01
Why it matters
Leckie's debut renewed space opera through distributed consciousness, imperial critique, and a language that refuses to mark gender.
Opening the archive
2013 selection · Science fiction & fantasy
Ancillary Justice
Breq is the sole surviving human body of a troop carrier whose artificial intelligence once occupied a ship and thousands of ancillary soldiers. Her search for revenge exposes a civil conflict within the ruler of the vast Radch empire.
02
Read this if…
You like ambitious space opera built around identity, empire, and artificial intelligence.
03
Ideas inside
Artificial intelligenceEmpireIdentityRevenge
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From the same conversation
Ancillary Justice
- Hugo Award for Best Novel
Breq is the sole surviving human body of a troop carrier whose artificial intelligence once occupied a ship and thousands of ancillary soldiers. Her search for revenge exposes a civil conflict within the ruler of the vast Radch empire.
Someone You Can Build a Nest In
- Nebula Award for Best Novel
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The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
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A contemporary academic discovers a hidden journal containing a Blackfeet man's testimony to a Lutheran pastor in 1912. The confession recounts his transformation into a vampire and a long pursuit of vengeance tied to the destruction of buffalo and violence against Native people.