Translation State is a new standalone from Ann Leckie, set in her Imperial Radch universe, which many readers may be familiar with from her earlier work. But if not, don't worry - this one works perfectly well as a standalone. It's one part mystery, one part legal thriller, with a dash of fast-paced action swirled in for flavour. And, not to give the game away, it work very, very well. Leckie is one of the best contemporary writers of thoughtful, high concept science fiction, and it shows in this story which is both gentle and angry and clever all at once.

The story revolves around a tripod of characters. Enae, who is out on her own for the first time after a lifetime of living in the shadow of a grandmother who was less than a positive role model Reet, living on a space station, doing unpleasant jobs for little in the way of recognition, an adopted son who struggles with his place in the world and his identity - especially since the latter seems to come with an urge to literally take people apart. Which is, obviously, frowned upon. And then there's Qven. Qven was created by and to serve as a translator for the alien Presgr. Qven has always been told what their role is to be, but Qven is also starting to wonder if that path is something to actually pursue.

One of Leckie's strengths is that she can give her characters a voice. All three people are just that. People. And they sound and feel different on the page because of the lived experiences that we hear about and are shown. Enae's fear of living a little bigger, of breaking out of the confines of a life that enveloped like a hermit crab's shell, is palpable. As is the pressure Reet feels building up inside himself, the vivid horrors of his dreams and needs. And Qven, Qven is strange and wonderful and horrifying and joyful, and trying to find and become who they want to be and not who they're expected to be. And each of these people have a voice that resonates with who they are, and we can feel their passion and weakness and delight and smaller terrors and flashes of joy coming right off the page to hit us right in the gut. I...ironically, I don't want ot talk about them too much, because each of them grows so much from who they are into someone new through the story. And it's that journey which matters. I will say that Leckie does a great job at making the strange and horrific and wonderful feel prosaic t the characters embedded in it, whilst still letting us have a sense of strangeness and discovery even as we come to accept these things alongside the characters. Honestly, I don't think anyone writing today captures that sense of different but people as well as Leckie has done here. We can get into these characters heads, into their lives, and be somewhere completely familiarly strange. From the first page I was catching up on social context, cues, who meant what to who and what events actually meant...but it all fit together and it all made sense to the people on the page, even while I was unpicking who they were. Suffice to say, Leckie has brought us some fantastic people on the page, who it was a pleasure to follow along with, even when what they were up to was....rather odd.

Speaking of rather odd. The universe is sprawling, filled with, ha, different places. Or, to be more specific, places that feel different. The cloistered halls of Enae's existence, filled with the artifacts of a grandparent who lived seemingly forever, have a sense of age and claustrophobia and potential denied. While the claustrophobia of Reet cleaning station maintenance tunnels is more literal, the grime more practical, the cramped space for hope remains the same, even as they both find burgeoning change is making all the difference. There's little touches in both places, from the detail on folding sideboards to the curious community meetings of Reet's station that help them feel like places, help them feel lived in. And then there's Qven. Always Qven. Qven's world is as physically bounded as Enae's is by psychic boundaries. Qven's world is as constrained in its day to day activities as Reet's is by huis position and opportunities. Qven is wrapped in a straitjacket made to measure by the society that has embraced them, and they get to live comfortably in it, as long as they follow the rulkes, do what they're told, step through the motions. It's a world where eating fellow members of your cohort isn't the strangest thing going on, and Qven is locked down, locked in, and struggling against shackles they don't evne know are there. And here we see an environment which feels plausible, just normal enough to be inside our experience, and strange, strange enough that every so often I had to go back and check I'd actually read what I had. There's hints here of something broader and stranger and more alien and what we have, a soupcon of weird, is wonderfully drawn. And as all these worlds and conceptual spaces converge, they make a big old setting gumbo that's filled with fascinating flavour.

As much as I don't want to say too much, you know I don't want to , don't dare to, spoil the story for you all. It begins cosily enough though, showing us our new friends, letting us see them in their own heads, how they seem themselves, how they live their lives. It watches them as they try to reach out, to put their arms up and soar. This is a story with mysteries abounding, about life and identity and who and what people are. And it's a story about people looking for inclusion, trying to find a place where they feel at home, and find a place where they can be themselves and find out who they are. It's a story with extremists and a story with explosions, and a story with authorities that try and be Authorities, and about overreach and the dangers of definition by category and the joy of self-categorisation. It's a thriller, its a courtroom drama, it's a sci-fi adventure story, its a mystery, and above all, it's an absolute triumph of high-concept sci-fi married to the personal, the immediate, the real, backed by real emotion and real truths. This is Leckie on top form, and it's well worth the read.

I read ‘Ancillary Justice’ many years ago. I couldn’t remember much of the story, but did remember that I really liked it, and wanted to read more by the author. So, when I saw this book was available, I jumped at the chance to read it. Thankfully, it can be read as a stand-alone, though obviously having read (and remembered) the previous books would be an advantage.
This is a story focussing on identity (gender, species), family and friendship. The book tells the story of three individuals: Mx Enae Athtur; Reet Hluid and Qven. All feel, for one reason or another, that they do not belong in the environment in which they were brought up.
Enae has spent hir life caring for hir cantankerous, ungrateful Grandmaman. Now Grandmaman is dead, the house and Name secretly disposed of years ago. Enae is provided for, but no longer has a home. Grandmaman had driven away any friends sie’d had, and hir relatives want nothing to do with hir. Sie is assigned a position in the Office of Diplomacy as a Special Investigator to track down a fugitive, who has been missing for over 200 years. There is no expectation of success, but Enae is someone, who is always dutiful and does not give up easily.
Reet Hluid was abandoned as a baby, and adopted into a loving family of many adoptees. No-one knows where Reet came from. He has struggled all his life to quell desires to bite people – never knowing why – but instinctively keeping that part of himself hidden. On a new planet he is approached by the Siblings of Hikipi, who claim him as their long-lost leader – a Mr Schan. Finally, he has a place where he might belong.
Qven is a juvenile Presger Translator. E has had the ‘normal’ Presger Translator highly competitive, cannibalising, violent but highly structured upbringing, but wants out. In particular, e does not want to mate, potentially be ‘eaten’ and lose eir identity.
All three meet in what could develop into an intergalactic diplomatic incident, and could potentially break the long-standing and vital Presger Treaty. Before a court of alien representatives (Presger Translator, Geck, Rrrrrr, Phen, Radchaai, human, with the addition of an AI delegate), Reet fights to have his identity as a human accepted – even though his genes might point otherwise.
“Mom understood, without him saying. “You know, your genes aren’t your destiny. You in particular. You have what you have, whatever you were born with, but you get to decide what to do with that. There’s nobody telling you what those genes mean, what they’re supposed to make you.”
Qven also decides e identifies as human after meeting Reet, and takes the pronouns e/eir. He wants a loving family like Reet has. Enae wants to fulfil hir mission, but at the same time protect Reet.
The book started slowly, and at first I had difficulty with the pronouns, the different alien species and planets. But when I stopped trying to find human/earth analogues to everything, and let the story take over, I became fully engaged and really enjoyed the way the book developed.
Nothing is straightforward. Some of the aliens are very, very alien. Reality is warped following a terrorist attack, and tensions mount as the finale approaches.
A very enjoyable and thought-provoking story, that I highly recommend.

This is such a bizarre book: it's basically a warm, cozy found-family story about beings that devour and vivisect each other and have no respect for human ideas about physical boundaries, as if Becky Chambers had rewritten the protomolecule bits of James SA Corey's Expanse series. I picked Translation State up because I loved Ann Leckie's Ancillary Justice trilogy, and this is set in the same universe, although the Imperial Radch is not central. Instead, we follow three characters who live outside the Radch: Enae, older, at a loose end after the loss of hir grandmother; Reet, an adopted man who has never quite fit into society, bedevilled by strange urges; and Qven, a juvenile Presger translator who is kept with their own kind for other species' safety, but is horrified by the behaviour of their peers. I was absolutely riveted by Qven's story, and ultimately by the way it interweaves with Reet's. Sadly, the last third or so of this book trailed off a bit for me, when it becomes a more traditional, action-orientated narrative; I preferred the discussions of identity that came earlier. I wasn't sure what the purpose of Enae's character was; the story is so obviously focused on Reet and Qven that hir narrative felt like a distraction. Also, I could never quite square the almost childlike telling of this story with the bizarre creepiness of the Presger and their Translators - I want to know more, but I also really don't!

A side note: I was a little disappointed by how gender is handled in this novel compared with the original Ancillary Justice trilogy, although Leckie makes it clear that gender still functions in the same way in the Radch and these characters understand gender differently because they live outside the Radch. All three protagonists choose their own gender identities, with Enae and Qven using neopronouns; this lines up much more squarely with how we understand gender in our world than the system used in the Ancillary Justice novels, which I found much more challenging, in a good way. Nevertheless, this book doesn't overwrite the previous books, and as it is meant to be simpler and 'cozier', I guess it made sense to default to chosen gender identities as a part of how these characters shape their own destinies outside state definitions.

Translation State is another brilliant addition to Imperial Radch series. It has a less complicated plot than the others, touching the lives of three people—two of them profoundly. But it asks what it is to be human, a question that gets a whole new meaning in a universe where all kinds of beings claim the word for the sake of the treaty with the terrifying Presgr. By stating that everyone has the right to decide for themselves, the book stays true to the inclusive heart of the series.

Enae has been given a task to find a Presgr Translator who disappeared two centuries ago, a fool’s errand until sie succeeds. Reet knows he’s a human, even if he’s not exactly genetically like the other humans. Learning that this isn’t the case, and that in order to survive, he will have to become someone else, isn’t easy for him.

Presgr Translators are genetic constructions the Presgr have created to communicate with humans. Qven is being grown to become a Translator once they are an Adult, which requires merging their being with another of their kind. But they’re terrified of it. So when Reet is thrown in their way, claiming that he’s a human, they also want to become one.

Their demand creates a diplomatic problem that involves several spieces and the intelligent ships with their ancilliaries who also want to be recognised as human. But before a solution can be found, the Translators demonstrate just what in their genetic mix comes from the Presgr.

This was kind of a slow story, but constantly interesting enought that it didn’t become boring. Enae could’ve been a pitiful person, but sie found hir strength. Reet with his search of connection like any orphan was very relatable. Qven was the most alien of the three, and also most complicated. It was an interesting choice to have their chapters in first person point of view (others were in third), as it emphasised their individuality among their kind. All three wanted to belong somewhere and with someone, and in the end they succeeded.

The universe becomes larger and more colourful with every book. There weren’t any complicated point of view chapters where a ship would observe several scenes simultaneously, so the narrative was easier to follow. We still don’t know what the Presgr are, but maybe they’re some kind of dimensional beings that exist in all places and times simultaneously. I’m looking forward to learning more.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for and honest review.

The book is set in the far future (thousands of years?), a time when humanity is spread across multiple star systems, and is in touch with several alien civilisations. The story centres around three protagonists: Enae, an heir to a once wealthy family, who discovers the world and hirself (more later) through travelling far from home; Qven, a human-alien hybrid bred to bridge the gap between the two species; and Reet, an orphan living in a remote system and struggling to fit in. The story touches interspecies politics, intra-human divisions, diplomacy, etc. At the centre, though, is the debate between identity by choice and identity by birth, whether sexual, species, or political.

Despite the scifi setting, this, to me, felt like a vehicle for the author's politics more than anything else. Whether I agree or don't with the stance (and I happen to agree), the story felt molded around the theme, rather than vice versa. The characters came out rather bland, boring, and underexplored. The story itself borrows a lot from Charles E Gannon's Caine Riordan, and Lukyanenko's Threshold ("Porog", in Russian), among other works, I felt like the author cared more about getting the pronouns right (such an extremely detailed universe of pronouns!) than telling a good story.

Overall, this feels like a good way for left-leaning readers with penchant for identity politics to get to know scifi, rather than a solidly entertaining sci fi novel on its own merits. It's not like I didn't like it. It's rather than I found it superfluous in the broader universe of scifi. That being said, this book will have and audience, and the writing is pretty good (even if it doesn't live up to its full potential).

I’ve been a big fan of Ann Leckie for a while: even though Ancillary Justice didn’t work for me immediately, it found a huge place in my heart anyway. So I was pretty excited to get a chance to read this early and review it, and dived in as soon as I could! Like Provenance, it’s in the same world as Ancillary Justice, but it focuses on another group of characters, including a Presger translator. It’s an opportunity to learn a bit more about the Presger, and perhaps about the Radchaii interactions with them, that I was really excited about.

There were certain elements of this story (the cannibalism) that really felt weird for me and icked me out a bit; I definitely wasn’t expecting them, so that’s something to be aware of before you pick it up if you’re a bit squeamish. There is a point behind it all, all the same, and of course Leckie takes another dive into the issues of gender and identity and personhood, from a different angle again from in the Breq books or in Provenance.

I think overall this isn’t my favourite of the bunch, though I appreciate it a lot, and the glimpse it gives of things everyone’s bound to be curious about (the Presger, but also other parts of non-Radchaii space, and some of the other races). I was excited by a couple of the appearances of characters from the other books, about which I shan’t say too much.

Well worth it, of course — and I’m sure it’ll grow on me, to be honest.

I was new to this author and understand that this book is set in a universe are which has been introduced before in the authors works as the Imperial Radch universe . I have to admit that I did find it all a bit confusing to begin with as the novel has to set up all the different sects within the universe. If I had not been new to this series I might’ve found reading this book easier. having said that I did find the novel immediately captivating, and wanted to know more about the characters and what happened to them. I started to enjoy the book more halfway through when the paradox of what makes a human human became more central to the story.
The authors prose style is easy to read, and the novel is intelligent and witty. I particularly loved touches like the fact, the main character is binge, watching space Pirates soap operas and the group of aliens being taught the social niceties of human life, like the importance of of drinking cups of tea .
I have not read any of the authors previous novels, but will on the look out for them
I would recommend the novel to lovers of intelligent, witty, science-fiction.

The book is published in the UK. Little brown book group, UK on the 8th of June 2023.

This review will appear on Goodreads NetGalley UK, and on my book blog bionicSarahs books.wordpress.com

Translation Slate is another strong entry into the world of the Imperial Radch. As the cover copy states, it's a sweeping space adventure, but also quite a sweet one.

It begins with three separate viewpoint characters, who naturally cross paths somewhere along the way. Enae, who's been looking after her Grandmaman for decades, inherits a diplomatic mission; Reet, adopted when very young, is almost flattered when a political group reaches out to him and suggests his background could be very special indeed; finally there's Qven, in training to be a Presgar translator, but trying to find a way to rebel out of it that doesn't involve getting eaten...

Ultimately, their actions put the treaty between humans and the Presgar under close scrutiny and the fun lies in finding out what happens next.

As I mentioned, this is a surprisingly sweet book, almost YA-like in its plot, if it was a little easier to follow. I've read other books in the same world, and that definitely helped, though I think you could potentially read this one as a standalone.

Here, Leckie explores the concepts of identity, what makes us what we are, nature vs nurture and a whole host of other things that I forgot when I finished the final page (not the book's fault, my memory isn't the best when I consume entertainment).

She has a difficult job balancing two sides of the same book - one where humanity is at risk if the treaty fails, and the other being an almost romance, where you want two individuals to get together - but only if it feels right to them at the time. But overall it worked very nicely for me, if not perhaps reaching the heights of previous Radch books.

A fascinating story of belonging, bias and acceptance which has created many new thought processes in my inquisitive mind. Fans of the author will find this book to be another incredible piece I am sure. The structure flits between three central characters that the reader can feel involved with and sympathetic towards. A wonderful climax leading to further room for development.

Ann Leckie produces interesting futuristic science fiction. The story was intriguing but I found it difficult to read at times because the use of multiple pronouns. This hampered my concentration and hence my enjoyment. I had not read previous books by the author referring to this created universe which may have been ill advised.

3.25/5 Stars

Very excited to have finally read an Ann Leckie book! I want to thank Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Translation State, the story of a missing alien Translator changes everything for people 200 years after their disappearance. Enae, once a repressed housekeeper, now a curious investigator, is sent on a pointless cold-case mission to figure out what happened to this alien, only to uproot a human and another alien - both mixed up in this story far more than they believe possible.

Look, considering how deep we are in this crazy Sci Fi world of Ann Leckie's, I had an easy and enjoyable time getting through this book. While it was difficult to follow at times (possibly due to my lack of knowledge of other books in the series), I was surprised to see how smooth this boat sailed. All three main characters were unique in their own right, and I did enjoy the very different perspectives they provided.

The pacing, unfortunately, I wasn't the biggest fan of. The beginning was awesome, then the buildup and climax fell rather short for me, and the end had little impact too. The loss of momentum carried to my curiosity of the main characters, who made interesting journeys but reiterated a few discoveries a couple times too much for my case. Lastly, and this is likely something that my reading the other books in the series would change, I felt like I was introduced to too little of the world the book played in to properly put things into perspective. That was very confusing and ultimately a let down.

All in all, a book with great prose and such an incredibly cool galaxy to discover! Definitely the kind of series you could get sucked into, but not my cup of tea as of right now!

A standalone novel in the Imperial Radch universe, Translation State follows the stories of three individuals whose stories converge in surprising ways. Enae's grandmamen has passed away, leaving hir completely alone and forced into investigating a diplomatic cold case. Reet, found abandoned as a baby, seeks comfort in the interest of a nationalist group that is not put off by his cannibalistic thoughts. Qven has been raised and trained to be a translator, but they slowly come to realise that they want something else for themselves instead.

The three characters are very different, but also similar in many ways. Each of them is alone, each of them lacks support, each of them yearns for a sense of belonging. Yes, this is a book that explores lots of big questions, like "what does it mean to be human", but it is also an exciting and tense adventure.

I read the first book in the Imperial Radch series, and I enjoyed it but felt like it took too long to pick up the pace. This book suffers from that a little too, but I found the changing narrator perspective worked really well as a plot device to keep me reading even before the plot really kicked off. I'm definitely planning to go back and read the second and third books in the series now.

Hace unos años se publicó Ancillary Justice, de Ann Leckie, una novela multipremiada que le supuso el inicio de una carrera fulgurante. Visto desde la perspectiva del tiempo pasado y teniendo en cuenta que no seguí con la saga, no puedo afirmar que su lectura tuviera un impacto duradero en mí. Pero, como este año volvía al mismo mundo con Translation State, pensé que sería un buen momento para volver a engancharme a la autora. O no.


El libro tiene tres puntos de vista diferentes. El primero que nos encontramos es el de Enae, que tras haber estado cuidando a su abuela se encuentra que la fortuna que parecía que esta poseía era ilusoria. Como recompensa por sus desvelos, se le ofrece un puesto más ceremonial que otra cosa liderando la búsqueda de una persona desaparecida hace 200 años. Pero lo que no es esperaban es que se tomara realmente en serio esta misión diplomática.

Reet es adoptado y nunca ha parecido encajar totalmente en la sociedad. Cuando se descubre que puede ser descendiente de un linaje que tiene un numeroso grupo de seguidores con aspiraciones políticas, se deja llevar por la corriente, aún cuando no tiene claro lo que implicarán estos actos.

Qven es un intérprete Presgr y es el personaje más extraño de la historia. Su creación y crianza viene delimitada por estrictos protocolos y será lo que más extrañeza nos cause en la lectura de la novela, lo que hace este punto de vista el más interesante.

¿Es necesario haber leído la trilogía entera antes para leer el libro? Pues no, porque yo misma solo he leído el primero. ¿Se disfrutaría más conociendo todo el universo? Seguramente sí, aunque esto es pura especulación por mi parte. La novela se anuncia como de lectura independiente y doy fe de ello, aunque haya inevitables cameos.

Translation State por desgracia, no consigue cuajar de forma atractiva estos tres puntos de vista. Leckie maneja muy bien el punto de extrañeza, la confrontación con “el otro” en la parte de Qven, pero los otros dos protagonistas se quedan un poco cojos. Es muy de agradecer el tono eminentemente optimista y de buen rollo que hay en toda la novela, en la que muchas acciones y decisiones que se toman son en pos del bien común, no del beneficio propio. También me interesan los distintos puntos de vista sobre lo que es realmente ser humano o no, pero es al conjugar todos los elementos cuando nos damos cuenta de que le falta algo al conjunto. Y no es humor, que lo tiene, ni su parte de body horror, que también está presente. Puede ser que las expectativas fueran demasiado altas o que el tema principal de la novela se diluye conforme van avanzando las páginas, pero no me ha parecido una novela redonda.

Translation State is the new Ann Leckie's novel, which takes place in the same universe as the Imperial Radch trilogy. The events take place several years after the end of the 3rd volume.
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The trilogy had been a favourite of mine, so I was looking forward to reading this novel.
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I want to thank netgalley.uk and orbit for allowing me to read it before its release in June.
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Translation State follows the story of 3 characters, Enae, Reet and Qven. They do not know each other but their stories will end up being intimately linked. The novel follows successively their 3 POV. .
The strong point of the novel is obviously these characters. This is the strength of Ann Leckie. The focus of her SF works are the protagonists.
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All seek a common thing : where they belong. And this is the central theme of the novel : Finding your place.
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Who am I ?
How do I define myself ?
Where do I come from ?
What makes me 'me'?
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Throughout the novel, Enae, Reet and Qven will be confronted with these questions and this notion of belonging. If you are used to Ann Leckie's novels, the question of gender is omnipresent and is not limited to the binary pronouns.
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This is what I liked the most in the novel with the characters.
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For the plot itself, I had more problems.
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The first third is solid with premises that make you want to know more. But after that, the plot took the easy path, with decisions taken naively, without reflection on the consequences. It lacked credibility.
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The last third was far too long and redundant. It turned into drama, with tears and characters who nearly became caricature of themselves. I will add that at a certain point, one of the points of view was kind of useless.
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To sum up, it was a nice read but not a great read. I liked the beginning, the theme and the characters, but the 2nd half was more laborious. I still enjoyed coming back to the Radch universe, especially since there are cameos from the first trilogy. For the reading order, I advise you to read her trilogy first, especially if you want to know the author's work.

I loved the atmosphere of this book. The world building is perfect and I loved the lore. It was a solid 5* read for me up until the final third which felt rushed and not fully fleshed out. It's a shame as the build up was ideal.

Description:
Follows three characters as one of them investigates a 200-year-old missing person's case. Another heavily political scifi novel, in the same universe as the Ancillary/Imperial Radch series.

Liked:
All the same things I loved about the Radch trilogy. Leckie doesn't pander to anyone: the reader gets dropped in hard, with one of the protagonists being VERY inhuman and therefore initially quite hard to understand/sympathise with. Pronouns vary wildly and are not explicitly explained - it's up to you to realise who's talking about who, what assumptions and societal conditioning they bring to that, etc. Despite all this, most of the characters become very endearing, and even funny. Reminds me of Mieville's Embassytown, which is, for my money, by far his best.

Disliked:
Could have gone for more of it, to be honest. Would happily have followed Enae around for longer - she happens upon a resolution perhaps a little quicker than necessary. Would be interested to see what she does next!

Would ABSOLUTELY recommend. This is the most excited I’ve been about any ARC so far. I’ll read whatever Leckie puts out. If you like Becky Chambers’ stuff, this is it done 1000x better. If you like Ursula Le Guin, this is the present-day version. Check it out :P

Anything Else:
I’m really happy that the cover seems more in keeping with the writing, this time. I put off reading the Imperial Radch trilogy for some time because the covers suggested it was a boring action/military scifi kinda thing. Would be VERY up for rebuying these initial three in a more complementary cover, too!

Ann Leckie is almost certainly bets known for her multi-award winning Imperial Radch Trilogy (also often referred to as the Ancillary trilogy given the names of the books). Until now she has set one other book in her Ancillary universe – Provenance, mainly unconnected to the events of the trilogy. And also successfully after dabbling in fantasy (The Raven Tower), Leckie returns to her Ancillary universe with Translation State. Once again she demonstrates an uncanny ability to deliver a page turning yarn centred around strange but relatable characters who live inside complex personal, political and social structures. At the same time she considerably builds out her universe with a sideways view into the intensely alien and threatening Presger
In a fairly sudden turn of events Mx Enae Athtur is turned out of the house sie has lived in while looking after hir ageing grandmother. Enae is not destitute but rather set up with a diplomatic job, tasked with looking into a two hundred year old mystery that no one expects her to solve. That mystery relates to a missing Presger translator, a strange hybrid creature created by the alien Presger to communicate with humans, enabling a treaty that has prevented the Presger from wiping out not only humanity but other sentient races. At the same time Reet Hluidis wooed into joining a possibly violent separatist group who believe he is the long lost descendant of their former leaders. The third strand of the narrative is narrated by Qven, a young Presger translator who finds growing up confusing and dangerous. The plot will slowly bring the three together in a way that threatens to destabilise the treaty that keeps the universe in a type of harmony.
As with all of Leckie’s books, Translation State constantly transcends its characters and its milieu. This is a book about identity, about gender, about our biases, about belonging with a unique kind of love story at its centre. While there are some connections to the Imperial Radch trilogy, for example one of the characters, Sphene, is a representative of artificially intelligent ships seeking to be recognised as a separate polity, this can be read as a stand alone. And while it takes a little while to get on the wavelength of these characters, there is enough to hook readers and Leckie absolutely makes the journey worthwhile.
Translation State is another must-read science fiction book from a writer who keeps getting better, set in a universe that keeps getting more complex and more interesting. While there is plenty of engaging action and there are stakes, this is as much about its characters coming to terms with who they are and making decisions about who they want to be. And it is likely to once again see Leckie on the awards shortlists

I couldn't really connect to this story. The writing was great and the premise is super unique and intriguing but for some reason I just couldn't connect when I was reading. I might try reading again at a later date but foe now it wasn't the book for me.

I have read all he authors books set in this universe and have to say I found this to be the least engaging and interesting, not sure why and it maybe that I just didn’t gel with the story but I found it a slog to get through, I would not let that put others off reading it as we all have our tastes and perceptions

"Translation State" is a fascinating and engaging novella that explores some of the most fundamental questions of human existence. Leckie's world-building is rich and detailed, and her characters are complex and compelling. Whether you are a fan of science fiction or simply appreciate thought-provoking and well-written stories, "Translation State" is definitely worth reading.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

Once again Ann Leckie has written a compelling, clever science fiction novel, set in the same universe as her 'Imperial Radch' trilogy. 'Translation State' is told from the perspective of three characters, whom at the start are completely unrelated and it is difficult to imagine how their lives would ever intersect. But intersect they do, with all three thrown together in circumstances that could have dire consequences for the entire universe.

The start is a bit slow, but once the three story threads come together about a third of the way in, it becomes utterly gripping and hard to put down. As with all of Leckie's stories there are some big and quite complicated topics and world-building to get your head around, but once that is done you can just enjoy the plot. Leckie has a gift for making you care about characters, and the situations she puts them in capture my interest in a way that real world politics seldom does.

The story is set a fairly short time after the end of the third 'Imperial Radch' book ('Ancillary Mercy') and whilst it isn't a sequel as such, it does contain some spoilers. I think reading the original trilogy first would enhance the enjoyment of this standalone, as it provides context and a better grounding in some of the concepts. It's a fabulous set of books and deserves to be read for enjoyment's sake.

If you enjoy science fiction, Ann Leckie is a must-read author. If you prefer to dip in for only the best authors, Ann Leckie is one of the best, if not THE best. As an occasional sci-fi reader myself the thing I love about her books is their focus on things other than battles and spaceships. They are full of humanity, even when some of the characters are aliens. The stories are always satisfying and not predictable, and have enough good characters to make you feel a bit more positive about people generally. If you only have time for one science fiction novel this year, make it this one.