It was my first time reading Ann Leckie! Short stories were a great way to get a feel for her writing style. I didn’t know about her other work, and it might have hurt me here.

It is hard to review short stories since you can’t talk about the typical things. This review is going to be short and sweet. I will do my best to write an overall impression of her writing and the book itself. With most short stories, you will find stories you loved, liked, and didn’t mesh with. I found that to be true here. Although, I was pleasantly surprised that I did find more stories I loved. Man of those were towards the end of the book. I don’t know if I found my rhythm with her writing style and content or if the stories were better.

If you are new to this author or a huge fan, I think you will like this. There are many stories with a lot of different topics explored. I found some to be very emotional and thought-provoking. Some stories delved into sci-fi and a world I didn’t know. There’s one in particular that was just the names of people that drove me crazy. They were long and used constantly, and I had trouble with that story.

Overall, I did enjoy this! I’m open to reading more of her work. I know that some of these stories connect to worlds she has already created. I will have to check those out!

Thank you to Orbit for a complimentary finished copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own.