How did this win so many awards? I've finished reading

>>9336983
Because science fiction organizational groups set middling, and thus mediocre standards for writing and literary quality. I wouldn't complain, but they've had six decades to improve on since the 1960s, but their gatekeepers are unimaginative and stultify science fiction writing's development.

Leckie is shit. AJ is a watered down synthesis of Le Guin and Iain Banks, and since both of those authors wrote sociological science fiction, that should raise a red flag for the limited heights that Leckie set forth to display. It's a competent novel but nothing special. That she won prizes indicates that she lucked into some slow years for awards.

The Three Body trilogy is Chinese science fiction, and unlike most non-white science fiction, it's actually quite good. Read that instead.

>>9336983
>reading a book even though it has a john scalzi blurb

>>9337032
Yes, Scalzi is an idiotic manchild. He even praised Ready Player One.

>>9336983
Get this genre bullshit off my board.

>>9337023

>The Three Body trilogy is Chinese science fiction, and unlike most non-white science fiction, it's actually quite good. Read that instead.

I wouldn't mind reading something that's not shit. I'll check it out, even though I'm wary of all sorts of things that could get lost in the translation.

>AJ is a watered down synthesis of Le Guin and Iain Banks, and since both of those authors wrote sociological science fiction, that should raise a red flag for the limited heights that Leckie set forth to display. It's a competent novel but nothing special. That she won prizes indicates that she lucked into some slow years for awards.

AJ is not even close to the worst of it. At that point, you're still curious what this strange world is building up to. By the third book, you realize it's just strange for the sake of being strange and actually not all that strange after all. It's as if the writer figures there is intrinsic value in the novelty of her setting and it's a free pass for petty moralization and completely lackluster attempts at sociology.

There's one thing interesting about these books though. This such a decisively female approach to writing that it borders self parody. And I don't just mean the whole female pronouns thing. I really wondered if the writer realizes that the book is essentially about the figure of a mother supervising unruly children and the whole thing is a sort of an elaborate joke. That half her crew (despite not only being military, but being described as chosen to be military for their genetic/character predisposition) cries all the time and constantly needs emotional support. That the Presger are clearly (subconsciously?) inspired by toddlers trying to make sense of the world. That half of the events described are during fucking tea parties. That ships/stations are passive-aggressive cunts who secretly pick favorites and are prone to extremely snide behavior (trying to tell us something?). And that finally, all characters except for Breq are shallow and short-sighted unless illuminated by her motherly wisdom.

And guess what I just found out:

"After giving birth to her children in 1996 and 2000, boredom as a stay-at-home mother motivated her to sketch a first draft of what would become Ancillary Justice for National Novel Writing Month 2002"

Gee, what a fucking surprise. And while it's fine and well to see SF written from the perspective of a mother, it's a different thing entirely when this fact overrides any internal sense and logic of the story to the point of shattering suspension of disbelief.

>>9336983
why do those ships looks like something out of a atari game

>>9337330
>it's just strange for the sake of being strange and actually not all that strange after all. It's as if the writer figures there is intrinsic value in the novelty of her setting and it's a free pass for petty moralization
you just described modern sci-fi, and maybe fantasy, especially the kind that wins awards, check out some of the magazines where some of these people get their start

>stay-at-home mother
That's one of the cool groups that gets in. Women writers are cool, people from other countries are cool, and anyone who works in the community, like gaiman and martin. What's actually high quality or interesting work seems to be a secondary goal.

>>9337023

God no. LeGuin at her most watered down would have done SOMETHING interesting with the all female pronouns, and Banks at his most self satisfied would have managed some kind of interesting world-building behind the Radchai.

>>9337330

You know that makes an awful lot of sense. I remember there's a moment when Breq is intervening in her sidekick's relationship by saying "all your life people have wanted to make you happy". If it wasn't towards the end of the third book that would have broke me. Because that sentence should have continued "except for the part where you were ripped out of time, had everything you know and love crumble to dust, and wound up an exiled space heroin addict until I picked you up out of the gutter." But that kind of 'I know you better than you know yourself' assertion is also pretty consistent with your thesis. And yeah, thinking about it, the shorthand for the ending could be 'ship-mom makes everything better'.

The first book writes a cheque the other two can't cash, though the third one makes a reasonable effort at delivering the space battles and so on.

>>9337023
>Because science fiction organizational groups set middling, and thus mediocre standards for writing and literary quality.

Yeah pretty much this. IMO it's a symptom of most scifi/fantasy being written by fans, so it's kind of a self-recursive loop of mediocrity. As long as your writing isn't outright bad, you'll win praise.

>>9338241
>IMO it's a symptom of most scifi/fantasy being written by fans, so it's kind of a self-recursive loop of mediocrity. As long as your writing isn't outright bad, you'll win praise.

You may have just perfectly summed it up.

>>9338230
>You know that makes an awful lot of sense. I remember there's a moment when Breq is intervening in her sidekick's relationship by saying "all your life people have wanted to make you happy". If it wasn't towards the end of the third book that would have broke me. Because that sentence should have continued "except for the part where you were ripped out of time, had everything you know and love crumble to dust, and wound up an exiled space heroin addict until I picked you up out of the gutter."

The implication is that Seivarden (the mentioned sidekick) may have been through some tuff times, but she still can't kick her aristocratic condescension. Which is fine as a premise (even if as formulaic as they come) - but Seivarden never actually does anything wrong beyond irritating her lover with her aristocratic behavior. She has a snide comment about how they drink their tea or something. But holding that against her would be petty, right? So you see, the *real problem* is how she just doesn't get it. And then said lover, ship and Breq swoop down on her over how she doesn't get it and how she should be mindful of her privilege and how it can trigger other people, even if she doesn't mean it. I think there may have even been an implication that she should be grateful that her flaws were pointed out so honestly to her.

In any plausible military crew, Seivarden's behavior would perhaps be the butt of a few rude jokes and that would be the end of that. In a sane relationship (especially since this is a fresh, brand new relationship), her lover would say something to the effect of "You may be a bit of a pussy with your aristocratic bullshit, but you're alright kid" and that would be the end of that. Instead, her lover gets in a fit, retreats and the friends march in to set her aberrant behavior straight. Only a chick can write something like this and not see anything wrong with it.

>But that kind of 'I know you better than you know yourself' assertion is also pretty consistent with your thesis. And yeah, thinking about it, the shorthand for the ending could be 'ship-mom makes everything better'.

The only way the ending could have been more up its own ass is if Breq declared herself the mother emperor of the radch. Instead she brings all moms (ships and stations) together so they can unite in their motherly wisdom because ships know best. I want to say that Anaander was a metaphor for an absent husband who thinks he knows better, but I don't think the writer was self-conscious enough to have done it intentionally. The whole thing reeks of a stay-at-home mom writing a fantasy world where a mom can do mom things and kick ass instead of sitting at home feeling like an irrelevant broodmare. And if there's more of a sense of adventure in the first book, it's probably because she could still remember her life before she pooped out a couple of kids.

If I sound angry, trust me it's only because I'm angry at myself for reading these books.

>>9336983
>How did this win so many awards?

In sff writers, critics, fans, and personal friends aren't clearly distinguished, so reviews mean little.

>>9337330
>I'll check it out, even though I'm wary of all sorts of things that could get lost in the translation.
The first book's translation is definitely a little stiff, but they switch translators for the second book and it really makes a difference. The second book's ideas and scope are also a leap in magnitude from the first one's. Definitely give it a go, I loved it for what it was as well as for a perspective on science fiction from someone raised in a very different culture.

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