Read All About It: Ancillary Mercy

And so it ends. I heartily enjoyed this series, its complicated universe, and how much it tickled my brain. It made me question conventional takes on artificial intelligence, ethics, and colonialism, and I came out of reading these feeling better about space, science, and even wanting to be an editor.

Ann Leckie doesn't quite wrap up the series in Ancillary Mercy, the final book of the trilogy, but the book and its universe are better for it. There is no clear-cut end, and instead it is clear that there will be future conflicts, discussions, and struggles within this vast, changing sphere of its fictional universe. It was definitely a change from more traditional novels, which have a tendency to end in a "happy ending" mood, and was a refreshing take on space opera that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Image Source: goodreads.com

Ancillary Mercy picks up right after the events of Ancillary Sword, and gets right back into the action. Breq is still trying to work with bringing Athoek Station up to better standards, when someone who isn't registered turns up--and turns out to be someone extremely like Breq. Meanwhile, a translator from the Presger empire shows up, a human who is in no way like any Radch human, and just when Breq thinks she has a handle on things, the tyrant shows up and throws it all off.

Breq, admirable and inspiring, refuses to flee in order to protect the people on the station, even though she faces incredible odds all plotted against her. With her trusty lieutenants, a few interesting allies, and some lovely tea, Breq makes her best efforts to thwart the tyrant, protect those who are oppressed, and prevent anyone from tearing apart her crew, at the expense of herself.

This book builds even further on the universe that was already well-established, introducing a human representative from the terrifying alien race, the Presger. The only thing I wish had happened was an actual encounter with said aliens--we get a hint of what is to come at the very end, but we don't get any actual interaction between Breq (who seems alien to her own people) and actual aliens, which I think could have added another layer to the narrative.

I am still honestly captivated by how this series treats heavy subjects, and turns traditional assumptions about gender, colonialism, and artificial intelligence on their heads. AI is a complicated subject, but Leckie introduces emotions into the mix, complicating it even further and creating the potential for AI to be treated as though they have rights and abilities in the science-fiction contrast, and I hope I come across similar treatments of AI in future sci-fi.

I also really appreciate how Breq is never considered anything less or more than what she is. As an Ancillary, Breq's experiences are infinitely different from her crew, and I was glad that Breq never felt forced to initiate a sexual relationship with Seivarden, and rather serves as an emotional bulwark for her entire crew. She's the strongest character I've ever had the fortune of reading about.

Honestly, I really want more of this series. Publishing is a hard world--I wonder if Leckie had plans for another novel that never came to fruition--but I hope that one day, Breq and her crew return to the spotlight, and we get to see more aliens, AI, and a higher appreciation of this glorious universe. I just want to see Breq become whole again. And while I am sad that there isn't more of this series, I'm glad that it ended the way it did, with respect and a large dose of honesty.