Ancillary Mercy

The third and final novel in the Imperial Radch series, Ancillary Mercy increases the action a bit while retaining the rich culture and impeccable manners and politeness of the previous novel. The alien Presger are uncompromisingly alien, the artificial intelligences are a fascinating mixture of human and non-human, and the comprises between freedom and obedience are crucial to the future of the society. The tensions and problems raised in the first novel are largely resolved in this book, though the wider civil war may or may not still be raging. While a part of me was still missing the scope and drama of the first novel, the detail and intricacies of the culture make it well worth the effort. I've seen one review that describe books 2 and 3 as "Downton Abbey in Space", so strong are the manners and proscriptions on behaviour, and the restraints on the actions of characters. It's impressive to see it done so well, and if a second series of Imperial Radch books ever gets written, I'll be picking it up straight away.