Reviews!
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So, I know some folks link to, like, nearly every review they get, good or bad. And I haven’t actually decided if I’m going to do that, but I probably won’t. Because I feel very much that once a book or a story is out there, readers get to have whatever reaction they’re going to have. And if they feel moved to say something about their reading experience, even (or perhaps especially) something negative, they ought to be able to do that without feeling like I’m going to respond in some way that makes their life less pleasant. Just linking isn’t necessarily going to do that, but to a certain extent there’s a potential there.
So, I probably won’t link to negative reviews. But so far I’ve had pretty good review luck! Of course, it’s early, there haven’t been many–a couple of people on Goodreads who got ARCs of Ancillary Justice seem to have enjoyed it, which is nice. I know not everyone who reads it will enjoy it, so I’m savoring the nice comments for now.
Publishers Weekly liked it, and, it seems to me, understood pretty well what I was going for. I notice the review very carefully avoids any pronouns that might assign a gender to the protagonist, something that amused and pleased me.
Kirkus liked it, too! Though the entire review isn’t available to non-subscribers until the second half of September. The crucial parts are up there on the site, though. “Leckie’s novel cast of characters serves her well-plotted story nicely. This is an altogether promising debut.”
Sometime probably next month I’ll give a few more ARCs away, through the blog–and possibly I’ll give a few more away via Goodreads. In the meantime, I’ve been spending way too much time at Adagio Teas. I don’t know if you’re familiar with them, but they let you make custom blends. Lots of people have made blends inspired by their favorite fandoms, and while the novels don’t have fans as such–the first one’s not even out yet!–I still could not resist the idea of Radchaai-themed tea. Those of you who have already read Ancillary Justice, or who have read the currently trunked Isendeni Station, will understand why this might be.
So, you can officially join the Adagio Teas Imperial Radch Fandom,* and/or you can order a packet of Justice, Propriety, and/or Benefit. I have tried all three, and they are very good. I’m going to have to order more Benefit soon, because the 16yr old and her school friend have discovered they like it, too. (The school friend, also a tea enthusiast, did not entirely approve of the subtlety of Propriety and has not tried Justice. I have threatened to test my currently non-public blends on her as well. She did not seem too put out by this.) There will be more blends in time, because it turns out, once you start blending teas it’s kind of hard to stop. I now understand why Adagio includes a “self ban” link. No, I have not used it yet. But I’m kind of glad to see it’s there in case I need it.
For entirely understandable reasons, I can’t use my cover art on the bags/tins. So I’m stuck with images from Wikimedia Commons and my own very basic graphics skills. I do from time to time cast an envious eye on the lovely artwork on so many other custom blends, but hey, it is what it is. And the tea is quite good, if I do say so myself.
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*There’s no compelling reason to do this, except to get a badge on your Adagio Teas profile. The possibility exists to make blends visible only to members of a fandom, and last I checked there was a discount on those. I don’t know if I’ll ever actually make blends only available to members, but it’s a thing.