Ancillary Justice is a science fiction novel by American author Ann Leckie. It is her debut novel, and the first section of her trilogy "Imperial Radch". Ancillary Justice was highly praised, winning the Hugo Award, Nebula Award, BSFA Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and Locus Award, as well as being nominated for a variety of other prizes and mentions. It was originally published in 2013.
The plot of Ancillary Justice is set thousands of years into the future amid the spaceship-filled, galaxy-trotting world of the expansionist Radch Empire. The empire uses robots to control human bodies, named ancillaries, as foot soldiers. One notable aspect of the culture is how there are no gender differentiations, and therefore no gender pronouns in the language (Radchaai). However, as the story is written in English, Leckie uses female pronouns, such as 'she' and 'her'.
The story starts with the disappearance of an eminent Radch starship (Justice of Toren), and the sole surviving soldier, Breq, is stranded on an ice planet when she encounters a soldier she vaguely knows from a long time before. The novel has a very idiosyncratic narrative format, switching between the present and future narratives.
Ancillary Justice was critically acclaimed. It is followed by Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy.
