 First edition cover | |
| Author | Ann Leckie |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | John Harris |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Orbit Books |
Publication date | September 26, 2017 |
| Media type | Print; ebook |
| Pages | 448 |
| ISBN | 978-0316388672 Hardcover |
Provenance is a 2017 science fiction novel by Ann Leckie. Although it is set in the same universe as her 2013 Ancillary Justice and its sequels, it is not itself a sequel. It is published by Orbit Books.
When Ingray Aughskold pays to have a convicted criminal released from prison, as part of a complex plot involving forgery and stolen antiquities, she rapidly finds herself drawn into a much more serious plot involving murder and angry aliens.
Early in the narrative there is a mention of the treaty, concluded at the end of Ancillary Mercy , between newly independent AI's and the mysterious alien Presger civilization. As well, a Radchaai character plays a role.
Kirkus Reviews praised the book as "more Leckie to love", and described its theme as "what binds children to their families", while noting that the title "Provenance" has multiple meanings – not only the provenance of antiquities, but also the question of "where people come from and how it made them what they are". [1] Publishers Weekly lauded its "charm and wit", but faulted it for not "quite hav(ing) the depth and richness Leckie fans might expect". [2]
At the Guardian , Adam Roberts considered the novel to be "intricately, if linearly and rather shallowly, plotted", with Ingray being a "likeable heroine, but not a terribly remarkable one", [3] while at National Public Radio, Genevieve Valentine described it as a cozy mystery that "makes (...) a fitting addition to the Ancillary world" (while conceding that Provenance's characters "do not possess the immediate power of Breq", the protagonist of the Ancillary novels). [4]
James Nicoll observed that the plot is largely driven by "angling for advantage in the next election", and compared it to the works of CJ Cherryh (albeit with "more transparent" prose and a protagonist who was "not chronically sleep-deprived"), and correctly predicted that it would be a nominee for the 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novel. [5]
The Gripping Hand is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1993. A sequel to their 1974 work The Mote in God's Eye, The Gripping Hand is, chronologically, the last novel to be set in the CoDominium universe. In the United Kingdom, it was released as The Moat around Murcheson's Eye.
The Laundry Files is a series of novels by British writer Charles Stross. They mix the genres of Lovecraftian horror, spy thriller, science fiction, and workplace humour. Their main character for the first five novels is "Bob Howard", a one-time I.T. consultant turned occult field agent. Howard is recruited to work for the Q-Division of SOE, otherwise known as "the Laundry", the British government agency which deals with occult threats. "Magic" is described as being a branch of applied computation (mathematics), therefore computers and equations are just as useful, and perhaps more potent, than classic spellbooks, pentagrams, and sigils for the purpose of influencing ancient powers and opening gates to other dimensions. These occult struggles happen largely out of view of the public, as the Laundry seeks to keep the methods for contacting such powers under wraps. There are also elements of dry humour and satirisation of bureaucracy.
Tea with the Black Dragon is a 1983 fantasy novel by American writer R. A. MacAvoy. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1983, the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1984, and the Locus Award for best first novel in 1984; it also earned MacAvoy the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. It also found a place in David Pringle's Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels (1988). It led to a sequel, Twisting the Rope.
A Real Basket Case is a mystery novel that was written by Beth Groundwater. The book, published by Five Star Publishing, was initially released on March 21, 2007. It was later re-published in large print in January 2008. The novel follows the story of protagonist Claire Hanover who sets out to discover the identity of her husband's killer.
Vicki Delany is a Canadian mystery novelist. She is the author of two mystery series, and a member of Crime Writers of Canada and Capital Crime Writers. Delany is a frequent panelist at mystery conferences such as Bouchercon and Malice Domestic in the United States and Bloody Words National Mystery Conference in Canada.
Alaya Dawn Johnson is an American writer of speculative fiction.
The Saga of Shadows is a trilogy of space opera novels written by Kevin J. Anderson. First announced in 2011, it is a sequel to Anderson's seven-book series, The Saga of Seven Suns (2002–2008). The first novel, The Dark Between the Stars, was released by Tor Books on June 3, 2014. The second book in the series, Blood of the Cosmos, was published on June 2, 2015. The third novel, called Eternity's Mind, was released on September 13, 2016.
Ann Leckie is an American author of science fiction and fantasy. Her 2013 debut novel Ancillary Justice, in part about artificial consciousness and gender-blindness, won the 2014 Hugo Award for "Best Novel", as well as the Nebula Award, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and the BSFA Award. The sequels, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy, each won the Locus Award and were nominated for the Nebula Award. Provenance, published in 2017, is also set in the Imperial Radch universe. Leckie's first fantasy novel, The Raven Tower, was published in February 2019.
Ancillary Justice is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in 2013. It is Leckie's debut novel and the first in her Imperial Radch space opera trilogy, followed by Ancillary Sword (2014) and Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel follows Breq—who is both the sole survivor of a starship destroyed by treachery and the vessel of that ship's artificial consciousness—as she seeks revenge against the ruler of her civilization. The cover art is by John Harris.
Ancillary Sword is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2014. It is the second novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with Ancillary Justice (2013) and ended with Ancillary Mercy (2015). The novel was generally well-received by critics, received the BSFA Award for Best Novel and the Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and was nominated for the Nebula and Hugo awards.
The Goblin Emperor is a 2014 fantasy novel written by the American author Sarah Monette under the pseudonym Katherine Addison. The novel received the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel and was nominated for the Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. It was well-received by critics, who noted the strength of the protagonist's characterization and, unusual for fantasy, the work's warm and understated tone.
Sharp Edges is a contemporary romance written by Jayne Ann Krentz. It was published in hardcover by Pocket Books in February 1998 and became Krentz's 20th consecutive novel on the New York Times Bestseller List.
Ancillary Mercy is a science fiction novel by the American writer Ann Leckie, published in October 2015. It is the final novel in Leckie's "Imperial Radch" space opera trilogy, which began with Ancillary Justice (2013) and was followed by Ancillary Sword (2014).
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is the 2014 debut science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, set in her fictional universe the Galactic Commons. Chambers originally self-published it via a Kickstarter campaign; it was subsequently re-published by Hodder & Stoughton.
A Closed and Common Orbit is a 2016 science fiction novel by Becky Chambers, published by Hodder and Stoughton. It is a sequel to her 2014 novel The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.
The Raven Tower is a 2019 fantasy novel by Ann Leckie. Her first fantasy novel, it is based on the story of Hamlet. The novel recounts the story of Mawat, a prince seeking to overthrow his usurper uncle and regain his rightful place as the servant of a local god. He is accompanied by Eolo, his loyal retainer. The story is told by a nature deity in both a first-person narrative and a second-person narrative.
A Memory Called Empire is a 2019 science fiction novel, the debut novel by Arkady Martine. It follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that underpin that society. The book won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
The Annals of the Heechee is a science fiction novel by the American writer Frederik Pohl, published in 1987 by Ballantine Books. It is about a dead space explorer's machine-stored version who is trying to discover why the Assassins, a mysterious type of pure energy beings, are threatening the stability of the universe. It is part of Pohl's Heechee Saga, which is about the Heechee, a fictional alien race created by Pohl. The Heechee developed advanced technologies, including interstellar space travel, but then disappeared.
Waypoint Kangaroo is a 2016 science fiction novel by Curtis C. Chen. It is Chen's debut novel, and was first published by Thomas Dunne Books.
Sylvia Haymon was a British writer of mystery fiction, autobiography, and other fiction and nonfiction. As an adult, she worked in public relations, broadcasting, journalism, and farming, and published nonfiction that included two childhood memoirs, a historical novel, biographies of Bonnie Prince Charlie and Monmouth, and a history of Norwich, her birthplace. Writing under the pseudonym S. T. Haymon, she became well-known for her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Ben Jurnet. She won the Crime Writers Association Silver Dagger Award in 1983 for Ritual Murder.
