Review: Ancillary Mercy

Ancillary Mercy by Ann Leckie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Easily the best in the trilogy. I say that as someone who loved the first, and enjoyed the second but felt it dragged a bit. Ancillary Mercy delivered a tightly-paced, skillfully woven final installment with a satisfying but surprising ending to Breq's tale.

In the previous books, I occasionally felt lost in the number of foreign names and places with strange pronunciations. But despite it being over a year since I finished Ancillary Sword, I was quickly able to re-establish the events of the past two novels and felt on more fully grounded in the world and the cast than ever before. Perhaps that's because after two books I just am more familiar, but I feel like Leckie did a great job of reminding us of the role of each character without over-explaining. A brief character list follows:

Breq, the last remaining ancillary from the ship Justice of Toren
Tisarwat, a woman whose body was taken over by Anaander Mianaai for a while and is now trying to create a new life that integrates the people she used to be
Seivarden, a recovering addict and soldier who is close with Breq and is suffering from several emotional problems
Ship, the AI ship that Breq commands
Station, the AI in charge of Atheok station
Anaander Mianaai, the many-bodied emperor of the Radch who is quite mad at Breq currently
Two new characters are also introduced: a Presger translator and an ancillary representing a long-lost ship, perhaps even older than Breq

In general, the book feels much more focused. In the aftermath of the destruction of the Gardens and much of the Undergarden, Atheok Station is attempting to recover from the damage and one of Breq's concerns is housing for the (lower-class) citizens left homeless by the damage. Leckie, through Breq, always focuses on the personal, the relationship between the individual and the community. In a sprawling, interstellar tale of war and conflict, telling this intimate story of Breq and the people Breq defends is an inspired decision. The story unfolds and resolves in precisely the way it does because of Breq's empathy and caring, even toward people who don't consider Breq a real person. And that's where Leckie excels: creating intentional, empathetic characters with specific personalities and building a story around how those characters would react to a world of power imbalances. The characters, who are flawed in ways that could destroy them but (due to Breq's intervention or the different values of the world of the Radch) also allow them to build themselves stronger. Seivarden is cripplingly emotionally distressed throughout much of the book. Breq and the Medic, instead of blaming or punishing Seivarden, insist on medical rest and emotional care until Seivarden is ready to handle leadership again. Seivarden's weakness, and mental illness in general, is not dealt with as a disqualification for a role or a permanent flaw. It's treated like an illness, and one that needs time and treatment to recover. Seeing mental illness handled this way is wonderful and refreshing and makes me rather jealous, actually. And Breq's focus on the well-being of those she can help is pervasive, story-directing, and the most compelling part of the novel.

The addition of two characters alternately delighted and frustrated me. A Presger translator and a new ancillary are added to the cast. The Presger was delightful (if occasionally cheesy) in her unusual desires and requests. I often found myself laughing out loud, sometimes groaning at the silliness, but almost always enjoying it. I feel the ancillary character fell a little flat - there were clearly attempts at humor there, but they seemed tacked-on and never quite compelling, like the character's presence was needed eventually but there was nothing to do with them in the meantime.

The relationships that Breq forges with other characters are essential to the resolution of the story. The trust that Presger translator has with her, Seivarden's fierce loyalty, Tisarwat's skills, and the complicated reciprocity with which Breq deals with the AI systems all come together to solve Breq's final problem. Some might criticize this as being too convenient - kind of like the opposite of a deus ex machina, everything in the story flows into this perfect resolution. For me, the elegance of the solution and the subtlety with which all the cogs fall into place outweigh any negative feelings. There's never a sense that I know what's going to happen next - but I was always eager to find out what it was. I love this story because it emphasizes that the right choice is to try to understand how other people work, and to show empathy toward them and work with them, instead of raising everyone to arms regardless of their abilities or desires. Solutions through teamwork and creativity and outwitting your opponent, rather than out-fighting them! Yay!

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