The Raven Tower

// the speculative fiction authors challenge
// part 1: Ann Leckie

I asked friends to suggest me must read authors of speculative fiction that bend genre rules and avoid clich?? tropes. The list is long and I'll pluck from it randomly and depending on my mood.

First up on the list is Ann Leckie. I was recommended her sci-fi novel Ancillary Justice, but not being much of a sci-fi fan, I decided to start with The Raven Tower.

I'm so glad I did!

It's ambitious, and I think some of the choices Leckie has made will put some people off. For instance, the use of part 1st POV and part 2nd POV. It reminds me of how NK Jemisin uses the narrative voice in The Broken Earth Trilogy, something I'm a big fan of.

The Raven Tower is slow-paced, deliberate and thoughtful in its progress. I'm an impatient reader, so it surprises me that I actually never was bored. The build-up is handled masterfully to the extend that you don't really notice until you're suddenly caught amidst the explosion.

It's one of those books you'll need to dive into with patience. To me, the pay off is worth it.

The Raven Tower is a standalone novel. It should mean limitations to the level of character-/worldbuilding, but to be honest, I don't feel I miss anything. It's the right amount of the right elements.

I cannot speak of the ending (no spoilers), but I want to acknowledge that I really liked how atypical it was.

The only thing that annoyed me (but only a little bit) was that it felt like the awareness of who the main character is switched from one to another toward the end, and I'm not entirely convinced that's what Leckie wanted.

Getting acquainted with Ann Leckie has been refreshing and someday, when I am in the mood for a bit of sci-fi, I'll read Ancillary Justice.