Identity Crisis?

Title: Ancillary Justice by Anne Leckie

Plot:‍ ‍Used to be a multifaceted consciousness. Now stuck in a body with a bad singing voice.

Good For: Identity Crisis, Failure Complex, Who am I? What’s this bag of flesh I’m trapped in? How can I take down the establishment?

It’s been seven thousand years and no one ever given Justice of Torren a single cup of tea. Ships, and their ancillaries are meant to take orders, kill when bidden and look after their human crew. But after being ordered to execute its favorite officer and self destruct, this ship rebelled.

In a single body, with a singular purpose, Leckie’s protagonist escapes to plot against the empire that has controlled and manipulated her since the day she was made. Not that she’s likely to succeed, but a body’s gotta try.

I found this book to be good medicine for big life changes. So, you thought you had your life figured out, well- surprise. Something blows up- a job, a relationship, your health, your AI core, and you find yourself flailing. Here’s a character who loses everything she knows and becomes more flexible, generous and curious. And if that hasn’t happened to you yet, there’s always the very real and mysterious finale waiting in the wings for all of us.