Radiant Star rewards those who persevere. It’s a standalone, technically, set in world of the Imperial Radch, but if this is your first Leckie, you might struggle.
It centres around a religious location called Temporal Location of the Radiant Star, just as the Radch arrive to take over government. It’s a deeply political and hierarchical world and, as everyone’s about to find out, somewhat cut off from the rest of the universe.
I felt unsure for the first third of the book – the religious names, the switching from character to character just as I found one interesting, not being sure where the plot was going. I was a bit pick up, put down, try to remember to pick it up again.
At that third-way through, though, I suddenly became a lot more invested. Story threads were woven closer together and at last I started caring, particularly about Jonr and his charge. I enjoyed the inevitability of one small problem leading to something much bigger.
Leckie writes smart, insightful SF and I’ll definitely be back for more. But I understand if this book doesn’t work for everyone.
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