Science Fiction

A Desolation Called Peace

A Desolation Called Peace

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-03-01 09:52:20
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Arkady Martine
  • ISBN：1250186471
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Summary

Now a USA Today bestseller！
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2021
Bookpage's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee for Best Science Fiction Book of 2021

"[An] all around brilliant space opera， I absolutely love it。"—Ann Leckie， on A Memory Called Empire

A Desolation Called Peace is the spectacular space opera sequel to Arkady Martine's genre-reinventing， Hugo Award-winning debut， A Memory Called Empire。

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space。 No one can communicate with it， no one can destroy it， and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options。

In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders， the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy。 Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity。

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war。 Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion。

Or it might create something far stranger 。 。 。

Also by Arkady Martine:
A Memory Called Empire

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Reviews

Macwolf01 [Elise] ，

Overall， I like this series。 I like the world building and different perspectives， but I find the naming number and things frustrating to keep track of， especially at the beginning。 I found this one a little too slow and drawn out， a slightly fast pace would have made the story more enjoyable。3 🌟

Greg West ，

3。5。I like the world。 It's heady stuff sometimes and it gets in the way for me。 You can tell the author is also an academic， I think。 Still， I'll continue to read the series。 3。5。I like the world。 It's heady stuff sometimes and it gets in the way for me。 You can tell the author is also an academic， I think。 Still， I'll continue to read the series。 。。。more

Gracemary Allen ，

absolutely devastated that this is only a duology。

Reuben ，

Unlike the first book， I was not too enthralled by the 2nd book of the duology。 The first book reads more of a murder mystery。 The second book reads more of action fiction。 The characters of the first book carries through to the second book， but i think the second book stands on its own

Cari ，

This was an amazing read。 The complicated politics， the well-rounded characters， the fast-paced plot and the intricate， meticulously thought world-building， all worked really well for me。 I am hoping this story is longer than a trilogy because* there is so much here， it would be sad to think we only have one more book left in this universe。 *Thank you Gio for clarifying this is in fact， the last book in a duology。 Well， it was a great ride and I hope Martine writes many more books。 She is an ama This was an amazing read。 The complicated politics， the well-rounded characters， the fast-paced plot and the intricate， meticulously thought world-building， all worked really well for me。 I am hoping this story is longer than a trilogy because* there is so much here， it would be sad to think we only have one more book left in this universe。 *Thank you Gio for clarifying this is in fact， the last book in a duology。 Well， it was a great ride and I hope Martine writes many more books。 She is an amazing author。 。。。more

Amy Mills ，

Very enjoyable continuation。 This time Mahit and 3 Seagrass wind up trying to negotiate with an incomprehensible alien species， while 8 Antidote starts to grow into his eventual role as emperor。 Fascinating alien ecology and psychology， though I saw one twist coming a mile off， even before the relevant character went down to the negotiation "table": （view spoiler）[20 Cicada， the practitioner of a religion all about "balance" winds up joining the alien hive mind （hide spoiler）]。Looking forward to Very enjoyable continuation。 This time Mahit and 3 Seagrass wind up trying to negotiate with an incomprehensible alien species， while 8 Antidote starts to grow into his eventual role as emperor。 Fascinating alien ecology and psychology， though I saw one twist coming a mile off， even before the relevant character went down to the negotiation "table": （view spoiler）[20 Cicada， the practitioner of a religion all about "balance" winds up joining the alien hive mind （hide spoiler）]。Looking forward to book 3。 。。。more

Hank ，

I enjoyed this one more， I liked the interactions with Mahit and Three Seagrass more and the fact that there was a sweeping space type story involved。 I still love all the Teixcalaan names and the politics were interesting， which is somewhat unusual for me。 Not a great deal to talk about but it was a pleasant， for fun read。

Matthew ，

i wrote a review yesterday， this is 2nd time this has happened， weird。

Essie ，

Wow， just wow。 “A Desolation Called Peace” by Arkady Martine is an amazing read。 The first book was really good， but this was even better！ Her characters are so good。 I especially loved two of the new ones （Twenty Cicada aka Swarm and Nine Hibiscus） and the way Eight Antidote got fleshed out in this book。 Like the first one， it’s a sci-fI political thriller， but the sequel adds a heavy dose of military space opera and a first-contact scenario very reminiscent of the movie Arrival。 There’s also a Wow， just wow。 “A Desolation Called Peace” by Arkady Martine is an amazing read。 The first book was really good， but this was even better！ Her characters are so good。 I especially loved two of the new ones （Twenty Cicada aka Swarm and Nine Hibiscus） and the way Eight Antidote got fleshed out in this book。 Like the first one， it’s a sci-fI political thriller， but the sequel adds a heavy dose of military space opera and a first-contact scenario very reminiscent of the movie Arrival。 There’s also a really good reason she included Stanislav Petrov in the dedication。 If you don’t know who that is， go look him up and learn about the little known incident which was arguably the closest humanity has ever come to nuclear war。 。。。more

Kt ，

A dang good completion of the story， though the first one could've also easily stood alone。 A dang good completion of the story， though the first one could've also easily stood alone。 。。。more

Sam Benson ，

I liked this better than the first in the series （how uncommon！）。 Though this book engages a bit more with the science and technology of its universe， the series continues to excel best and focus most on politics and power dynamics/hierarchies。

David ，

This was a satisfying continuation to the series and I hope to see more of it， though it wraps up so well I don't know if we should expect more stories in this series。 Compared to the first novel， I found it a little bit more enjoyable since it has a bit more external， overt conflict， while the A Memory of Empire was very much focused on Dzmare and the internal politics。 The introduction of the alien species， and how long and difficult it was to establish communications， was cleverly done in my This was a satisfying continuation to the series and I hope to see more of it， though it wraps up so well I don't know if we should expect more stories in this series。 Compared to the first novel， I found it a little bit more enjoyable since it has a bit more external， overt conflict， while the A Memory of Empire was very much focused on Dzmare and the internal politics。 The introduction of the alien species， and how long and difficult it was to establish communications， was cleverly done in my opinion and helps spread the tension throughout the novel。 And while there is political drama in the form of the various Ministries， it's balanced with the external war against the aliens。Check out my full review at https://strakul。blogspot。com/2022/02/。。。 。。。more

Andrea Ptak ，

DNF because I ended up reading The Books of Jacob （33 hours） and it was due back at the library。 I will pick it back up。

Cris ，

As I reached the middle of this book I was wowed。 Reads like this are what keeps me hooked on literature。 Such insightful conflicts， such complex and interesting characters， such creative imaginings of what it could be to be human and non human。 Martine made me feel the sheer joy of watching a masterfully written story blossom。 I wanted to stand up and cheer。

Siobhan ，

While I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I enjoyed its predecessor， Martine refuses to rest on her Hugo winning laurels， letting A Desolation Called Peace traverse new frontiers （literally， lol） while still asking a lot of interesting questions about empire， language， and who gets to be a person in the eyes of the state。 While I didn't enjoy this book quite as much as I enjoyed its predecessor， Martine refuses to rest on her Hugo winning laurels， letting A Desolation Called Peace traverse new frontiers （literally， lol） while still asking a lot of interesting questions about empire， language， and who gets to be a person in the eyes of the state。 。。。more

Jessica ，

4。5

Jennie ，

I loved this so much！

Michael ，

I enjoyed the read。 The book expanded on the characters from the first in the series and integrated new characters that I suspect will be the focus of the next book。It will be interesting to see what will transpire and what the author’s views are on the memory/hive connection。

Misti ，

DNF。 I wanted to like it， really I did。 The first book was interesting and i hoped for more character development in this one。But the first chapter was all politics and battles。 The second chapter looked more promising。。。a letter！ Maybe some character development？ But no。 More politics。

Florian Holzner ，

This was a ton of fun to read， and I enjoyed Mahit and Three Seagass' second adventure。 I still enjoy the setting a lot， and I enjoyed the developments in this book a lot。 Looking forward to a part three， hopefully。（view spoiler）[Aaah， mind control fungy that are somehow connected via vast distances。 （hide spoiler）] This was a ton of fun to read， and I enjoyed Mahit and Three Seagass' second adventure。 I still enjoy the setting a lot， and I enjoyed the developments in this book a lot。 Looking forward to a part three， hopefully。（view spoiler）[Aaah， mind control fungy that are somehow connected via vast distances。 （hide spoiler）] 。。。more

Jesse C ，

Just an exceptional conclusion to the duology。 In addition to the two spectacular main characters， the supporting characters are so incredibly well constructed， most specifically Three Antidote and Twenty Cicada， both of whom we end up spending a lot of time。 I thought the only real weak part of the book as the Lsel stuff: I understand that the intrigue there was important in pushing Mahit away from the station and generally just unmooring， but the motivations of the various leaders on the platf Just an exceptional conclusion to the duology。 In addition to the two spectacular main characters， the supporting characters are so incredibly well constructed， most specifically Three Antidote and Twenty Cicada， both of whom we end up spending a lot of time。 I thought the only real weak part of the book as the Lsel stuff: I understand that the intrigue there was important in pushing Mahit away from the station and generally just unmooring， but the motivations of the various leaders on the platform felt pretty cartoon villainy （and is that station is in a lot of trouble if that is the quality of thought among their supposed leaders）。 But that is such a small complaint and doesn't really take anything away from the glory of the novel。 。。。more

martha ，

When my 4yo is done inhaling some extra-sugary treat， she has this schtick where she turns to me with big wide eyes and a hopeful grin and goes "More？ More？ More？"More？ More？ More？？？ When my 4yo is done inhaling some extra-sugary treat， she has this schtick where she turns to me with big wide eyes and a hopeful grin and goes "More？ More？ More？"More？ More？ More？？？ 。。。more

Liz ，

The people just didn’t seem real in this。 Everyone was too suited to their roles， took to bizarre circumstances like it was an everyday occurrence， and just weren’t really interesting to me。 Clearly I’m missing something that others have seen。 Oh well。 （Also like they adapted to the aliens way too quickly and made some ridiculous assumptions that it doesn’t seem any actual advanced culture would。 Whatever。）

Glenn Loury ，

How broad is the definition of you？ Of self？ Of person？ And how can you discover it without peace？ And what does it do to a mind to discover there are others who define it differently， who hide among them， a chorus of 'you' singing in their head， countless memories tingling along their nerves down towards their fingertips？ How broad is the definition of you？ Of self？ Of person？ And how can you discover it without peace？ And what does it do to a mind to discover there are others who define it differently， who hide among them， a chorus of 'you' singing in their head， countless memories tingling along their nerves down towards their fingertips？ 。。。more

David ，

3。5 stars。 A more traditional science fiction story; I thought the first in the series was more novel。

Amalia Sanchez ，

4。5* Even better than book 1

S ，

The most perfect sequel I've ever read 😭😭😭 （I think I liked it even better than the first？？）I love all of her characters so much。 （More more more Eight Antidote， my precious smol boi plz。） Ending was not resolved enough for me， but I guess we're supposed to picture the future ourselves。 The most perfect sequel I've ever read 😭😭😭 （I think I liked it even better than the first？？）I love all of her characters so much。 （More more more Eight Antidote， my precious smol boi plz。） Ending was not resolved enough for me， but I guess we're supposed to picture the future ourselves。 。。。more

Kitsune ，

A Desolation Called Peace is Arkady Martine’s sequel to her Hugo Award-winning-， really-that-good-go-read-it-right-now sci-fi thriller A Memory Called Empire。 Set a few months after the ascension of Nineteen Adze’s ascension to the throne of the Jewel of the World， our story reunites Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass as they attempt to establish communications with a mysterious alien species that threatens both their worlds。I’m going to get my one， somewhat unfair criticism out of the way right of A Desolation Called Peace is Arkady Martine’s sequel to her Hugo Award-winning-， really-that-good-go-read-it-right-now sci-fi thriller A Memory Called Empire。 Set a few months after the ascension of Nineteen Adze’s ascension to the throne of the Jewel of the World， our story reunites Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass as they attempt to establish communications with a mysterious alien species that threatens both their worlds。I’m going to get my one， somewhat unfair criticism out of the way right off the back， which is that Desolation comes up just a little short against Memory。 In A Memory Called Empire， the reader was plunged head-first into the vast depths of Teixcalaanli imperial politics， and like its protagonist Mahit， was barely able to keep their head above water as reader and heroine alike attempted to unravel a complex political conspiracy。 Desolation’s plot is， somewhat invariably， a little more familiar。 The characters and the settings are known， and the elements we do explore more of – like the Fleet ships or Lsel Station itself – just couldn’t recreate that feeling of Mahit and Yskandr touching down on a Byzantine-Nahuatl world of wonder。The plot of Desolation is quite solid， though again， compared to the conspiratorial complexity of Memory， also a bit easier to follow。 A Teixcalaanli fleet is dispatched to establish contact with and/or destroy an alien civilization that appears to have a hive mind-like intelligence and may not comprehend the significance humans place on individual life。 （This is in many ways the same underlying dilemma as the Formics posed in Ender’s Game， except without the ethical subtext being buried beneath juvenile war games。） As soon as all the pieces are on the board you can probably imagine how the game is going to play out， but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable to read。The relationship between Mahit and Three Seagrass gets put much more front-and-center than it was in Memory， though Martine is damnedly determined not to make it easy for either of them。 I was caught off-guard by their relationship in Memory， and like I imagine most readers I was really channeling Captain Barbossa’s JUST KISS gif。 But， no， Martine makes it as exquisitely excruciating as possible。 Despite the two women being quite clearly in love with one another， there’s no handwaving away of the consent issues here， with the fundamental unequalness of their respective positions in society complicating… everything。 I’d be hard-pressed to think of another work that avoids the easy fanservice in favor of ethical nuance。The foundation of the themes of alienation and belonging， laid in Memory， get built upon wonderfully here。 One of the things I loved most about Memory is the agonizing feeling of Outsider-ness that Mahit is never able to shake。 No matter how fluent her Teixcalaanli is， no matter what services to the Empire she renders， she will， on some level， always be a barbarian to their minds。 The alienation is compounded in Desolation when her place in her homeland， Lsel Station， is jeopardized through her own entanglements with the Empire， risking leaving her truly adrift。 As a sci-fi proxy for the sense of displacement and unbelonging experienced by so many migrants the world over， one could do much worse。I’d probably only recommend this if you’ve already read Memory and want more of that world （indeed， I am desperately hoping that these two books will grow into a trilogy）。 But a worthy successor to the themes of the first installment。And finally， Nineteen Adze – She Whose Gracious Presence Illuminates the Room Like the Edgeshine of a Knife - continues to be an amazing case of why we need to bring back personal epithets， in addition to all-around badass。 。。。more

Mindy McAdams ，

Like the author's previous book， A Memory Called Empire， we are with Mahit of Lsel Station and Three Seagrass of Teixcalaan in a universe where Teixcalaan has ruled and dominated many planets and space stations for thousands of years。 Now the encroachments of a previously unknown alien race， attacking Teixcalaan worlds， has brought the fleet to the edge of the empire to fight back — or to make peace。 The aliens prove particularly difficult to communicate with， for reasons that are central to the Like the author's previous book， A Memory Called Empire， we are with Mahit of Lsel Station and Three Seagrass of Teixcalaan in a universe where Teixcalaan has ruled and dominated many planets and space stations for thousands of years。 Now the encroachments of a previously unknown alien race， attacking Teixcalaan worlds， has brought the fleet to the edge of the empire to fight back — or to make peace。 The aliens prove particularly difficult to communicate with， for reasons that are central to the plot。In addition to Mahit （an accomplished linguist and still-green ambassador） and Three Seagrass （a diplomat and ace negotiator）， we see a lot of 11-year-old Eight Antidote in this book。 He is the heir to the throne of Teixcalaan， marked to become emperor when he comes of age， and we met him in the previous book too。 Here his role is both more prominent and more vital， and I found him a delightful character。 I was always happy when it was time to be with him， back on the home planet， especially when he was acting as "a little spy。"Again author Arkady Martine has crafted a subtle and fascinating story about statecraft and betrayal， about war and the strategies of war， while keeping it very much a story about people — and in fact， it's even about what it is to be "a person，" which was just wonderful。 I hope there's a third book to come。。 。。。more

Damian Dubois ，

More， more， more please！

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Desolation Called Peace

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Desolation Called Peace&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Desolation Called Peace&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0