A Memory Called Empire

, #1

eBook, 496 pages

English language

Published March 26, 2019 by Tor Books.

ISBN:
978-1-250-18645-4
Copied ISBN!
4 stars (28 reviews)

During a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court, Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident--or that Mahit might be next to die. Now Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion--all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret--one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life--or rescue it from annihilation

4 editions

Goodreads Review of A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

4 stars

This was a fantastic whirlwind of politics, intrigue, diplomacy wrapped in a vivid, unique setting. While some of the finer aspects of the book didn't quite land for me, I thought this was a great read and look forward to the next one.

In A Memory Called Empire, we follow Mahit, a resident of Lsel Station, a space station off in deep space; but that's not where the story takes place. You see, Mahit has been selected as the next ambassador to the Teixcalaanli Empire, a sprawling and powerful empire, influenced by Aztec culture. The previous ambassador, Yskander, has died under extremely mysterious circumstances, and while it is Mahit's mission to fulfill the role as ambassador, her secondary mission is to figure out what happened to him. And thankfully she has help from -- Yskander himself.. Well, an outdated version of him. On Lsel Station, residents utilize an extremely secretive …

A galactic-spanning empire, where the people are more important than the galaxy-spanning. Superb, personal, space opera.

5 stars

Blurbed by Ann Leckie and reminiscent of her. A brilliantly written story with an rich cast of very human characters, in the throes of a series of events that are at once in human and also very banal – superbly demonstrates how the shifting of empires is something that happens at a very human scale, not by demigods or titans, but by people.

An example of space opera in the vein of Leckie, and Dune. That was one aspect of it that I could have done with a little more of, though that's probably a mood and taste thing. The world building is done well, and weaves the epic and prosaic, the exotic and banal, deftly, and with grace. There's plenty around the edges to make you feel that things extend much further than shown.

Empire and poetry

4 stars

This was a very unique and original story. The author did some really cool things with language that I really appreciated.

I love books that are critical of empire, and this book certainly falls into that camp.

I think perhaps the reason I'm giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because I'm an empathic reader and tend to absorb the mindset of the main characters of the book...Mahit (aka the main character in this book) spends a significant majority of this book feeling stranded, confused, and totally in the dark about what's actually going on. I think that was reflected also in my experience of the book. Perhaps that should be counted as a positive for the book rather than a negative, but...

Politics as war by other means

4 stars

What do you do when your homeland is in the path of an expanding empire, hungry to consume it and draw it into its embrace? That's the central question to this, and it tells a fascinating story of Mahit Dzamare, sent to the imperial capital as an ambassador to try to protect her home, but also to find out what happened to her predecessor. There's a lot of palace intrigue that she has to figure out, but also a wider set of political processes going on outside the confines of the court, and it's good to see a recognition of those political structures and movements in a book like this. Sometimes feels like there's too much going on - I haven't even touched on the Mahit's internal story, as she deals with an outdated copy of her predecessors mind within her own - but it all comes together in a …

Review of 'A Memory Called Empire' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

On of the best sci-fi novels I've read in some time. Accomplishes the stellar feat of making a story which takes part almost entirely within a single city feel like it has galaxy spanning consequences. Reads as much like medieval court intrigue as it does full on space opera, and is all the better for it.

The last big space opera I read was Saga of the Seven Suns, and while that is a huge story full of fantastic imagination, I enjoyed the writing style of this novel so much more.

Can't wait to read the followup, and hopefully many more to come. Bravo.

Review of 'A Memory Called Empire' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

3.5 stars, really. I wrote this long review and then managed to overwrite it, meh.

In any case, very interesting premise, if you like sci-fi with a bit of whodunnit mixed into it. It's a fascinating look at an old empire from an outsider, and all its intrigues. The sequel should mix things up a bit.

I didn't care for the poetry angles, but overall, would recommend.

The slow-burning love-child of House of Cards and The Expanse

4 stars

If I'm honest I first picked up this book because of the image on the cover but once I picked up the book I remained interested and the aesthetic remained pretty cool throughout and gave me vibes from the "Coup" and "The Resistance" board games.

The book really focuses in a lot on the political manoeuvrers of the central character Mahit and her allies (and enemies). There's a fair amount of political theatre and description of Mahit's internal monologue which reminded me of House of Cards. The world building meant that the plot does take a little while to really get going but once it does get going, there's a fair amount to be excited about. The last few chapters were pretty gripping and more reminiscent of something like The Expanse.

There is a lot of description of the culture and language used in the Teixcalaanli Empire which for me, …

Politics and spaceships

4 stars

What if, the Federation wasn't this big happy family and the humans weren't in charge but were only some minor part of some larger alien empire?

I enjoyed this book, it has a lot of politics; if you found the scenes in The Expanse around the earth parliament annoying, this book is not for you.

It also explains in an entertaining way how tricky being a Galatic Empire is, even (or perhaps because) you have the ships with the Big Guns.

It was entertaining

No rating

I experienced this as an enjoyable palace intrigue like some other reviewers, but I didn't really find it particularly insightful on "assimilation and language and the seduction and horror of empire" (quote taken from the author's acknowledgments section). It's an interesting world and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel, but I can't say my mind was blown.

Review of 'A Memory Called Empire' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher.

Arkady Martine dazzles in her debut novel, A Memory Called Empire. This is space opera the way it’s meant to be done—and that is really saying something for me. I tend to love space opera with starships and battles and tactical plans. None of that exists in A Memory Called Empire. Or, perhaps it would be better to say that such exists, but the viewpoint we’re given is quite different. If you love your sci-fi thoughtful, cerebral, but fun and with an engaging and excellent main character, this is the sci-fi novel for you.

One of the things I really loved about A Memory Called Empire is the way it deals with culture and identity. As you might expect for a novel with this sort of title, our main character, Mahit, finds herself an ambassador from a …

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Subjects

  • Science fiction.
  • Ambassadors -- Fiction.
  • Murder -- Fiction.
  • Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction.

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