Translation State
by Ann Leckie · first published 2023
5mentions
4recommended by
5HN commenters
2025–2026first – last mentioned
80% recommend20% neutral
"Translation State" is a 2023 science fiction novel by Ann Leckie, set in the Imperial Radch universe. It follows three characters whose lives intersect as they deal with the mystery of a missing Presger Translator, exploring themes of identity and belonging.
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My favourite SF book this year was "Translation State" by Ann Leckie. It is set in the Imperial Radch world so having read the Ancillary trilogy is useful but not essential. I like it because it contains the strangest aliens (the Presger) that I have come…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗I enjoyed Translation State so much. It thought that Leckie got lost in the depths of Octavia Butler’s extra weird shit (and Xenogensis) and cross bred it with the political novel style of the Ancillary trilogy, and the result was…
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗…Sue Burke Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir Dragon's Egg by Robert L. Forward Solaris by Stanisław Lem The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Translation State by Ann Leckie Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds This is what sprang to mind as answering that sort of brief…
on “Sins of the Children (Adrian Tchaikovsky)” ↗…China Miéville book which won’t be out til the end of the year? I mean, it’ll probably be good, his stuff usually is. But I don’t think even reviewer copies have gone out yet? And while Ann Leckie’s Translation State is great, I think you pretty much have to read the Ancillary Whatever books first; otherwise it’ll just be baffling.
on “Every book recommended on the Odd Lots discord” ↗I put in Translation State by Anne Leckie and at first glance tye recommendations looked good. But at a deeper glance, what I was getting was "female scifi authors". Exclusively female. And as I scrolled down, the "scifi" part…
on “Show HN: See what readers who loved your favorite book/author also loved to read” ↗