My second Leckie book without having read the original trilogy. How did this even happen to me!? I am going to read Ancillary Justice next, mark my words! Keep reading this book review of Radiant Star for my full thoughts.
Summary
The Temporal Location of the Radiant Star has always been a source of both conflict and hope for the people of Ooioiaa. However, the imperial Radch see it only as an inconvenience, an antiquated religious site soon to be absorbed into their own, superior culture. But local politics is complicated, and the Radch have made one last concession: One last man will be allowed to join the mummified bodies in the temporal location to become a “living saint”.
But this one decision will ripple out to affect every part of the city. Amidst a slowly worsening food shortage, riots, and a communication blackout from the rest of the Radch Empire, a religious savant will entertain visions of his own sainthood, a socialite will discover zer comfortable life upended, and a young man sold into servitude will find unlikely escape.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Radiant Star was probably my least favorite of these stand alones. I loved the way that Translation State felt like it took on a theme more than being a standalone in another world. As someone who read that standalone, I had no fear approaching this one because I was able to get a sense of the world and still appreciate it for the future. But in Radiant Star, I had the most trouble. It felt the most like living in a standalone in another universe. Does that make sense? At the beginning, I was really intrigued, but had a hard time locking into this world. Radiant Star revolves around legacy and inheritance.
But the two perspectives were a bit confusing at the beginning to see the threads as they intersected. I’m intrigued to read Ancillary Justice and see if I feel differently about Radiant Star afterwards. But Radiant Star, while interesting concepts, felt like the hardest to stand alone. I had a difficult time sinking into the characters because they felt like they had this level of distance between them. In this narration style, I had a difficult time on a character level and then while the world felt more expansive than in Translation States, I had a difficult time pinning it down.
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Every time we sunk into a thread I enjoyed, like watching what happens when the government breaks down, I felt like were were pulled away from that focus. I wanted to love this one more, but my gut feeling is that it works more for someone connected to the world, than a standalone into the world. And for me, that’s unfortunately just my reading journey into this world so far. Find Radiant Star on Goodreads, Storygraph, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.