Translation State is a powerful new novel by one of the masters of modern science fiction, Ann Leckie. It's a sweeping space adventure and a brilliant exploration of belonging and identity.

When Enae's grandmaman passes away, Enae inherits an unexpected diplomatic assignment to track down a fugitive missing for over 200 years. Although it seems to be an empty assignment meant to keep his occupied, Enae, who has never had a true purpose, is determined to succeed.

Reet, an adopted mechanic with a secret yearning to understand his identity, is approached by a political group claiming he has ties to a genetically mysterious, long-deceased family. Eager for answers, Reet is drawn into a deeper mystery.

Qven, a Presgr translator, has always known their path—learn human ways and serve as an intermediary between the dangerous alien Presgr and the human worlds. However, when Qven desires something different, a rebellion against their predetermined life begins.

As a Conclave of various species approaches and with a critical treaty at stake, the paths of Enae, Reet, and Qven collide, triggering a chain of events with far-reaching consequences across galaxies.

Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. It is an unflinching look at the surprising consequences of even our most well-intended actions, and an enthralling consideration of the human impulse to ensure our own survival.

A landslide has closed the Korowai Pass on New Zealand’s South Island, cutting off the town of Thorndike and leaving a sizable farm abandoned. The disaster has created an opportunity for Birnam Wood, an unregulated, sometimes-criminal, sometimes-philanthropic guerrilla gardening collective that plants crops wherever no one will notice. For years, the group has struggled to break even. Then Mira, Birnam Wood’s founder, stumbles on an answer: occupying the farm at Thorndike would mean a shot at solvency at last.

But Mira is not the only one interested in Thorndike. The enigmatic American billionaire Robert Lemoine has snatched it up to build his end-times bunker, or so he tells Mira when he catches her on the property. Intrigued by Mira and Birnam Wood, he makes them an offer that would set them up for the long term. But can they trust him? And, as their ideals and ideologies are tested, can they trust one another?