"Ancillary Mercy” by Ann Leckie – The Final Showdown

Not too long ago Ann Leckie came out with her debut novel, Ancillary Justice, and sent some real powerful waves throughout the world of books, weaving together an unforgettable beginning for what was set to be an epic science-fiction adventure no aficionados would ever want to miss.

Then came out the second book in the trilogy, Ancillary Sword, and truth be told, though it was still a good effort it fell rather short of the expectations set forth by the first book. It felt like the middle child that would hopefully be forgotten for its failure to reach the bar. And now, Ann Leckie gifts us with the final chapter in the sensational Imperial Radch trilogy, titled Ancillary Mercy.

The story basically picks up where the previous book left off, as Breq starts to feel as if things are under her control again, as if some stability was achieved in the life of this warship-turned-soldier.

Unfortunately for her, the search through the slums of Athoek Station has led to the discovery of someone who shouldn't be, prompting a series of events and escalations in an already-tense interstellar climate, ultimately culminating in a war between all the different parties we've been introduced to so far.

With nobody having anywhere to go, the time has come for all to make the final stand, to look down the barrel and brace for the showdown.

Compared to the two previous books in the series, this one has a bit less action and more dialogue to it, but that's certainly not a weakness. Many of the interactions are either funny, tense, touching, suspenseful, exciting, revealing... anything but boring and unremarkable.

You'll get as much interesting pleasure from Breq trying to talk sense into her soldiers as you will from the great intergalactic leaders finally shedding their masks of politeness to show their real faces.

Speaking of those intergalactic leaders, fans of the intricate world Leckie spent the past two books building up from scratch will be glad to know that many of the events happen on a political level, and so we are given even more insight than previously into the various beliefs and systems as well as the people behind them.

In other words, the world-building really feels like it has come full circle in this final piece of the trilogy, leaving no questions or blank spaces.

As far as the characters themselves are concerned there is still a ton of them to keep track of, but they all receive their fair share of development, with the AI characters now receiving the spotlight more than others.

As far as Breq is concerned, we now get to see the purpose behind her strange mission of spreading consideration and respect around. All of her decisions culminate in her having to choose the fates of countless inhabitants over two star systems.

All in all, Ancillary Mercy is a fantastic conclusion to the Imperial Radch series, climaxing in an unexpected and jaw-dropping fashion leaving no loose ends or questions; just a feel of pure amazement. This is definitely a trilogy science-fiction fans of virtually any kind will adore.

Favorite quote: "There are two parts to reacting aren't there? How you feel and what you do. And its the thing you do that is the important one."

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Ann Leckie Personal site Ann Leckie is an author of American origin specializing mostly in science-fiction and fantasy literature and is best known for her 2013 debut novel, Ancillary Justice, which earned her a host of awards including the Hugo Award for Best Novel, the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award as well as the BSFA Award.