I loved [b:Ancillary Justice|17333324|Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)|Ann Leckie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1397215917s/17333324.jpg|24064628]. I was disappointed by [b:Ancillary Sword|20706284|Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch, #2)|Ann Leckie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413464739s/20706284.jpg|40026175] and [b:Ancillary Mercy|23533039|Ancillary Mercy (Imperial Radch, #3)|Ann Leckie|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1424479056s/23533039.jpg|43134689]. From the reviews I've seen a lot of people feel the same way. I should have read them before deciding to read the books. But Ancillary Justice was so good!

Why was it good? The first half is just introducing you to a brand new viewpoint, a new universe, more than one new cultures, interesting characters. You can really only do this in the first book, but the second and third books don't even try. The first book hinted at a lot of untold stories, like what the Presger are, what the Radch is like, what caused the split in Anaander Mianaai, what's this Itran Tetrarchy, etc. Do we get any more hints at untold stories? No. Are any of these untold stories explored? No.

The masterful non-linear storytelling, the original viewpoint of a ship AI? Just repeating this would fall flat, since it would no longer be as fresh. So it is mostly dropped. Replaced by nothing interesting.

The first book had a grandiose arc: starting with a woman in the snow of a backwater planet (and a lieutenant on another backwater colony) the story sees us arrive at assassinating the immortal ruler of humanity and breaking her empire apart. How do you top that? Maybe get out into the galaxy, figure out the intentions of the omnipotent aliens? Build a new empire on top of the ruins? Find a dark secret that changes everything? No. We're off to a backwater space station, doing nothing of consequence.

But what I really loved about the first book was none of the above. It was how you had to piece a lot of things together from subtle clues in the conversations that were mostly interesting in their own right. This is a really subjective thing, and it already failed to entertain some of the readers of the first book. But it really worked for me. In the second and third books I found the dialog not interesting on its own, and also there are very few subtle clues. It's no longer like a spy's game where you drink tea while pointing guns at each other under the table.

Calling the third book a "stunning conclusion" is a lie. The character of Seivarden was introduced under very unlikely circumstances in the first book, and he had very little role in the story. But just a few pages after the most unlikely meeting we're told that "nothing happens by chance". So I thought I was guaranteed an explanation for at least this character if nothing else. But even he is not explained.

Still books two and three got a lot of positive reviews, and I read them until I started to understand what is going on here. They are all about the characters. It's like Gilmore Girls or Downton Abbey. You have to like the characters enough to enjoy stories about them no matter what those stories are like. This is very surprising to me, given that the characters don't even have names or genders. But I suppose this makes it more interesting in some ways.

I liked the character of Breq well enough in the first book. But I think I mostly liked that she was kicking ass. She figured everything out and accomplished what she wanted against all odds. I don't want to spoil anything, but I will say I was let down on this front as well. I can understand that it would be boring for her to just be awesome all the time and win at everything, but I think I would have enjoyed it nevertheless.

I still don't understand how the second and third books could be so different after the first. The most likely explanation is that they are not that different, and all the things I loved about the first book were a misunderstanding on my part and they were not intended to be the focus. Well, I still love it anyway.