Ancillary Justice, by Ann Leckie
A space opera is intended to show the personal struggles of a few, against the infinite backdrop of the universe. Ann Leckie succeeds marvelously in her foray into this science fiction subgenre with her debut novel, Ancillary Justice, the story of One Esk Seventeen, an ancillary body and all that is left of what was once a Radch spaceship named the Justice of Toren. Immediately the reader is thrust into One Esk’s self-appointed task to buy a weapon that will kill the leader of the Radchaii Empire, Anaander Mianaai. Throughout the book, Leckie moves back and forth in time to explain why One Esk seeks revenge on her ultimate creator, in a way that throws light on both Radch culture and One Esk herself.
Now calling herself Breq, One Esk makes it clear to the reader that she is a being of artificial intelligence. However, throughout the book, it is also evident to the reader that she (or it—the Radchaii language has no gender pronouns) and other ancillary bodies have their preferences and favorites, which may not be apparent to their Radchaii officers. As it has been presented before with Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, the question about artificial intelligence raises itself: can someone with AI have free choice, and, if so, how much?
Use of the female pronoun is done very cleverly. Although hard science fiction has been dominated by men, by using mostly “her” and “she,” Leckie neutralizes the presumption of One Esk’s (and of science fiction’s) masculinity. When One Esk consistently (and sometimes incorrectly) uses the feminine pronoun, even for male characters, the reader realizes how unimportant the ancillary considers gender to be—and, by that token, how many interpersonal interactions she misses by dismissing gender roles. The reader realizes that One Esk has become humane, but not quite human.
Intelligent science fiction tends to be thin on the ground. If you want to read something containing depth of plot, character, and setting, try this one.
