Ancillary Justice

Ancillary Justice, published in 2013, is author Ann Leckie’s first novel, although she previously published short fiction in various science fiction magazines. Leckie’s first installment of the dystopian Imperial Radch trilogy, followed by Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy, won numerous science fiction awards for best novel of the year and became the first book to win the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke awards. Ancillary Justice was also nominated for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award, honoring a work of science fiction or fantasy that expands or explores the understanding of gender. Leckie is also the author of Translation State, published in 2023.

Ancillary Justice tells the story of Breq, the sole surviving “segment” of the artificial intelligence that once animated an interstellar troop ship and its soldiers. Breq, the first-person narrator and protagonist, embarks on a quest for vengeance. The title of the book refers both to the protagonist’s origins as the ship's ancillary and to her desire to right past wrongs. The interstellar empire in which the story takes place is known as the Radch, and its inhabitants are Radchaai, a word meaning both “citizen” and “civilized.