Sally Strange reviewed Translation State by Ann Leckie
Cozy family-oriented horror-esque scifi
5.0 stars
I just re-read this book for the second time and loved it even more.

Ann Leckie: Translation State (2023, Orbit)
English language
Published Dec. 26, 2023 by Orbit.
I just re-read this book for the second time and loved it even more.
I blew through this too fast and now I want more, but there isn't any, I ate it all. I've been dying for a book about Translators, and Leckie delivers, and I can only hope that there's another one coming with more of everything and everyone because I love it all and I'm oh so greedy. Like the other Radch books, there's a pretty strong theme pointing a finger directly at our current society. This one is about consent (and identity because all the Radch books revolve around identity in a beautiful, subversive way). I love this series, and this book fits in with a satisfying snick.
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.
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.