The journey we began during ScifiMonth has ended: our little crew has completed our read-along of the Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie. The inevitable confrontation with Anaander Mianaai is at hand. Can Breq and her allies defeat the ruthless manipulator who has ruled the Radch for thousands of years?

It’s time to inflict as much damage as possible – but with Breq badly injured, she’ll have to rely on her lieutenants to lead the charge against Anaander Mianaai. Has Breq won enough local influence to garner the support they will need to succeed in Tisarwat’s desperate plan?

If Breq has learned anything over her long life, it’s shoot first – especially when you own a gun your enemies can’t see that fires ammunition they can’t shrug off. If those who love Breq have learned anything during their association with her, it’s that she cares about their safety a good deal more than her own. As we head towards the end of the trilogy, who will be left to fight Anaander Mianaai?

We’re not pausing for breath before we find out what lies beyond the Ghost Gate. Our read-along barrels straight into Ancillary Mercy this week as Breq returns to Athoek Station. Justice is complicated, propriety is teaching your guests to distinguish fish you eat and fish you look at, and everyone is looking for some benefits…

The final week of our read-along so it’s showdowns and consequences time at Athoek, where we find out where everyone’s loyalties really lie. To a point – this is a second book, so there’s plenty of mysteries for us to dive into next week when we start Ancillary Mercy.

Week three of our Ancillary Sword read-along takes us from Athoek Station to the planet below, as Breq embarks on a formal period of mourning in an attempt to stave off alien reprisal. As you would expect during a quiet retreat, there’s so much going on this week there won’t be room to talk about it all!

Week two of our Ancillary Sword read-along finds us on Athoek Station, coming to understand the nuances of life within the Imperial Radch. Every empire is hegemonic, but few empires completed erase all trace of the cultures they have consumed – which is to say this week features a lot of local world building, and hints at the introduction of an intriguing new angle in the near future…

Having been enthralled by our visit to the Imperial Radch during ScifiMonth, we’re continuing our read-along this year with Ancillary Sword because there’s no way we’re waiting for next November to find out what Breq does next. Expect spoilers from the get-go as this is the first of four discussion posts, not a review.

It is the finale of our ScifiMonth read-along of this modern classic. Fair to say we have relished the read and the discussions, as it was an almost unanimous YAY when the question was asked about continuing the trilogy in the new year. Consequently this isn’t the last week of the Radch read-along – just the last for now…

We got a big plot reveal and a devastating development at the start of this week, which puts Breq’s actions in clear context. With Seivarden stepping out of her sulk to start developing as a character, there’s lots building up as we approach next week’s climax. Read on for discussion, expect spoilers!

We have been reading Chapters 14-18 this week, with a big plot reveal and some major character development. Expect spoilers as I set the questions for this week’s discussions…

Week two saw me go from half a chapter at bedtime to mainlining chapters to find out what happened (I’ve zoomed halfway through week three’s chapters now) and realising I was going to need to write notes to keep track of what thing happened on what planet. Dammit, when did I stop just absorbing that sort of detail like oxygen?

This year, we’re returning to Ann Leckie’s much-awarded debut for our ScifiMonth read-along. The Justice of Toren is a Radchaai troop carrier, bringing her cargo of ancillaries – once-human soldiers, now mere bodies slaved to her consciousness – to its new conquests. Trouble is stirring at the empire’s edges that will one day lead to sole ancillary leaving the Radch in search of a weapon that can kill its millennia-long leader Anaander Mianaai.