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 one last concession: One last man will be allowed to join the mummified bodies in the temporal location to become a “living saint”.
But this one 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 zer comfortable life upended, and a young man sold into servitude will find unlikely escape.
by Sophie
Any time a new Ann Leckie book is published I turn into the emoji face with the party hat and the confetti 🥳. She always delivers something interesting, and I always end up thinking back on the books later.
She loves to play with writing styles and points of view. The Imperial Radch trilogy (starts with Ancillary Justice) is a laser-focused revenge tale told in three different timelines, all focusing on main character Breq. The Raven Tower is a slowly-enfolding fantasy book partially told in first person, and partially in second person point of view. Provenance has flashes of whimsical humor. Translation State is told from 3 different, alternating perspectives. Her short story collection Lake of Souls shows a few other different styles, most notably one in a (to me) hilarious P. G. Wodehouse style.
And Radiant Star, her latest, is told through an omniscient narrator who directly addresses the reader, with dry, skewering humor (“This, their carefully cultivated humility told them.”). I just love that she challenges herself, and her readers, this way.
Radiant Star takes place in the Radch universe, around the time of the Imperial Radch trilogy, on the wandering planet Aaa that has been recently annexed (by the Radchaai). Recently enough that full political control is not yet in Radchaai hands. Enter an erratic matriarch, a scheming savant, a celebrity savant, a hapless boy stuck in a suspension pod, an oaf of an heir, a much-put-upon administrator, and – joy of joys – an ornery ship A.I. (who is sadly a side character, but a scene stealer nonetheless). Between the lot of them I found myself laughing quite frequently.
But for all the delightfully silly characters, as well as the breezy tone of the narrator, this is an angry book, between the lines. (And if you don’t like reading between the lines, don’t read Ann Leckie.) It rages at bullies and corruption and simple carelessness. When there is a communications blackout (if you’ve read Ancillary Justice you’ll know why) as well as a resultant disruption in supplies, things turn dire, with a devastating famine and heightened political scheming. And still the narrator keeps brightly smiling.
In true Ann Leckie style the book also examines gender identity and roles, and turns a few of our socialized norms on their heads. Good stuff.
All in all, for me this was another excellent addition to my Ann Leckie shelf, with a whole cast of new memorable characters. It had me laughing and it had me thinking, a winning combination to me. Absolutely a book to reread, too.
