.) What’s not to like?? The secondary characters were sort of flat and some things were tied up a bit too neatly, as you might expect from a “spin-off” novel like this, but those were minor complaints. I loved the overall theme that we all want to belong and should have a place in the universe and people to love us. I also loved the emphasis on gender as a spectrum and the overarching question of what makes someone “human.”

Nobody else is Becky Chambers but if you’re looking for something to read after Long Way this could be it — and I get the feeling from reviews that the original trilogy may be even closer.