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| First Written | 2017 |
| Genre | Scifi |
| Origin | US |
| Publisher | Orbit |
| ISBN-10 | 031638867X |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0316388672 |
| My Copy | library loan. audiobook! |
| First Read | April 29, 2019 |
Provenance
A thing about Leckie's work is that shes interested in writing about worlds where gender is different: or at least less determined than in 20th c. Terra. In this one in particular, there are something like 4 genders that have their own set of pronouns, and she doesn't spend any time explaining this bit of world-building, she just throws you in. There's no explanation about how or why someone would use a specific set of pronouns, but you do see these pronouns switch a bit when characters masquerade as another person or switch up their identities. I think this is fine! I assume that reactionary scifi readers get their dander up about this and accuse her of writing some kind of SJW-bait to win all her Hugos, but it seemed: fine!
Noted on May 10, 2019
This is another Anne Leckie - after really enjoying Raven Tower I found another audiobook. It was... interesting! Not life-changing, and like all world-built scifi a little too full of all its weird made-up stuff.
Noted on May 10, 2019
“Aenda Crav,” said Garal, eir tone mild but eir voice still loud enough to carry halfway across the plaza, “and Thers Rathem, and you, Chorem Caellas, you all flew here from the capital this morning so you could shout questions at me in person, but you can’t bring yourself to use the name I want to go by. None of you can, apparently, except for District Voice here.”
Quoted on May 10, 2019