Translation State (Ann Leckie)

31 July 2024

Translation State

Qven was created to be a Presger translator. The pride of their Clade, they always had a clear path before them: learn human ways, and eventually, make a match and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presger and the human worlds. The realization that they might want something else isn't "optimal behavior". I's the type of behavior that results in elimination.

But Qven rebels. And in doing so, their path collides with those of two others. Enae, a reluctant diplomat whose dead grandmaman has left hir an impossible task as an inheritance: hunting down a fugitive who has been missing for over 200 years. And Reet, an adopted mechanic who is increasingly desperate to learn about his genetic roots - or anything that might explain why he operates so differently from those around him.

As a Conclave of the various species approaches - and the long-standing treaty between the humans and the Presger is on the line - the decisions of all three will have ripple effects across the stars.

Average Rating:

Ross Hetherington (21 July 2025 19:38)

I liked aspects of this but I thought it suffered from not enough scene setting and world-building. Alot of dialogue. Not enough descriptions of the world the characters were moving through. I've not read any of the Imperial Radch novels, so maybe it was all in those. Also a novel split into three protagonists - one of whom I found more interesting than the others, though they all had their moments. I was quite disappointed after The Raven Tower.