432 pages
English language
Published Oct. 12, 2023
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 …
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.
Masterfully merging space adventure and mystery, and a poignant exploration about relationships and belonging, Translation State is a triumphant new standalone story set in the celebrated Imperial Radch universe.
Two bizarre alien-stories-who-are-people meet in a challenge of caring over identity and belonging, with mostly-comic reminders of Leckie's prior exploration of this space as mediators and judges at the sidelines of a serious gulf.
I hadn't heard that this one was coming until it appeared, and it was a delightful surprise. To my mind Leckie is the greatest producer of space opera since Iain M. Banks. In some ways this book was the most like a Culture novel to date, but it's an injustice to discuss her work just by comparison.
The story, which cycles through three points of view, wrestles with the slippery, dynamic notions of boundaries, relationships, and identities. These three things are part and parcel of one another - you cannot have one without the others. We cannot systematise these things, but only live through them and work at them, rather than fix and determine them for good. The whole story is a process of grappling with that fact.
Most of the characters are pleasant and sympathetic. This is refreshing in a field which, to this reader at least, so often …
I hadn't heard that this one was coming until it appeared, and it was a delightful surprise. To my mind Leckie is the greatest producer of space opera since Iain M. Banks. In some ways this book was the most like a Culture novel to date, but it's an injustice to discuss her work just by comparison.
The story, which cycles through three points of view, wrestles with the slippery, dynamic notions of boundaries, relationships, and identities. These three things are part and parcel of one another - you cannot have one without the others. We cannot systematise these things, but only live through them and work at them, rather than fix and determine them for good. The whole story is a process of grappling with that fact.
Most of the characters are pleasant and sympathetic. This is refreshing in a field which, to this reader at least, so often makes a virtue of cynicism. That's not to say they don't have their flaws, nor are they entirely unproblematic, but they are not out to wow you with how gritty and uncompromisingly grim they are.
Leckie is brilliant.
What a lovely tale of identity, family, acceptance, and binge-watching Pirate Exiles under a blanket fort.
This follows the Imperial Radch Trilogy much more directly than Provenance did - I would definitely read those books first. But do. And then read this one.
Leckie continues to build worlds and cultures that turn a lens back onto contemporary struggles around identity and sovereignty. It is helpful, but not necessary, to have read her other Radch books as they do build on some earlier stories and a few characters turn up again. There is also a deeper dive into the Presgers (or at least the Presger Translators), but the author does a great job keeping terrible mysteries mysterious.
Finally, a slight spoiler, in this installment Leckie fixes the greatest flaw in her universe: the lack of coffee. I applaud her courage in bringing this beverage into a heretofore tea-centric narrative.
