Book Review
May. 27th, 2026 08:28 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariTranslation State
by Ann Leckie
This is a thoughtful sci-fi novel set in the same universe as the Ancillary Justice trilogy and takes place some time after the events of those books. The story revolves around three people wo are each at a crossroads in their lives. Enae, who has spent most of eir life as a companion and caretaker for eir cantankerous grandmother, has taken on a diplomatic mission after eir grandmother's death. Reet is a mechanic whose origins are unknown but was adopted into a large and loving family. He has recently discovered some aspects of his biology and potential origins that lead him to unexpected and not entirely wanted places. Qved is a Presger, a strange and often brutal alien race. They have been bred to be a Translator, a human-shaped diplomat trained to serve as a liaison with the human worlds. Their paths will bring them all together against the backdrop of a Conclave of the humans and aliens where the treaties that make peaceful coexistence possible are re-negotiated.
Translation State is a masterful meditation on identity and belonging, and the roles biology, nurture, and self-determination play in them. Along the way, Leckie also looks at some romance tropes, the different effects of loving and non-loving parenting, and political machinations. All of this is done through a really good plot and some excellent characters.
by Ann Leckie
This is a thoughtful sci-fi novel set in the same universe as the Ancillary Justice trilogy and takes place some time after the events of those books. The story revolves around three people wo are each at a crossroads in their lives. Enae, who has spent most of eir life as a companion and caretaker for eir cantankerous grandmother, has taken on a diplomatic mission after eir grandmother's death. Reet is a mechanic whose origins are unknown but was adopted into a large and loving family. He has recently discovered some aspects of his biology and potential origins that lead him to unexpected and not entirely wanted places. Qved is a Presger, a strange and often brutal alien race. They have been bred to be a Translator, a human-shaped diplomat trained to serve as a liaison with the human worlds. Their paths will bring them all together against the backdrop of a Conclave of the humans and aliens where the treaties that make peaceful coexistence possible are re-negotiated.
Translation State is a masterful meditation on identity and belonging, and the roles biology, nurture, and self-determination play in them. Along the way, Leckie also looks at some romance tropes, the different effects of loving and non-loving parenting, and political machinations. All of this is done through a really good plot and some excellent characters.
