Radiant Star, by Ann Leckie

Radiant Star is a standalone Sci-Fi novel, set in the Imperial Radch universe, written by Ann Leckie, published by Orbit Books. A lower-stakes piece than the main series, transporting us to a sunless ice planet far from the imperial war, painting a really human story of tension rising across the planet exacerbated by the own consequences of the war, all through what could be defined as a choral play.

A set of intersecting stories told through the voice of an omniscient narrator, some time after, all with the shared background of an Ooioiaa where the tension is rising, partly around the Temporal Location of the Radiant Star and the new Radch edicts, and also with the supply crisis provoked after the Gates are closed (maybe a bit in the nose these days, if you ask me); we will follow characters from different strata of the society, from the own Radchaii governor, to an heir and his scheming wife, even an aspiring saint, whose goals will sometimes be intertwined or directly confronted by what becomes a really human story against a background of a general crisis.

The tone of this narrator is a middle ground between an academic focus and a more sardonic one, striving a good balance between drier passages that introduce the reader to the peculiarities of Ooioiaa, and those where you become totally invested into the luck of our characters. In particular, I found the Terque's family drama to be one of the best plotlines, especially seeing how many twists happened during the ascension to sainthood and how small details that were lined up previously end up playing pivotal roles to make it advance.

At the end, what we are reading is a story about how the own collapse of a bigger administrative unit can impact an obscure province; a crisis that starts to snowball until its totally out of control from the authorities and how the own people try to get the best out of those tumultuous moments with limited information. It also deserves a mention how Leckie continues subverting the classical use of pronouns and genders, showing a wider view of certain concepts while also enhancing that future society sensation.

Radiant Star is a brilliant standalone novel, a perfect novel if you are a veteran of the Imperial Radch series that is craving for more, or even a great entry point if it's your first foray into Leckie's bibliography; a superb story in all the senses!