4.0
Radiant Star
ByPublisher Description
Space opera's sharpest mind returns to the world of the Imperial Radch in this brilliant standalone from award-winning author Ann Leckie.
The Temporal Location of the Radiant Star has always been a source of both conflict and hope for the people of Ooioiaa. However, the imperial Radch see it only as an inconvenience, an antiquated religious site soon to be absorbed into their own, superior culture. But local politics is complicated, and the Radch have made a final concession: One last man will be allowed to join the mummified bodies in the temporal location to become a “living saint”.
But this decision will ripple out to affect every part of the city. Amidst a slowly worsening food shortage, riots, and a communication blackout from the rest of the Radch Empire, a religious savant will entertain visions of his own sainthood, a socialite will discover hir comfortable life upended, and a young man sold into servitude will find unlikely escape.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesRadiant Star Reviews
4.0
“5+ Stunning scifi standalone in the universe of the Imperial Radch. The location of this story is a faraway ice planet far away from the core of the trilogy. Oppression and occupation of a people, imposing language. Both cultures are so different and hard to mix, they are stubborn and intransigent, one culture doesn't even have core words that can be translated, for example, the Radchaai don't have the word father. This and food are forms of stealing, denying, and oppressing them. Diverse Povs make a collective story, there are pivotal characters that can be considered main or even favorite, but it's the collection of their perspective, goals, difficulties, and actions that make the whole story. I like Johnr a lot because he was abused by his people and sold to another culture, because of this he had been in cryonic suspension for 30 years. For him, no time has passed, but home as he knew it is ravaged by occupation and he is their "slave" (kinda).
One character is going to become one of the saints (mummyfied in the chambers of the deep planet that venerates the radiant star). This gave me nostalgia for classic Katherine Kurtz with the Camber series. Very different stories, just nostalgia. Awesome vibes.
Another awesome concept is that at a certain age, they decide to become male or female, the inverse of the anime Simoun where all were born female and picked later who to be.
This is my first time reading this author and it made me want to read all by this author. So cleverly written, spectacular control of characters, plot, and pacing.
"Because food -- is so essential a part of what makes you feel safe and secure, and even confirms who you imagine yourself to be."”
“This isn't on the level of the Ancillary books or Translation State, but I still liked it well enough. Leckie strikes a more irreverent and self-referential tone than usual, and while it sometimes falls flat it's endearing enough overall to make for an enjoyable read.”
“I did not realize this was part of a larger series. As a standalone yes, but I was so very lost. I think if I’d read the series this book is attached to, I would have been fine. This is a very certain type of sci fi. The beginning grabbed my attention, however after a 30-year time hop, it was deep into political drama and lots and lots of details. It’s incredibly written, don’t get me wrong, but I think this is “a right time and right place” kind of read. Neither of which I was in. I think I want to go read the foundational series and come back to this one.
Radiant Star hits shelves May 12.
Thank you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for the eARc and opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions are my own.”
“Ann Leckie's extended Radch universe gains another expansion with this latest addition to her literary universe. While nothing will ever eclipse the brilliance and magic of the original trilogy, this probably hits an even tie with Translation State for my favorite of the Radchverse standalones. In both of her prior Radch installments, Leckie opted to focus on the culture and politics of alien races--the Geck/Rrrr and the Presgr, respectively.
Meanwhile, Radiant Star centers a very human story rife with very human drama: caustic interpersonal relationships, religious turmoil, and political unrest. Of the three original Radch novels, this is probably most similar in tone and content to Ancillary Sword. Like Sword, Radiant Star is smaller and more self-contained than Leckie's other work, in this case zeroing in a group of social, religious, and political elite living in small but isolated city. Like Sword, Star is also masterful exercise in the braided narrative, gradually seeding various conflicts and points of tension that untimely converge in a bombastic and satisfying third act. In fact, much of the initial story is incredibly domestic, reminding me more of 19th century novel of manners than a space opera. Despite the introduction of the Raddchai--an occupying military force--and the inclusion of weighty commentary about the complex nature of religion (as a method of control, succor, identity, and/or corruption, depending on how you look at it), the story never really loses this Austinien edge. A large part of this is the narrative POV, a third-person omniscient voice telling the story in the style of a society columnist (space opera's Lady Whistledown, if you will).
The only thing holding me back from a 5-star rating is some minor frustration with how the central plot resolves. The denouement & subsequent falling action of the novel seem to implicate human fallibility and the imperfection of all those involved as the driving forces behind the cascading series of events that occur in the city. I wish Leckie had done a better job of learning into the ground truth that characterizes her original trilogy - that the imperial ambitions of the Radch are ultimately to blame for the chaos and confusion that befalls the characters. The Radchaai colonizers are depicted as the calm, civilized narrative foil to the confusing, frustrating, and often self-serving actions of the native Ooians. I don't doubt that this was intentional on Leckie's part, and meant to to balance against the unspoken notion that their influence - no matter how "helpful" or "civilizing" - was ultimately to blame for the unraveling of the systems and cultural touchstones maintained by the native people for generations. Leckie subtly references this idea in regards to the Radchaai distaste for Ooian religious practice. Despite the Radchaii- and possibly the reader's--revulsion towards the Ooian practice of religious self-sacrifice (e.g. suicide), the book poses an interesting moral question: What grounds do a colonizing occupation force have to determine what is "just" or "moral" behavior, especially for people they intended to subjugate and ultimately assimilate?
These themes are excellent and reflect exactly the anti-colonial praxis I'm always hoping to find in Leckie's novels. Still, Radiant Star's discussion of them was surprisingly indirect, often left as under-text rather than explicitly reflected by the plot or engaged with by the characters. Ultimately, I think Leckie's devotion to curating a specific narrative voice was at odds with the power and poignancy of the themes she was aiming to convey. While this doesn't neutralize them, it does perhaps make their impact less profound.”
About Ann Leckie
Ann Leckie is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, and British Science Fiction Award winning novel Ancillary Justice. She has worked as a waitress, a receptionist, a rodman on a land surveying crew, and a recording engineer. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri.
Other books by Ann Leckie
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