"Provenance" by Ann Leckie – A Political Coming-of-Age
This time around, we are following a young woman by the name of Ingray who must rescue her charge from an infamous prison planet, which only proves to be the beginning of her turmoil.
On her home planet, a very real political strife is evolving, pitting human and alien governments against each other... will she be able to navigate the turbulence and find her way?
A Return to the Imperial Radch with Ann Leckie
When Ann Leckie began penning her now-famous trilogy, she had no idea the extent of the world she would end up creating and how many stories it would be able to encompass within itself.
Throughout the three novels she developed it to such an extent that the world itself became a character of its own, one that begged for further exploration... which is precisely what she gave us in her latest novel, Provenance .
Before having a look at the story itself, I'd just like to mention that while the novel does take place in the same general setting, it isn't really related to the afore-mentioned trilogy and can be completely read on its own.
With that being said, the more background knowledge you have about this world and the fresher it is in your mind, the better of a starting understanding you'll have about the dynamics at play here.
Anyhow, the premise for this novel is relatively simple. Ingray is a young woman who is faced with a most daring task: to infiltrate a notorious prison planet to rescue a thief, in the process seizing the status she needs to return prized artifacts back to her people.
However, when Ingray and her charge make their way back to her home world, things seem to be in a rather different state than how she left them.
Political conflict is now the name of the game, with everyone seemingly pulling in their own direction in a malevolent bid for power that will only bring misery, suffering and interstellar conflict to those even remotely touched by it. Quite soon, all that Ingray holds dear, from her family to the world itself, are under threat of disappearing.
Development Over Events
While this novel is unquestionably a bit less ambitious in its scope than Ann Leckie's previous works, it nevertheless remains a very interesting and engaging read, provided of course you prefer a story that revolves around characters rather than events.
Indeed, the plot itself is for the most part focused on politics and the various relationships characters have with each other, how various decisions affect them psychologically and fate-wise. In other words, the amount of talking strongly overshadows the amount of acting.
In turn, while I wouldn't say that this made the plot predictable, it certainly feels like it took away some of the bewilderment it could have had. You'll rarely, if ever, feel surprised by what you're reading, and even though you may not necessarily be expecting them, even the stronger moments will leave you satisfied at most.
Now with that being said, everything that revolves around character development is in my opinion the strongest aspect of this book. Ann Leckie has unrivalled talent for bringing her people to life and giving them multiple highly-detailed dimensions that are subjected to a believable arc throughout the story. In these moments we can feel a certain kinship with them and be touched by the troubles they are going through.
This is especially true for Ingray, and while some people might disagree, I think that in some aspects, she makes for a better protagonist than Breq (from the Imperial Radch trilogy) as she feels more human and fallible, someone who is doing her best to go up against forces which by all rights should swallow her whole.
Politics, Politics and Politics
As I mentioned above, politics are a strong point of focus in this novel, but I don't think I've accurately addressed the situation. For the most part, they really do take the centre stage and ultimately serve to weave a convoluted plot you can get lost in if you don't pay attention... which is partly because of the author's tendency to throw in some deus-ex machina elements here and there.
There are a few twists that seemingly happen out of nowhere, but even they don't have all that strong of an effect due to the somewhat stale nature of her over-indulgence into politics.
Don't get me wrong, Leckie did an irreproachable job at coming up with multiple political systems, both human and alien, and imagining how they would interact with each other.
In terms of how complete these creations are I would give three thumbs up if I could, and those of you who enjoy this type of approach to a story will certainly revel in all the descriptions the author blesses us with.
Seeing people and aliens try to outwit each other with the help of rules and words does indeed feel refreshing when compared to the innumerable novels that turn this conflict into one of brute force and military maneuvers.
Considering that this is all still set in the Imperial Radch universe, I feel like Leckie deserves some bonus points for further developing it through aspects she didn't extensively touch on before.
The Final Verdict
After all we've seen, I think it's safe to say that while Provenance may not be Ann Leckie's greatest effort, it nevertheless remains a strong science-fiction novel with plenty of merits of its own, especially for those who prefer the exploration of characters and ideas rather than laser guns.
It definitely has a few flaws here and there and will probably be much more appealing to Leckie fans who have already read the Imperial Radch trilogy and have gotten acquainted with that universe. As a standalone science-fiction novel, I would recommend it to anyone looking for something a bit more slow-paced and character-centric.
If you are already a fan of the author's previous works and have longed to see her world expanded upon, then I would strongly recommend this book for you.
 | Ann LeckiePersonal 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. |
Comments
Post a Comment