Review: Provenance

Provenance by Ann Leckie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Provenance takes place in the same universe as Ann Leckie’s Radchaai trilogy, the first of which (Ancillary Justice) won a Hugo, and which I loved. The events of Provenance take place shortly after the events of the trilogy, but don’t involve any of the same characters (or even locales) so each can stand on its own (though comparisons between the two are inevitable).

The story follows Ingray Aughskold, a young woman who is trying to prove to her mother that she - rather than her brother Danach - deserves to inherit her mother’s name. Ingray’s scheme immediately goes awry, she finds herself responsible for a person who shouldn’t exist (named Garal Ket), and her ride home accidentally draws attention from the ambassador of the alien Geck. Once home, she finds herself in the center of a tangle of local, inter-planetary, and inter-species politics that (she believes) she is ill-equipped to handle.

Much is made of Ingray’s hand-wringing and self-doubt, but this is one of those novels where it is clear to the reader (and several other characters) that the very flaws that the protagonist agonizes over are those qualities which make her the perfect fit for the job. It’s too clear, in fact. Ingray reminded me of Mia from The Princess Diaries; her misfit status and trusting nature are what endear her to everyone and make her a natural leader.

This is a perfectly fine novel, and if not for the inevitable comparison to the Radch Trilogy, I don’t know if I’d take issue with Ingray or any of the other unsubtleties. But once of the things that made the Radch Trilogy excellent, to me, was the subtlety and nuance of the characters. The characters acted and spoke in a way that belied a thoughtful underlying psyche, and the story was anchored to the internal struggles and changes of the characters, yet Leckie avoided slicing the characters open and revealing the detailed minutiae of every why and what and how of every change. It was confusing; it took me a while to really get what Leckie was doing in Ancillary Mercy. But it was rewarding. Provenance, though, has characters helpfully vocalize the qualities and traits and reasoning behind each action and decision. I enjoy a good character-driven novel, and Leckie is an excellent writer and the story and characters were delightful, so the heavy-handedness doesn’t make it a bad story, just lands it solidly in the ‘very good’ and not ‘excellent’ tier.

A more generous reading might be that the difference is intentional, and reflects the different cultures at the forefront of each story. The Radchaai have many taboos and strict social hierarchies while the Hwae are very much about public performative gestures. I could be convinced this was Leckie’s intent but it would take some strong evidence.

Leckie does a good job of growing her universe, making it wider and still recognizable. The Radchaai ambassador to the Geck is one of my favorite characters (think Mindy St. James from The Good Place but less horrible) and is the most significant reminder of the Radch Trilogy. The Hwae are a solid addition to the universe, a planet that values “vestiges” of significant cultural events. The story stumbles for me when I’m expected to believe that next to no one on the planet has ever questioned the authenticity of any of the vestiges; it felt like a moment where natural worldbuilding was sacrificed to the necessity of the plot. (And perhaps it’s just my own reading, but it felt a touch on-the-nose to talk about these monuments to culture that are are powerful symbols that are essentially valueless beyond what people see in them, in light of recent efforts to remove Confederate monuments in the U.S.)

Despite it being a few steps away from ‘excellent,’ I appreciated the themes the novel tackles. Ingray’s trust, which is read as naivete by some characters, is her strength, and I enjoy stories where trust is valuable and rewarded. In such a world, choices matter, and people are trusted when they make choices that are right for them. Here we see some of the subtlety I loved in the Radchaai trilogy; characters make personal and interpersonal choices that are treated with gravity and respect by other characters. The protagonists recognize the importance of not necessarily unquestioning, but unconditional support once these personal decisions are made. It’s radical in a soft, comforting way.

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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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