A Memory Called Empire
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- Create Date：2021-03-31 14:15:43
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Arkady Martine
- ISBN：1529001595
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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
Henry Davis IV
，
Despite all of the awards and publicity surrounding this book， it is hardly a "space opera" and very much a political-bureaucratic "opera" with frequent unnecessary sexual allusions。 This author's character development is good along with her clear writing style。 It is a shame her narrative contains very little action and is filled with a lot of what equates to small talk which usually has little substance。 The fictional world this book creates is interesting which makes it even more of a shame t Despite all of the awards and publicity surrounding this book， it is hardly a "space opera" and very much a political-bureaucratic "opera" with frequent unnecessary sexual allusions。 This author's character development is good along with her clear writing style。 It is a shame her narrative contains very little action and is filled with a lot of what equates to small talk which usually has little substance。 The fictional world this book creates is interesting which makes it even more of a shame the main character obsesses over her own thoughts and feelings constantly instead of being used to develop the story in other ways。 I really think this book has been over-sold but it is a decent story which I recommend to mature readers who are interested in political intrigue and the dynamics of an imperial court。 。。。more
Morgan
，
loved it。 read this one in two long bursts and couldn't stop thinking about it in between。 you can tell this one was written by an urbanist - the attention to the city was fantastic。 also loved the emphasis on language， and what concepts could or could not be conveyed in the empire's language。 all around wonderful， excited for the next one loved it。 read this one in two long bursts and couldn't stop thinking about it in between。 you can tell this one was written by an urbanist - the attention to the city was fantastic。 also loved the emphasis on language， and what concepts could or could not be conveyed in the empire's language。 all around wonderful， excited for the next one 。。。more
Lorenzo
，
It took me a couple of chapters， but this book really grabbed me and never let go。 The world building is amazing， there are not a lot of characters， but the author takes the time to build those that we do meet into complex and layered characters。 I don't love starting series that are unfinished， but this was too good。 I already have the second book and am looking forward to starting it soon。 It took me a couple of chapters， but this book really grabbed me and never let go。 The world building is amazing， there are not a lot of characters， but the author takes the time to build those that we do meet into complex and layered characters。 I don't love starting series that are unfinished， but this was too good。 I already have the second book and am looking forward to starting it soon。 。。。more
Alli
，
Absolutely stunning。 An sci-fi epic that challenges and revels in the genre。
Aleshia
，
DNF @pg 244I've been reading this book for 3 months。 I didn't want to give up on it because it seems like so many people enjoy this。 It's a Hugo and Nebula awarding winning novel and written by an anthropologist。 She studies cultures for a living and wrote a space opera involving an alien culture she devised on her own （but I think is somewhat based on the Byzantine empire that she specializes in）。 I think she does a great job in this aspect; there's a lot of detail about the Teixcalaanli people DNF @pg 244I've been reading this book for 3 months。 I didn't want to give up on it because it seems like so many people enjoy this。 It's a Hugo and Nebula awarding winning novel and written by an anthropologist。 She studies cultures for a living and wrote a space opera involving an alien culture she devised on her own （but I think is somewhat based on the Byzantine empire that she specializes in）。 I think she does a great job in this aspect; there's a lot of detail about the Teixcalaanli people， from their naming conventions to their personal mannerisms。 It's also a political intrigue novel where an ambassador， Mahit Dzmare， travels to the Teixcalaanli Empire。 She soon discovers that her predecessor， Yskandr， has been murdered， and the discovery of this causes her imago to malfulction。 The imago is a "live memory" of her predecessor-- though it wasn't quite "up-to-date" with Yskandr's recent living memories， it was supposed to help her navigate the environment。 Now Mahit is alone and has to decide who to trust while she works to solve the murder and serve in her new role as ambassador。Look， I can even write something of a synopsis for this book！ I still know what's going on， even if it seemed like I wasn't actually able to follow it。 It makes me still question whether I should give it up， but if I am honest， I am just not enjoying this。 Maybe it's because I am not an anthropologist and I'm not enjoying the minute detail of Teixcalaanli culture， and all of the considerations that Mahit puts into presenting herself and appropriately responding to Teixcalaanli citizens。 Maybe I'm also not in a good place for political intrigue right now？ I don't know。 I do think I enjoy sci-fi that involves more science and less social science， so that could also be part of it。 （view spoiler）[Especially since the primary scientific instrument （the imago） fails within the first 40 pages of the book。 What is it like to have a living memory in your head？ （hide spoiler）]I'm not going to rate it because maybe one day I'll attempt to pick this one up again。 But I've been forcing myself to pick it up， and I am just not personally invested in what is going on in this story。 I can't force myself through this any more。 。。。more
Kaylie
，
I AM OBSESSED。 This book was so readable and so unique！ Reminded me of Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series， Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire， and Robert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities series in the combination of exploring civilization / colonialism / the politics of empire as a politely invited outsider。 Martine's voice is deeply personal， the humor and desperation of Mahit's voice bringing humanity to themes with galactic scope。 The characters are affecting and the world is utterly absorbi I AM OBSESSED。 This book was so readable and so unique！ Reminded me of Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series， Yoon Ha Lee's Machineries of Empire， and Robert Jackson Bennett's Divine Cities series in the combination of exploring civilization / colonialism / the politics of empire as a politely invited outsider。 Martine's voice is deeply personal， the humor and desperation of Mahit's voice bringing humanity to themes with galactic scope。 The characters are affecting and the world is utterly absorbing。 I need the next immediately。 。。。more
Sofia Rodriguez
，
Wow what a book。 To be honest， halfway through the book I was a bit bored。 The book is brilliantly written with a complicated plot， but a plot that didn’t intrigue me。 I can acknowledge its brilliance， but after reading this， I can confidently say political drama isn’t for me。 Not that the book didn’t have any action， but most of it was Mahit navigating Teixcalaanli， which as I said， didn’t engange me all of the time and I sometimes found myself confused。 So why am i giving it such a high of a r Wow what a book。 To be honest， halfway through the book I was a bit bored。 The book is brilliantly written with a complicated plot， but a plot that didn’t intrigue me。 I can acknowledge its brilliance， but after reading this， I can confidently say political drama isn’t for me。 Not that the book didn’t have any action， but most of it was Mahit navigating Teixcalaanli， which as I said， didn’t engange me all of the time and I sometimes found myself confused。 So why am i giving it such a high of a rating？ The book is beautifully written and the world building is very detailed。 Most of all， the ending was hauntingly beautiful。 *SPOILERS* Despite risking everything for both Teixcalaanli and Lsel， Mahit still has no place to go home。 After a fast paced end to the book， you feel the adrenaline leave Mahit’s body and the question: where does she belong now？ She just helped the secure the quasi-independence of her old home Lsel -whose leaders tried to sabotage her- by giving the inperial Teixcalaanli more power。 She does not belong in either worlds， and nothing expresses that more than her relationship with Three Seagrass。 I’m glad the two did not end up together。 Three Seagrass’ microagressions were too much， but summarized Teixcalaanli’s message to Mahit: no matter how much you love of us， you will never be one of us。 Final rating: 4 stars 。。。more
Casey （ish-i-ness）
，
Rounding up to five stars because 1） the ending was way better than I expected2） poetry used several times for political purpose 3） amazing discussion of the way language and culture， even imported culture， influence our personalities 4） in depth analysis of the complications of translating verb tense， idioms， and literary allusions between two very different cultures 5） unexpected exploration of the nervous and endocrine systems’ impact on personality and identity （yes really）6）sneaky romance e Rounding up to five stars because 1） the ending was way better than I expected2） poetry used several times for political purpose 3） amazing discussion of the way language and culture， even imported culture， influence our personalities 4） in depth analysis of the complications of translating verb tense， idioms， and literary allusions between two very different cultures 5） unexpected exploration of the nervous and endocrine systems’ impact on personality and identity （yes really）6）sneaky romance elements I didn’t see coming and， despite my general distaste for such， didn’t annoy me7） I could keep listening stuff but that seems sufficientI see some weaknesses here and there but with how elegantly all these elements come together and play important roles in a plot that delivers several exciting moments， I feel obligated to rate it highly。 I’ve really gotta get to the second one because there’s a few other things I didn’t mention that I definitely want to see explored。 。。。more
Rosie
，
Very thought-provoking book about an ambassador to an empire。 Raises questions about imperialism， colonialism， identity， collective memory。 Heavy on the power machinations， which is not my favorite trope。 I didn’t always enjoy reading it， but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great book！
elaine
，
very smart and very pretty。 there were points where i wondered if the book was TOO preoccupied with how smart and pretty it was， but i think it works because of mahit's paradoxical love of texicalaani culture， which is written in a way that is compelling enough to carry her character and provide apt context for the worldbuilding。 the focus on language and poetry is really beautiful， and i loved all the in-world details about texicalaani literary canon and appropriate poetic structures and how te very smart and very pretty。 there were points where i wondered if the book was TOO preoccupied with how smart and pretty it was， but i think it works because of mahit's paradoxical love of texicalaani culture， which is written in a way that is compelling enough to carry her character and provide apt context for the worldbuilding。 the focus on language and poetry is really beautiful， and i loved all the in-world details about texicalaani literary canon and appropriate poetic structures and how texicalaan is utterly obsessed with its own incorrigible conventions。i wish some of the side characters， particularly three seagrass and twelve azalea， had been given weightier motivations than just helping mahit do what she needed to do， but i did overall enjoy their interactions。 i also would have liked the romance to have more emotional stakes， but the mutual cleverness it's predicated on is cute and quippy to read。 yskander was a real highlight for me。 the way mahit grapples with their connected identity is one of the most interesting explorations of personhood i've come across， and i adored how all the minute connections between yskander and the emperor and all the political players are slowly unraveled。 。。。more
Jude
，
Really absorbing and fascinating world-building。 I struggled with the necessity of tell vs show for how that world was constructed， and how that slowed the pace of the story， but it culminated so beautifully。 I'm also grateful for a story free of gender and sexuality stereotypes and taboos。 Really absorbing and fascinating world-building。 I struggled with the necessity of tell vs show for how that world was constructed， and how that slowed the pace of the story， but it culminated so beautifully。 I'm also grateful for a story free of gender and sexuality stereotypes and taboos。 。。。more
Volodymyr Filichev
，
"Game of Thrones + Star Wars" they said。 Indeed it is in the best possible way！ "Game of Thrones + Star Wars" they said。 Indeed it is in the best possible way！ 。。。more
Shardblade
，
There were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed such as the world building and characters but some aspects of it that I thought held it back from being an amazing book。 I think the communication with the reader could have been better and the plot a little tighter， and while this can be classified as a space opera I don't think it can hold a candle to the likes of Dune and Hyperion as a quintessential science fiction book。 There were aspects of this book that I really enjoyed such as the world building and characters but some aspects of it that I thought held it back from being an amazing book。 I think the communication with the reader could have been better and the plot a little tighter， and while this can be classified as a space opera I don't think it can hold a candle to the likes of Dune and Hyperion as a quintessential science fiction book。 。。。more
Akil
，
Very interesting。 The ideas about empire， national identity， culture and what it means to love a culture that is not only not yours but is consuming you are all fantastic。 Found the plot to be a little weaker than supporting foundation - things moved too quickly。 Loved the characters though， excited to continue reading this series。
Emma
，
Phenomenal world and culture building including language and naming people！ The differences between the Stationers and the planet dwellers were very well thought out too。 I had to work quite hard to keep up and get in to this book， but it was well worth the pay off。
Oriana
，
In the deepest depths of this bleak lonely cold pandemic winter， somehow my brain uncurled from its frozen timeless blur and told me that I ought to read something altogether different from my well-defined literary diet of sharp and snarky essays， wide-ranging graphic memoirs， and zeitgeist-y literary fiction。 I haven't read hard sci-fi in truly more than a decade， but somehow it was this， recommended by a few people whose tastes I respect deeply， that I needed to get me through a stark frozen F In the deepest depths of this bleak lonely cold pandemic winter， somehow my brain uncurled from its frozen timeless blur and told me that I ought to read something altogether different from my well-defined literary diet of sharp and snarky essays， wide-ranging graphic memoirs， and zeitgeist-y literary fiction。 I haven't read hard sci-fi in truly more than a decade， but somehow it was this， recommended by a few people whose tastes I respect deeply， that I needed to get me through a stark frozen February。I can't even begin to express how thrilled I was by this book。 It's serious sci-fi， yes—filled with intricate space station hardware and detailed hierarchical planetary ruling systems and fantastical technological body enhancements—but beneath all that， in its beating heart， lies a palace intrigue mixed with a political thriller shot through with etymological embellishments resonant of the deeply explored cultural longing。 I don't know！ That's so many things， and yet it was so compelling and exciting and smart to read。 Arkady is extremely generous， both with her characters， whom she obviously loves， and with her readers， including those， like me， who require a bit of a firm hand while navigating such alien （pun intended maybe？） terrain。 She's constantly， gently reminding you who this person is that you haven't seen in 75 pages， or the many cascading motivations behind this governmental action， or the reverberating implications of this turn of （invented） phrase。 It's an absolute joy to read and a triumph to follow all of its complexities， and it was， frankly， quite cruel of my friends to tell me about this first in a trilogy when we are SO far from me being able to read the rest of the books。 Arkady please write faster！！！！！ 。。。more
Cameron
，
“What is the breadth of the definition of “you”？”4。7 stars， so so good！ Well developed and realized， fast paced and poetic。
Jeremy
，
I mean really， who doesn't love a good space opera？This is a killer science fiction debut。 Arkady Martine writes like a goddamn adult writing for other adults。 She spins out a stunningly imagined universe of machiavellian intrigue and factional infighting that feels appropriately baroque without being a tiresome series of info dumps。But this isn't merely 'House of Cards' or 'A Game of Thrones' in space。 Martine is interested in what it means to be defined both within and outside of the confines I mean really， who doesn't love a good space opera？This is a killer science fiction debut。 Arkady Martine writes like a goddamn adult writing for other adults。 She spins out a stunningly imagined universe of machiavellian intrigue and factional infighting that feels appropriately baroque without being a tiresome series of info dumps。But this isn't merely 'House of Cards' or 'A Game of Thrones' in space。 Martine is interested in what it means to be defined both within and outside of the confines of a massive superpower。 And of how privileged insiders and 'barbarians' from the fringe make sense of themselves and each other under the monolithic weight of those kinds of politics。In short， she takes the world she builds here seriously and sincerely， and her examinations of minds and aesthetics of these characters is deftly woven into the novels fun， realpolitik-tinged narrative。 Much like Ursula K。 Le Guin and Jeff Vandermeer， Martine isn't interested in humanizing the alien， but in showing what is fundamentally alien， or other， in humanity。 I can't wait to read what she does next， this is clearly the work of a talented， nuanced speculative fiction writer。 。。。more
Bookmarks and Bradley
，
DNF at 12%
Thaddeus
，
In this current golden age of SF / Fantasy， A Memory of Empire might be a perfect distillation of this amazing period。 Empire， identity， belonging （or not）， AI， threats from within and from without are all spun together with a set of characters that you actually care about。
Jill
，
A slow burn with over complicated words， but I loved it！
astaliegurec
，
The fact that Arkady Martine's 2019 novel "Teixcalaan， Book 1: Memory Called Empire， A" won a 2020 Hugo gives a really good indication that there's something very wrong with the world。 At the 30% point， I quit because nothing was happening except for politics and the pile of things making no sense just got too high to accept any longer。 In order of occurrence:- All place and people names are so confusingly named as to make it difficult to remember them （maybe that's why this pile won a Hugo）。- T The fact that Arkady Martine's 2019 novel "Teixcalaan， Book 1: Memory Called Empire， A" won a 2020 Hugo gives a really good indication that there's something very wrong with the world。 At the 30% point， I quit because nothing was happening except for politics and the pile of things making no sense just got too high to accept any longer。 In order of occurrence:- All place and people names are so confusingly named as to make it difficult to remember them （maybe that's why this pile won a Hugo）。- The protagonist is a new Ambassador。 She has no staff except for a single aide provided by the host city/nation/world/empire。 That's like an Ambassador showing up in the old Soviet Union and Stalin assigning a KGB officer as sole staff。- All communication has to go through that aide。 The Ambassador has NO communication device/facilities of her own。- The aide "encrypts" and "decrypts" all messages （apparently in her head） with a publicly known poem that everyone uses。- Even though information is gathered using computers， all communication is done by writing the messages onto hardware （with that fine encryption）， sealing the hardware with sealing wax， and putting the capsules into a basket for someone to pick up and hand deliver to the recipient's basket。- As the book's description says， the old Ambassador is dead。 When the new Ambassador shows up and finds that out， she doesn't do anything with the body。 She just leaves it， with its super secret technology， lying around in the host empire's morgue。 With that technology， the host empire would have every thought/action that the old Ambassador ever had/did （plus the same data back through his "line"）。 IOW， the Ambassador's "world" would be rotated into a piece of wood。- The old Ambassador's body has been sitting in the host empire's morgue for about three months。 Nobody has inspected the body or done an autopsy in that time。 But， just as the new Ambassador walks in the door， that's when they're talking about doing so。- Some guy （sorry， I can't remember the name because of the naming scheme） decides to examine the body and finds that technology。 Instead of taking some equivalent of an x-ray to the new Ambassador to ask about it， he personally visits her and sneaks her back into the morgue to look at it （where they play a little children's game to swap secrets）。 Again， she leaves it。- Supposedly， the old Ambassador's technology would be no good since it's been recording a dead person for 3 months。 So， we're supposed to believe that this super secret brain technology would continue recording and corrupt itself instead of noticing that its host was dead， shut itself down and wait for retrieval？- Supposedly， the old Ambassador said that his "world" would be stupid to not implant a new Ambassador with his recordings。 Yet， apparently， he hadn't gone back home to store a backup of that recording for 15 years。- Apparently， some knife woman （again， naming scheme） in the host empire knows about that super secret brain technology and expects the old Ambassador to reside in the new Ambassador。 But， she knows the old Ambassador hasn't been home to backup his recording in 15 years。- Host empire knife woman wants the new Ambassador to find out who authorized her "rush" entry paperwork。 Knife woman is a scary， powerful， high ranking person in her government。 Why doesn't she get the information？And， that's where I quit。 Thirty percent of the book and nothing has happened except for over a page worth's of things that make no sense。 I have no idea how this thing won any kind of award。 But， I'm rating it at a Bad 2 stars out of 5 （and I think I'm being generous）。 。。。more
Diane Gabriel
，
I found the tempo of this book a bit slow at first， to the point where I shelved it for a few weeks。 However， i found it increasingly interesting as the plot developed， and I was able to see better the shape of what Martine was doing with the concept of “we”。 If you enjoy psychology， and the psychosocial aspect of politics， you will enjoy this book。 It really plays with the idea of a female and male brain， and how that feeds into the mechanical aspect of a body- and personality。 Very neat and ne I found the tempo of this book a bit slow at first， to the point where I shelved it for a few weeks。 However， i found it increasingly interesting as the plot developed， and I was able to see better the shape of what Martine was doing with the concept of “we”。 If you enjoy psychology， and the psychosocial aspect of politics， you will enjoy this book。 It really plays with the idea of a female and male brain， and how that feeds into the mechanical aspect of a body- and personality。 Very neat and new concepts here。 Im excited to read her second book- which I was told is more about hive mind。 XD。 Check it out！ 。。。more
Thomas Keschl
，
Really deep world building and we'll pacedWorld building and pacing are a treat in this scifi book that feels so familiar and so strange at once。 A fantastic read。 Really deep world building and we'll pacedWorld building and pacing are a treat in this scifi book that feels so familiar and so strange at once。 A fantastic read。 。。。more
Jelena Milašinović
，
Utterly magnificent and utterly brilliant！
Cristian
，
Paiiii。。。 sfirsitul a salvat restul de 70% din carte。 Un fel de G。O。T。 in care tot sezonul se pregatesc de lupta si in ultimul episod chiar se razboiesc。Povestea e interesanta， ideile ok。 Dar vreo 70% din carte ne tot face introducerea si descrierea， toti stau sa se uite si sa se gindeasca la ceilalti， la peisaj， la eul interior。 Cam ca la telenovele cind se opreste imaginea pe un personaj， nu se intimpla nimic， dar e vocea personajului care spune chestii。Apoi， in ultima parte， cartea explodeaza Paiiii。。。 sfirsitul a salvat restul de 70% din carte。 Un fel de G。O。T。 in care tot sezonul se pregatesc de lupta si in ultimul episod chiar se razboiesc。Povestea e interesanta， ideile ok。 Dar vreo 70% din carte ne tot face introducerea si descrierea， toti stau sa se uite si sa se gindeasca la ceilalti， la peisaj， la eul interior。 Cam ca la telenovele cind se opreste imaginea pe un personaj， nu se intimpla nimic， dar e vocea personajului care spune chestii。Apoi， in ultima parte， cartea explodeaza in actiune si se intimpla chestii。Mai ciudate au fost numele personajelor， profesiilor si unor obiecte。Abia la sfirsitul cartii am vazut ca e un fel de dictionar cu nume si denumiri。Perla Zece， Porumb Noua， Briceag Opt， Elicopter Sase。。。citeva din numele personajelor。 Ezuazuacat， ikantos， ixplanatl - denumiri de functii sau profesii。 Noncirlig - google glass vr。 + foarte multa poezie。Per total inteleg ca s-a creat povestea unui sistem care are muuulti ani si denumirile nu mai pot sa fie asa simple， trebuie o prestanta， dar noncirligul si infofisa。。。 parca puteau sa fie cu nume mai actuale。Ce zic de fapt e ca pe linga povestea in sine mai sunt si alte lucruri care pot sa te apropie sau sa te departeze de firul actiunii。Partea cu “imago” – implementarea memoriei unei personae decedate in creierul unei persone， pare cunoscuta， dar pusa sub alta forma， cu problemele fizice， psihologice si etice care pot sa apara In Carbon Modificat e alta forma de transferare a memoriei in alt corp， tot sub forma de cip， Tradare Ancilara – alta forma de memorie/transferare/vizualizare。Mi-a placut， astept continuarile， mai ales in speranta ca urmatoarele carti sa fie ceva mai pline de actiune。 。。。more
boocia
，
this book really got away from me at the end; really just skimmed my way by the last 50 pages。 which is a shame because the themes of the confusing hybrid of imperialism and want felt really fresh and new， like going in an interesting direction。 complaints。 usually i slowly become inoculated to stylistic pet peeves as i get further into a book， but this one really mounted for me。 kinda that schlocky thing where all the characters talk the same and have the same sense of humor happened here。 i th this book really got away from me at the end; really just skimmed my way by the last 50 pages。 which is a shame because the themes of the confusing hybrid of imperialism and want felt really fresh and new， like going in an interesting direction。 complaints。 usually i slowly become inoculated to stylistic pet peeves as i get further into a book， but this one really mounted for me。 kinda that schlocky thing where all the characters talk the same and have the same sense of humor happened here。 i think that happens often in fiction， but i think it bothered me more because i did not also share in their style of speech/humor。 also big one for me was the aggressive use of italics - it was pretty much 3 words per page had to be emphasized， by the end of which i really saw as some sort of stylistic crutch to indicate to me to take things seriously or think the characters felt things especially keenly， instead of simply having more convincing writing or depiction。 don't really feel the need to get into it but I think a big thing for me was the character motivations were very unconvincing。 I feel like there was high court and political intrigue in theory， and in practice everyone was really nice and had very underdeveloped political motives。 toothlessness。 we're introduced to the ideas of insurrection against empire， on empirical conquest， and on the idea that there are different political factions within the empire; and no individual 'good character' seems to have any opinion on any of these hot button issues。 the turning point for me is when war is declared on Lsel; and somehow that does not elicit any repercussions to the Lsel Ambassador on Teixiclaan。 like， she is not put under arrest or under further surveillance， for some reason her cultural liaison is still her ally; she just sort of gets to run around？ there is also a plot point where she ends up evading Information Ministry spies with the help of her liaison， an employee of the information ministry， to go find a back alley doctor to help her with [scitech stuff here]。 when they get to the doctor we meet seemingly activist rebels who are suspicious of the government， but ？？ they're neutral ground or almost scary; we never get their motivations。 somehow， actively working against the government as an ambassador of a soon-to-be-invaded-entity does not involve engaging with any local rebellions or even asking what their politics are。 again， it just feels toothless; but also unrealistically toothless because all the characters are political figures and none of them have any articulated or in-depth political opinions。 so it just feels like shallow flowery court drama only， with the attempted gravitas of something more。 the tech was also pretty grating at times， which i think would have been really easy for me to wash down or integrate if it weren't for the above more ingrained worldbuilding discrepancies。 it felt really bad that this book sets up a central AI on this planet that monitors everything and controls transportation， and makes it clear everyone in society has 'cloudhooks' （aka google glass type things）， but even evasive techniques that //we currently use today for our cell phones// - like throwing them away？？ like turning them off？？- are not used consistently or rigorously when the protags do illegal things or plot against high-level government figures。 it drove me crazy that it's an open question on if the city police force， the Sunlit， are human or computer or android， even to the local citizens of the place， even to people 'in the know' （ie， the government officials that litter the plot）。 it felt bad that someone could sabotage a computer chip by scraping their especially sharpened fingernails over it in a way that it runs perfectly fine for 3 months and fails at a plot-specific critical moment。 and on and on。 i said above that i think one of the big ideas being explored here is falling in love with an invading， imperial cultural that is not your own and reckoning with that， and that that is an interesting idea to explore。 i think it didn't actually go anywhere here though。 i think the places it did go felt especially unrelatable in this current political climate。 the ambiguity of thinking of yourself as a barbarian and wanting to be civilized， while still knowing that this is propaganda， that this is empire at work; would have been an interesting resonance right？ like immigrant relations to america perhaps， like an investigation into soft power on the brain。 Mahit the protag is simply too nice to Teixcalaani culture for someone who grew up knowing its object is to conquer and to call other cultures barbaric。 it felt weird how surprised she seemed about her own sadness when she was faced with micro-aggressive reminders that she doesn't belong。 i expected a thicker skin or again， more cynicism， more survival instincts in a quasi-colonized person。 felt unrealistic ！！ overall this book felt like that thing where someone fell in love with a world and a 'vibe' and with their characters， and wrote from that place， without doing enough legwork to set up or introduce this world or characters to a reader and convince them to love it too。 and also again just not enough or maybe not the kind of political thought for what the set up of this book is！anyway i think this is probably fun and court intriguey but not to my taste！！ 。。。more
Tanya
，
I really enjoyed it。 It reminded me of Sagan’s Contact， thought better written。 Clever plot， intelligent and engaging characters。 The action/intellectualizing combo reminded of Contact， in that a spurt of action led to volumes of “intellectualizing。” They blended more in the last half， which increased the speed （not a judgement call， speed doesn’t necessarily equal “better”）。 Will read sequels for sure！ I want to watch the author’s style evolve！
junlee
，
Great book。
Sarah
，
1st book is brilliant。 2nd book tries to cram too much in。Lovely world， enticing characters， great concept。
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