A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Reviewed By: Jeremy Zentner, Reference Assistant
Genre: Fantasy, Science Fiction
Suggested Age: Adults
What is This Book About? Mahit Dzmare is a new ambassador to the light of the universe. A massive urban planet that acts as capital for human civilization’s largest power, the Teixcalaanli Empire. Mahit represents a small republic, headquartered on Lsel Station, which is innovated in advanced technology, but small in numbers as their major space station only houses thirty-thousand citizens. The Teixcalaanli Empire is rife with military prowess and culture, but also plagued with political instability, riots, and terrorism. With military demagogues threatening to stage coups, the emperor is considering war with Lsel to focus the public’s attention and annex the mighty space station under Teixcalaanli rule. Mahit needs to figure out how her predecessor managed to hold off a Teixcalaanli invasion for decades prior. And how he died in the first place.
My Review: This was certainly an interesting space opera to read. With that said, it is also a very heavy read. It creates a culture as complex as Elf culture from Lord of the Rings and has a cloak and dagger plotline as seen in Dune and Dune Messiah. There are also some technological oddities that span the novel and offer great philosophical debate about the totality of civilization and technology. This book was extremely rich in detail and complex in the world building and culture building the author has invented. Based on some of the cultural nuances, I would imagine the author took a great deal of inspiration from Roman and Byzantine history (she is a historian of the Byzantium, after all.) With all that being said, the novel also has a thrilling twist that I did not see coming. If you enjoy richly-crafted space operas like Dune and Foundation, I would highly recommend this book.
Three Words that Describe this Book: sci-fi, space opera, political intrigue
Give This A Try if You Like… Dune, Dune Messiah, Foundation, Winter’s Orbit, The First Sister, The Collapsing Empire, The Lord of the Rings
Rating: 4/5
