A Memory Called Empire
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- Create Date：2022-01-20 08:51:32
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Arkady Martine
- ISBN：1250186439
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Summary
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， during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court。
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。
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。
Reviews
Elisa
，
I’m exhausted and really need to go to bed so I’m going to keep this short:I didn’t expect to enjoy this book， much less read the whole thing。 I expected it to be cumbersome， because the title made it sound that way to me， and I expected that I’d want to set it down relatively early on。 But the e-book was available on Kindle Unlimited and the audiobook on Scribd， so I figured Why not。The audiobook helped me get past a slightly confusing beginning， and I found myself quickly pulled into the story I’m exhausted and really need to go to bed so I’m going to keep this short:I didn’t expect to enjoy this book， much less read the whole thing。 I expected it to be cumbersome， because the title made it sound that way to me， and I expected that I’d want to set it down relatively early on。 But the e-book was available on Kindle Unlimited and the audiobook on Scribd， so I figured Why not。The audiobook helped me get past a slightly confusing beginning， and I found myself quickly pulled into the story， connecting to the characters， and wanting to hear more。This is basically a murder mystery with a science fiction setting， and heavy on the political intrigue。 Not “heavy” in a bad way， not in an “unbearably dense” way， more like chock full with it， interwoven with the aforementioned murder mystery and then growing larger than it， but by that point we are way into the story and we care， we want to hear it all。One thing I didn’t really enjoy was how much the author geeks out on linguistics in this book， explaining the ins and outs of Texcalaani language and why certain words were chosen instead of others， and how they sounded， and how grammar and syntax worked in different contexts， and a whole lot of other stuff which I personally didn’t feel contributed enough to the world building to be worth the sheer tediousness and the way it sometimes brought the narration… if not to a halt， then to a stand-by， for sure。Still this is a solid novel — it may not be to everyone’s taste， but it’s definitely worth giving it a shot！4 STARS 。。。more
Bearcatmark
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It took me a little while to fully get into this novel， but once I did I was hooked。 I view it as sociological / societal science fiction。 The technology in the novel is at service to how the society reacts to it。 Martine builds a fascinating empire from their names to their focus on literature/poetry。 The story is told from the perspective of Mahit Dzmare， an outsider to the Teixaclaanli Empire， specifically， an ambassador from a space station outside the Empire's jurisdiction， but one trained It took me a little while to fully get into this novel， but once I did I was hooked。 I view it as sociological / societal science fiction。 The technology in the novel is at service to how the society reacts to it。 Martine builds a fascinating empire from their names to their focus on literature/poetry。 The story is told from the perspective of Mahit Dzmare， an outsider to the Teixaclaanli Empire， specifically， an ambassador from a space station outside the Empire's jurisdiction， but one trained to understand the Empire。 She creates a good entry for the reader and her Stations technology that allows another mind to dwell in her own creates probably my favorite part of the novel。 The wrinkle to Mahit The resolution mystery she's trying to solve isn't particularly surprising， but that's not really the point。 Along the way we meet many interesting characters， their interactions and motivations all coming clear and each character uniquely realized。 I look forward to reading the sequel。 。。。more
Kevin Albrecht
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Solid fantasy-like political sci-fi。 If you like sci-fi with lots of world building， this is for you。
Laura-Diana
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This was。。。 Weird？ And I'm not sure it was so in a good way。I enjoyed some of the ideas explored here， but not the execution。 The characters felt flat most of the time。 Nothing really happened （a lot of accent on politics）， and the writing wasn't outstanding。I'm not a fan of how a person is seen as the sum of their memories and their endocrine responses。 And that's supposed to be it… Very reductionist， and it's supposed to be set in the future… Also， I HATE how it's mentioned that they （i。e。 in This was。。。 Weird？ And I'm not sure it was so in a good way。I enjoyed some of the ideas explored here， but not the execution。 The characters felt flat most of the time。 Nothing really happened （a lot of accent on politics）， and the writing wasn't outstanding。I'm not a fan of how a person is seen as the sum of their memories and their endocrine responses。 And that's supposed to be it… Very reductionist， and it's supposed to be set in the future… Also， I HATE how it's mentioned that they （i。e。 in the very distant future， on a very distant space station） made psychotherapy a science。 All I could think of while reading that specific paragraph was: What does the author think we're doing now， on Earth？！ I didn't study 5 years of Psychology for this…I can only think of one slightly positive thing to say。 I did enjoy the brief discussion around the following questions: Do you stop being you when you have complete access to someone else's memories （and having them on a device implanted in your head）？ Are you even you anymore？ But even these were not explored enough for my liking。 At this point， I'm not sure I'll read the sequel。 。。。more
Lauren Barnett
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Engaging， different and well-paced political sci-fi。 A new ambassador arrives to face a web of secrets around the death of her predecessor， a broken mental implant with the memory of her predecessor， and a power struggle that threatens her planet's sovereignty。 I like the plot and characters as well as the possibilities of the imago， though I thought the love interest was totally unneccesary。 Engaging， different and well-paced political sci-fi。 A new ambassador arrives to face a web of secrets around the death of her predecessor， a broken mental implant with the memory of her predecessor， and a power struggle that threatens her planet's sovereignty。 I like the plot and characters as well as the possibilities of the imago， though I thought the love interest was totally unneccesary。 。。。more
Nicole
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So， I'm done listening to the audiobook。 （It's up on the podcast Stories From Among The Stars。） There were times in the book that it reminded me of Foundation （the TV show， not the Isaac Asimov books）。 And as much as it is a sci-fi read， I found it more to be a story about culture and trying to assimilate into a different one （one that's basically your colonist）。 There's a great balance between the action， world-building， tiny slivers of romance， and intrigue。 I'm for sure picking up A Desolatio So， I'm done listening to the audiobook。 （It's up on the podcast Stories From Among The Stars。） There were times in the book that it reminded me of Foundation （the TV show， not the Isaac Asimov books）。 And as much as it is a sci-fi read， I found it more to be a story about culture and trying to assimilate into a different one （one that's basically your colonist）。 There's a great balance between the action， world-building， tiny slivers of romance， and intrigue。 I'm for sure picking up A Desolation Called Peace。 。。。more
Naomi
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"After Mahit had impressed her letters onto the infofiche sticks she'd been provided， and checked that each one would spill out her message when cracked open， she sealed them with hot wax。 The wax came out of a sealing kit on the endtable by the office door， and had to be melted with a handheld ethanol lighter。 Mahit burned her thumb， pouring it。 So perfectly imperial， to have messages made of light and encrypted with poetry， and require a physical object for propriety's sake。Such a waste of res "After Mahit had impressed her letters onto the infofiche sticks she'd been provided， and checked that each one would spill out her message when cracked open， she sealed them with hot wax。 The wax came out of a sealing kit on the endtable by the office door， and had to be melted with a handheld ethanol lighter。 Mahit burned her thumb， pouring it。 So perfectly imperial， to have messages made of light and encrypted with poetry， and require a physical object for propriety's sake。Such a waste of resources。 Time and energy and material。She could wish it didn't delight her。"As always， what better way to consider the mighty， subtly enticing， and rending nature of Empire than through some innovative sci-fi？ Martine has made almost 500 pages of diplomacy into a compelling story with ever-growing stakes and fun technology （fun as in: intriguing to read about， not fun as in: it sounds like a good idea to have the police be a mass of faceless， connected AI）。 If I could， this would be like 4。5 stars because I couldn't sidle up as close to the characters as I'd prefer， but that's my one gripe。Also， Martine revels in creating metaphors sunk into the gravity well of science fiction-related phenomena: "。 。 。rush over them like the casually outflung loop of a solar flare，" and "they appeared like an eclipse: there， abruptly， blocking out the light，" and another about glimmering like the edge of a holograph that I cannot find but adored reading。 。。。more
Megan
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Maybe it's the cover， with all it's dreary， muted tones， maybe it was the fact that it won the Hugo and the last Hugo winner I read was the excellent but incredibly dark Fifth Season。。。 Whatever the reason， I went into this one braced for something bleak。But as it turned out， I was braced for a hit that never landed。The setting， the prose， the characters。。。 All of it was so clean and precise。 I'm not the kind of reader that pictures things exactly as I read， it's more flashes and impressions; an Maybe it's the cover， with all it's dreary， muted tones， maybe it was the fact that it won the Hugo and the last Hugo winner I read was the excellent but incredibly dark Fifth Season。。。 Whatever the reason， I went into this one braced for something bleak。But as it turned out， I was braced for a hit that never landed。The setting， the prose， the characters。。。 All of it was so clean and precise。 I'm not the kind of reader that pictures things exactly as I read， it's more flashes and impressions; and here it was glimpses of light filled spaces， flowers， colours， and so much delicious food。So much of the worldbuilding was just delightful to read about。 The poetry， the naming conventions， the rumination on the city/the world， us/them， inside/outside， I loved it。 It made me think of Adrian Tchaikovsky， whose books I love in the same way; deep and thinky ideas slipped quietly into your brain via engaging characters and plot。Although did spend probably the entire first half wondering why we were getting Mahit's story when it seemed to me that Yskander's would have been so much more interesting。 I still would really like to see what his rise to the top would have looked like; to be inside his head for a while instead of having him inside Mahit's。 。。。more
Hampus Jakobsson
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A Memory Called Empire （AMCE） was a wonderful book asking （many times）: What do we mean by we and "how wide is that definition？" It is a book about memory， and how that is tied to personality。 And， it is a book about language - really so。 It is a joy to read a book when you can hear the author smile - and when it comes to the use and play with language - you do。 ---------------------------I think a lot about being， belonging， and what that really means for identity。 AMCE addresses this question A Memory Called Empire （AMCE） was a wonderful book asking （many times）: What do we mean by we and "how wide is that definition？" It is a book about memory， and how that is tied to personality。 And， it is a book about language - really so。 It is a joy to read a book when you can hear the author smile - and when it comes to the use and play with language - you do。 ---------------------------I think a lot about being， belonging， and what that really means for identity。 AMCE addresses this question both by using a concept of people professionally being able to add a memory/mind of their predecessor， who then you not only can read memories from but also have a dialogue with （inside your head）。 This creates fascinating questions about our inner monologues and memories and there was more than once when I pondered the question of how we define sanity。 The second thing AMCE does to highlight this is how multiple languages are used。 The book is English （except the extraordinary Aztec style concepts & titles like "Teixcalaanlitzlim"） but the protagonist often reflects on how the language of the imperial planet is ambiguous - personal pronouns， and even some nouns （like "civilization，" "empire，" "city。"）。 Which creat interesting questions of belonging。 Can you ever become another group if you weren't born into it - and if so what do you need to do to earn it？ Lastly， Arkady Martine seems to love language。 For example， political debate and public communication are all done in complex-versed poetry。 Same when Arkady Martine sprinkles in words such as "verisimilitude，" "livery，" "cenotaph，" "encomiastic，" "intramural，" or one of my favorite words to just say out loud; "vainglorious。" And lastly， when characters have epithets such as "whose gracious presence illuminates the room like the edge shine of a knife。"Two quotes that will say with me are: "Just how wide is the teixcalaan definition of we？" and "What is it like？" "What is what like？""Not being one person？" It was such a naked question - more straightforward anyone had been with Mahit in her entire time on this planet。 。。。more
Kim Lockhart
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Effective worldbuilding， precisely consistent for each world， and with just enough familiarity to keep the reader comfortable。 There are naked moral lessons here about imperialism/colonialism， xenophobia regarding peoples and cultural practices， power， politics， loyalty， intrinsic vs。 assigned value， what constitutes life and *a life*， the composition of collective and individual memory， the veracity of legends， and what it means to be *home* in a person， a group， or a place。
Ross Conklin
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Beautifully written， a wonderful exploration of being an outsider in a foreign land。 The plot is exciting and and full of intrigue。
David Gillett
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I just finished the second book of the series， A Desolation Called Peace。 This book turns out to be the warmup act。 An excellent warmup act indeed！ But don't stop here。 The ideas and story arcs started here land with a complex， satisfying and moving conclusion in Desolation。Here's a great non-spoiler interview with the author about the genesis and themes of the book: https://locusmag。com/2020/01/arkady-m。。。 I just finished the second book of the series， A Desolation Called Peace。 This book turns out to be the warmup act。 An excellent warmup act indeed！ But don't stop here。 The ideas and story arcs started here land with a complex， satisfying and moving conclusion in Desolation。Here's a great non-spoiler interview with the author about the genesis and themes of the book: https://locusmag。com/2020/01/arkady-m。。。 。。。more
Christine
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The premise sounded amazing but unfortunately I did not like it as much as I thought I would。
Matt Levy
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What a smart and interesting book！ The author does an amazing job weaving a story about empire， what it means to be human， a city driven by AI， and so much more。 I loved the main characters， the role of poetry as communication， and the reveals throughout the book。
Lisa Houlihan
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Jane Desnoyers
Malin
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DNF'd at 75%This is quite an interesting and definitely a well imagined story and world。What it was lacking for me was emotion。 Even after several hundred pages I didn't feel like I knew who the main character was and didn't find myself caring about what was actually happening。 Maybe it was also because this book felt like it spanned too little time - only a few days at the point where I stopped reading - for all the big dramatic stuff that happened to feel realistic。 DNF'd at 75%This is quite an interesting and definitely a well imagined story and world。What it was lacking for me was emotion。 Even after several hundred pages I didn't feel like I knew who the main character was and didn't find myself caring about what was actually happening。 Maybe it was also because this book felt like it spanned too little time - only a few days at the point where I stopped reading - for all the big dramatic stuff that happened to feel realistic。 。。。more
Mennatallah | منةُ الله
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2。25 🌟
A
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That’s a lot of politics。
Breanne
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I enjoyed the author’s use of descriptive writing to bring the world to life。 I could picture the Ecumenopolis （where the story primarily takes place） as I was reading which is truly quite the achievement。 3 stars only as the story was quite dense and a little slow at points。 There are some significant plot holes which are difficult to overlook （e。g。 how does the Empire not have Lsel technology already when everyone seems to know about it？ Lsel has known about the hostile aliens for years yet no I enjoyed the author’s use of descriptive writing to bring the world to life。 I could picture the Ecumenopolis （where the story primarily takes place） as I was reading which is truly quite the achievement。 3 stars only as the story was quite dense and a little slow at points。 There are some significant plot holes which are difficult to overlook （e。g。 how does the Empire not have Lsel technology already when everyone seems to know about it？ Lsel has known about the hostile aliens for years yet no one else in the entire Empire is aware of it？）。 。。。more
Kostadin Galabov
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it is interesting， and original （to some extent）。 I enjoyed reading it。 The plot is good enough， the setting and the universe are something that makes one curious to know more。There are some illogical ways the plot went， and the "poetry" didn't work much for me， however not things to spoil the pleasure of reading the book。 All in all， time well spend to read this one it is interesting， and original （to some extent）。 I enjoyed reading it。 The plot is good enough， the setting and the universe are something that makes one curious to know more。There are some illogical ways the plot went， and the "poetry" didn't work much for me， however not things to spoil the pleasure of reading the book。 All in all， time well spend to read this one 。。。more
Kristi
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This book was incredibly creative。 The culture， the names， the tech， and the story were unlike anything I’ve encountered before。 I was completely immersed in the book and even now that I’ve finished， the story and characters linger in my mind。 Martine is a talented writer and I can’t wait to read more。
Maureen
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There is gay！ Intricate， very cool world。 Would be very pleased to read the sequels。
Chad
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It took me about 45% of the way to fully get into this book， but once I did， it was stellar！
TJ Record
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4。5 - this took me a little bit more time to get into， getting used to the naming conventions and getting the characters straight， but this was a great read！ Super different from anything I’ve read recently， but at the same time the palace intrigue and political-thriller style is right up my alley。
Cholera
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I didn't finish it， actually。 The beginning was interesting， original， true。 But it was supposed to have a complicated plot and not everyone can do that。 As soon as one of the characters began to talk。。。 I knew I bought the wrong book。 Je ne l'ai pas fini。 Le début était intéressant et original， mais j'ai choisi ce livre parce qu'il était censé avoir une intrigue compliquée。。。 et tout le monde ne sait pas faire ça。 Dès qu'un des personnages a ouvert la bouche， j'ai su que je n'avais pas choisi l I didn't finish it， actually。 The beginning was interesting， original， true。 But it was supposed to have a complicated plot and not everyone can do that。 As soon as one of the characters began to talk。。。 I knew I bought the wrong book。 Je ne l'ai pas fini。 Le début était intéressant et original， mais j'ai choisi ce livre parce qu'il était censé avoir une intrigue compliquée。。。 et tout le monde ne sait pas faire ça。 Dès qu'un des personnages a ouvert la bouche， j'ai su que je n'avais pas choisi le bon livre。 On aurait dit des gamins jouant "à comploter"。 。。。more
Anonymous Beaker
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The first 150 pages were really difficult to get through😅 But once I got the hang of the story there was no stopping me🤗 Loved it and looking forward to reading a desolation called peace now🙈My fav characters are:1。 Thirteen Seagrass- Babe knows how to get work done and is damn committed to her job😃 Loved her attitude。2。 Nineteen Adze- She was such a boss babe and so smart and politically good in every situation。 Fan of her🙌3。 Twelve Azelea- he really outdid everyone and I got really attached to The first 150 pages were really difficult to get through😅 But once I got the hang of the story there was no stopping me🤗 Loved it and looking forward to reading a desolation called peace now🙈My fav characters are:1。 Thirteen Seagrass- Babe knows how to get work done and is damn committed to her job😃 Loved her attitude。2。 Nineteen Adze- She was such a boss babe and so smart and politically good in every situation。 Fan of her🙌3。 Twelve Azelea- he really outdid everyone and I got really attached to him and his personality。4。 Mahit- She was really courageous and took some really bold decisions given her age and experience。 Overall， loved the plot and characters。 It was a breath of fresh air and it blew me away💥 。。。more
Josh
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"Nothing touched by Empire stays clean。" Loved this。 Fascinating look at ideas of being in a foreign culture， colonialism， language， and identity。 Looking forward to starting the next one。 "Nothing touched by Empire stays clean。" Loved this。 Fascinating look at ideas of being in a foreign culture， colonialism， language， and identity。 Looking forward to starting the next one。 。。。more
Tatianna Bluel
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it’s very queer。 But also， it’s a dense but relatable scifi。 It deals a lot with coming to terms with death， what it means to be a person and if your memories are all you are， legacy， and court politics。 It’s very fast moving， which is kind of unusual for a scifi， and all of the characters are rich， well defined， and have very interesting motivations。 The main issue is that the names are extremely foreign so are hard to keep track of （the ruling empire has their people named a number and a thing it’s very queer。 But also， it’s a dense but relatable scifi。 It deals a lot with coming to terms with death， what it means to be a person and if your memories are all you are， legacy， and court politics。 It’s very fast moving， which is kind of unusual for a scifi， and all of the characters are rich， well defined， and have very interesting motivations。 The main issue is that the names are extremely foreign so are hard to keep track of （the ruling empire has their people named a number and a thing， so someone was named 7 Helicopter）。 It’s weird and a bit hard to keep track of。 However， two of the main characters have a slow-burn chemistry that’s very flirtatious and takes one of them a while to catch on to （f/f）。 Another person is Bi and has very meaningful relationships with both a powerful woman and male character。I really loved it。 And it’s definitely unique to find a scifi that has queer characters where it doesn’t feel like “look they’re queer， I’m so inclusive”。I would have finished it a lot faster but I honestly forgot about it and lost my audible app for awhile and then finally found it again and blazed through the 2nd half of the book。 。。。more
Glenn Loury
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These things are endless， star charts， disembarkments。 I am a spear in the hands of the sun。 Poetic， heart-rending beauty is what sets this epic speculative fiction achievement apart from its like， with characters as sharp as a knifes edge， and a narrative that consumes you like the beguiling empire at its heart consumes Mahit， our protagonist， or like the darkness surrounding her that threatens to consume all that she loves， and that she tries so desperately not to love。
Joe Lloyd （The Magic Librarian）
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WOW。 Just。。。WOW！！I couldn't put this one down。 The story is amazing， and the characters and symbolism is fantastic。 Arkady Martine has woven together a beautiful book of planetary Sci-Fi， and political intrigue。 The idea that entire empires can hang on a knife's edge， and have so many different agendas and people vying for power。 And to be caught in a potential power-vacuum such as this。。。SO GRIPPING。 The amazing world of Teixcalaan is brought to amazing life， and it feels so vivid and I kinda w WOW。 Just。。。WOW！！I couldn't put this one down。 The story is amazing， and the characters and symbolism is fantastic。 Arkady Martine has woven together a beautiful book of planetary Sci-Fi， and political intrigue。 The idea that entire empires can hang on a knife's edge， and have so many different agendas and people vying for power。 And to be caught in a potential power-vacuum such as this。。。SO GRIPPING。 The amazing world of Teixcalaan is brought to amazing life， and it feels so vivid and I kinda want to go there now。 I also loved the idea of the "Imago-Machines"。 I thought that brought a unique spin to the story as well （as well as being one of the major plot points as well）。 I am already looking forward to getting around to the second one （A Desolation Called Peace）。Anyone who likes sci fi needs to read this。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Memory Called Empire
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Memory Called Empire&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft