A Memory Called Empire

Paperback, 462 pages

English language

Published July 19, 2019

ISBN:
978-1-5290-0158-7
Copied ISBN!
Goodreads:
37794149

View on OpenLibrary

View on Inventaire

4 stars (196 reviews)

A Memory Called Empire is a 2019 science fiction novel, the debut novel by Arkady Martine. It follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor and the instabilities that underpin that society. The book won the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel.

3 editions

Intimate character story against the backdrop of a unique world

4 stars

Arkady sets the scene of massive interstellar machinations affected by a cast of brilliant and unique individuals. I listen casually so I'm not always current on the plot (maybe shouldn't be writing reviews) but the characters are multi-faceted, the world is deep and intriguing.

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 Well, an outdated version of him.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.

Super spannendes Worldbuilding

4 stars

… wirklich schön anzusehen. Die Unterschiede auch in der Betrachtung der Welt, zwischen denen, die auf einer Weltraumstation aufgewachsen sind und denen, die auf DEM Planeten aufwuchsen. Gute Charakterisierungen, tolles Namenssystem, das mir das Merken von Namen sehr erleichtert. Alle auf dem Planeten heißen $Zahl $Substantiv also bspw „Neunzehn Breitaxt“, „Sechs Vektor“, „Drei Seegras“. Die Zahlen haben manchmal auch Verbindungen zum Charakter oder Job der jeweiligen Personen — so viel einfacher zu merken für mich als irgendwelche random Fantasynamen wie „Ft‘anr Lobdart“ oder sowas. Ich mochte auch die Poesie-Obsession der Planetenbewohnenden, die ihre ganze Kultur formt. Hier hatte ich allerdings desöfteren das Gefühl, dass die Übersetzung ihr nicht gerecht wurde. Auch wunderte es mich sehr, dass die Menschen in dem Buch alle Männer oder Frauen waren und sehr sehr viel generisches Maskulinum genutzt wurde. Daher werde ich den 2. Band auf Englisch lesen zum Vergleich. An sich ist das 1. …

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...

A great mix of space opera and court intrigue, with an upbeat tone

No rating

A Memory Called Empire might be my favourite  book this year (so far). It took me a while to settle in to the naming conventions, and (as usual) I didn’t envisage the setting too clearly, but overall a great read.

Highlights included the undercurrents of political and diplomatic intrigue, and that uncertainty about whether anyone was genuinely trustworthy. (Or rather, which actors’ motivations happened to align with the main character’s, and which were maybe a bluff…) I enjoyed Mahit’s ongoing sense of being an outsider/other, how she used that role, and the challenges to her loyalties when she didn’t know what was going on.

There’s peril and injury and death, but the tone was generally upbeat. Perhaps that’s not terribly realistic, but since I’m not a fan of grim and gritty, it suited me just fine.

Highly recommended.

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'

5 stars

I don’t often give 5 star reviews, but I just can’t make myself give fewer. I fell in love with the characters, the universe. The book was engaging for the get go, but not too fast paced, just interesting. Great politics, looking forward to reading the next book and wishing the whole series was published already.

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, …

avatar for MarkWF

rated it

4 stars
avatar for zmagg

rated it

5 stars
avatar for whami

rated it

5 stars
avatar for LuisVilla

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Chickbeas

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Chickbeas

rated it

5 stars
avatar for rgibert

rated it

4 stars
avatar for wiebkehere

rated it

5 stars
avatar for otterlove

rated it

5 stars
avatar for RPhlegm

rated it

3 stars
avatar for TidePoolParty

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Fireblend

rated it

5 stars
avatar for kbg

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cwhitfield

rated it

5 stars
avatar for giantrobot

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Woordenaar

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bonzo22

rated it

4 stars
avatar for TimmyMac

rated it

5 stars
avatar for sacchan

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Adem

rated it

4 stars
avatar for emerssso

rated it

5 stars
avatar for tlj

rated it

5 stars
avatar for bachya

rated it

4 stars
avatar for WarmRegards

rated it

4 stars
avatar for chill

rated it

4 stars
avatar for dmbuchmann

rated it

3 stars
avatar for pophyn

rated it

4 stars
avatar for fjordic

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Xoriff

rated it

3 stars
avatar for ginkgo

rated it

4 stars
avatar for thekerker

rated it

5 stars
avatar for GrampaSiFiG

rated it

2 stars
avatar for samsterby

rated it

5 stars
avatar for gregorygandy

rated it

4 stars
avatar for chaos_angel

rated it

5 stars
avatar for neilernst

rated it

4 stars
avatar for rleyton

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Chad

rated it

2 stars
avatar for jshank

rated it

5 stars
avatar for flip

rated it

5 stars
avatar for MatthiasvW

rated it

4 stars
avatar for acdha

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Azuaron

rated it

4 stars
avatar for proycon

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jameswynn

rated it

4 stars
avatar for enoch

rated it

4 stars
avatar for haagen_daz

rated it

4 stars
avatar for inga-lovinde

rated it

4 stars
avatar for james

rated it

3 stars
avatar for Aardinkvis

rated it

5 stars
avatar for nonskanse

rated it

4 stars
avatar for luddite

rated it

4 stars
avatar for nithinbekal

rated it

4 stars
avatar for sir_diesalot

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Daylight

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Ulrich

rated it

4 stars
avatar for stim

rated it

2 stars
avatar for anaulin

rated it

5 stars
avatar for wakatara

rated it

3 stars
avatar for kataract

rated it

5 stars
avatar for bokaltoft

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Skitter

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Smoak

rated it

5 stars
avatar for judev

rated it

5 stars
avatar for knizer

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Old_Tim

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jennifilm

rated it

5 stars
avatar for joeyh

rated it

4 stars
avatar for mrkvm

rated it

4 stars
avatar for awboonstra

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Antolius

rated it

5 stars
avatar for broonie

rated it

5 stars
avatar for 73pctGeek

rated it

4 stars
avatar for MandolinDan

rated it

5 stars
avatar for betty

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Mignon

rated it

5 stars
avatar for cjhubbs

rated it

5 stars
avatar for susurros

rated it

3 stars
avatar for thatdarnpat

rated it

5 stars
avatar for ghostworld

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bwbeach

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Ivia

rated it

4 stars
avatar for perfischer

rated it

4 stars
avatar for LeadAnew

rated it

5 stars
avatar for sebastost

rated it

5 stars
avatar for mpmurawski

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Wyatt

rated it

2 stars
avatar for spiralmind

rated it

4 stars
avatar for claracd

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bombpersons

rated it

4 stars
avatar for slowline

rated it

3 stars
avatar for ManyRoads

rated it

1 star
avatar for AudientVoid

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Manzabar

rated it

4 stars
avatar for dx

rated it

3 stars
avatar for mellifera

rated it

5 stars
avatar for m4cb3th

rated it

3 stars
avatar for ascense

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jan75

rated it

2 stars
avatar for WarmRegards

rated it

4 stars
avatar for DejahEntendu

rated it

4 stars
avatar for cakester

rated it

3 stars
avatar for dev_tea

rated it

4 stars
avatar for jamesbrooks

rated it

3 stars
avatar for nostalgia

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Jaldert

rated it

4 stars
avatar for ChadGayle

rated it

3 stars
avatar for starstryke

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Bitboxer

rated it

4 stars
avatar for pneuma

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Rinn

rated it

5 stars
avatar for karlhungus

rated it

3 stars
avatar for piotr

rated it

4 stars
avatar for nwale

rated it

3 stars
avatar for rascalking

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Psvensson

rated it

5 stars
avatar for Shtakser

rated it

5 stars
avatar for daveb

rated it

4 stars
avatar for BillieCodes

rated it

4 stars
avatar for pdrbstmnt

rated it

3 stars
avatar for brzy

rated it

4 stars
avatar for bentreegecko

rated it

4 stars
avatar for recri

rated it

5 stars
avatar for fluxmind

rated it

5 stars
avatar for veganmashuu

rated it

4 stars
avatar for PineappleButtonUp

rated it

5 stars
avatar for faceleg

rated it

3 stars
avatar for kranzi

rated it

5 stars
avatar for agessaman

rated it

5 stars
avatar for jbaty

rated it

4 stars
avatar for Njdevils95

rated it

5 stars
avatar for cibertina

rated it

4 stars
avatar for namnatulco

rated it

5 stars
avatar for wyrdnis

rated it

5 stars
avatar for balise

rated it

5 stars
avatar for ellifteria

rated it

5 stars
avatar for nogoodnik

rated it

3 stars
avatar for joergr

rated it

5 stars
avatar for iyamwhoiyam

rated it

5 stars
avatar for sanjay_ankur@ramblingreaders.org

rated it

5 stars