Andrew Gilfellon Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 I wasn't criticising Ancillary Justice because we didn't learn her name until half way through, I made it clear that although tat was something I didn't like, it could just be down to the P.O.V. My problems was the fact that there didn't seem to be a story for several pages. We didn't learn what the character wanted until halfway through (audiobook version) Also, I found the whole mysterious gender thing to be overhyped considering the author actually described some characters as specifically being male, or female. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The mysterious gender thing IS overhyped, just not by the publisher or author. Some bloggers grabbed on to that tiny facet of the book and ran with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 The mysterious gender thing IS overhyped, just not by the publisher or author. Some bloggers grabbed on to that tiny facet of the book and ran with it.Who?I saw it mentioned in reviews but 'the gender thing' seemed to get much more play from people wanting to dismiss the book as a gimmick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Who?I saw it mentioned in reviews but 'the gender thing' seemed to get much more play from people wanting to dismiss the book as a gimmick.Maybe it was just in reviews. All the goodreads/blogs/amazons kind of run together in my mind. It does seem to be used more by people who disparage the book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello World Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Who?I saw it mentioned in reviews but 'the gender thing' seemed to get much more play from people wanting to dismiss the book as a gimmick. I’ve yet to see a positive review that does not make it sound as if “the gender thing” is an important aspect of the setting, if not the most important. But I don’t think that that’s something that you disagree with? This post on Tor actually sums it up pretty nicely, Why I’m Voting for Ann Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, Search the web for reviews of Ancillary Justice and odds are that all of them comment on pronouns. The Radch culture defaults to the feminine... [...] In fact, the actual story is often glossed over in discussing Leckie’s novel, favoring the meatier issues of self and gender mentioned above. Don’t get me wrong, the article makes it clear that they think the book is good even without the gender stuff, but there’s no question that issues of identity--specifically gender--have dominated a lot of the reviews and discussions regarding the book. More from the same link, What is unquestionable is that without these devices Ancillary Justice would merely be another fun space opera with big ideas and loads of untapped potential. As it stands today, it is a novel that speaks to the modern science fiction reader in a way few novels have. It reaches its lofty potential because it dares to challenge the unspoken biases in all of us. In other words, AJ could have been merely another fun space opera, the gender thing is what made it great. That’s why they’re voting for it. Which does seem to back up the claims that without the gender gimmicks this book would not have won all the awards it did, and in my mind there’s no question that that’s the case. But that’s actually one of the more level-headed commentaries on AJ you’ll find, some people are actually making it sound as if the gender thing is the book: In 2014, the SFF community finds itself considering Ann Leckie’s debut novel "Ancillary Justice", a book about a genderless society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Edit: that made no sense.Anyway, AJ haters gonna hate. What can you do? :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted February 5, 2015 Author Share Posted February 5, 2015 I chose not to read the sequel because I found AJ to be mediocre in its treatment of its themes, its prose was dull, and the characterizations were not dynamic. Thinking that the "gender issue" was executed less adroitly than many other feminist fictions I've read recently was only a small factor into my decision that the book was just serviceable rather than actually "good" on any substantive level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hello World Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Anyway, I forgot to say that if you wanted a real and insightful discussion of gender Bakker is the one for you. Of course, the RSB haters will tell you otherwise. However, if you're silly to the point where replacing 'he' with 'she' makes you go "Damn!! Feminism!!!" then yeah, just go AJ. I'm sure you'll find the gender stuff mindblowing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyanna Stark Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Anyway, I forgot to say that if you wanted a real and insightful discussion of gender Bakker is the one for you. Of course, the RSB haters will tell you otherwise. Ah, at first I didn't recognise you there, but now it all makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilentRoamer Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 I know Lyanna the Bakkake is getting a bit ridiculous - as a Bakker fan it is frustrating to see! With regards to Ancillary Justice - I agree with Peterbound on this one, I found the whole thing a bit meh, while the gendered pronoun misuse was an interesting mechanism (I won't say gimmick as I think it did play a core role in the character development) I wasn't blown away. I found it difficult to understand how a sufficiently advanced AI is unable to tell differences between gender. I will give the second on a go however as I found some things quite interesting - I think Skynjay mentioned the nature of ancillary consciousness which I really enjoyed the exploration of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Anyway, I forgot to say that if you wanted a real and insightful discussion of gender Bakker is the one for you. Of course, the RSB haters will tell you otherwise. However, if you're silly to the point where replacing 'he' with 'she' makes you go "Damn!! Feminism!!!" then yeah, just go AJ. I'm sure you'll find the gender stuff mindblowing.What the hell is actually happening here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Seconded. Reading it was fun. Not a deep and enlightening experience, just fun. It wasn't too long or too typical and the pacing of the plot worked for me. Thirded. I enjoyed Anubis Gates too, mainly for a different take (it was my first Tim Powers book). Considering Trisk really enjoyed David Mitchell (as did I) I'm surprised he disliked Anubis Gates so much. Not that they are identical but my foggy memory of Anubis Gates suggests they weren't very far apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eponine Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Thirded. I enjoyed Anubis Gates too, mainly for a different take (it was my first Tim Powers book). Considering Trisk really enjoyed David Mitchell (as did I) I'm surprised he disliked Anubis Gates so much. Not that they are identical but my foggy memory of Anubis Gates suggests they weren't very far apart. I wasn't blown away by Cloud Atlas like a lot of other people were (thought it was clever rather than profound) and also wouldn't put those two books too far apart. Sorry you didn't like Gears of the City, Isk. I'm a lot more into that kind of meandering than most people are though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iskaral Pust Posted February 5, 2015 Share Posted February 5, 2015 Sorry you didn't like Gears of the City, Isk. I'm a lot more into that kind of meandering than most people are though. No worries. It was disappointing after being recommended so highly but literary taste is just so subjective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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