A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine

A Memory Called Empire

By Arkady Martine

  • Release Date: 2019-03-26
  • Genre: Science Fiction
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 585 Ratings

Description

Winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel
A Locus, and Nebula Award nominee for 2019
A Best Book of 2019: Library Journal, Polygon, Den of Geek

An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A Guardian Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2019 and “Not the Booker Prize” Nominee
A Goodreads Biggest SFF Book of 2019 and Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee

"A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it."—Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice

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.

A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.

"The most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love."
—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky

And coming soon, the brilliant sequel, A Desolation Called Peace!

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Reviews

  • Epic story of empire & poetry

    5
    By Abbrown
    It's been a long time since I read a sci-fi novel that sucked me in and warmed me in its world. The protagonist, Mahit, is a young woman obsessed with the culture, language and poetry of the empire next door. She is swept up into being the amdassador for her tiny space station city-state after the incumbent dies, and is dropped, unprepared and alone into the politics and violence of a dynasty caught on the edge of succession and war. Love it! Sophisticated, compelling, fascinating and well balanced.
  • Streamline Artistry

    5
    By whybotthiig
    Somewhere close to a political thriller amid a well built galactic environment. It carries chaos that any action film would envy. The primary draw is without a doubt the world building that is laced so well into the story telling that it is not mere exposition. Instead you discover the world alongside the protagonist who like the reader is finding themselves in a new alien society, alien culture, searching desperately for answers understanding, allies, and even enemies. An exceptional look at self as individualistic, self as community, self as the transition between worlds. To say nothing on relations.
  • Exciting SF read!

    5
    By Littlelisa926
    A Memory Called Empire is a Hugo Award-winning space opera. Full of politics, secrets, and a desperate need to maintain diplomacy, A Memory Called Empire follows the story of Mahit Dzmare, an ambassador from the Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire. Mahit carries in her brain an imago machine that connects her with the memories, thoughts, and feelings of her predecessor. Her imago machine is not updated to the last known memories of her predecessor, and Mahit needs to navigate the world of Teixcalaan with limited knowledge. It’s hard to navigate a place where she isn’t a native speaker and there are many illusions and underlying references in speech and poetry. Mahit tries to avoid the fate of her predecessor from becoming her fate as well, tries to control the fate of Lsel Station from far away Teixcalaan, and she finds herself (and her predecessor) in the middle of a political struggle. The reader will never know from the beginning of the book exactly where this is going to lead. This is a very exciting read!
  • Decent…

    3
    By Bored23432
    The story was not bad. The prose was irritating to me at times, and that is quite possibly because of my age: there are italicized words ALL OVER THE STORY. Also, in an attempt to sound “stream-of-consciousness-like,” there are these incredibly long sentences with breaks and tangents and parenthetical sub-thoughts that make it seem like I’m reading what we believe a twenty-something OUGHT to sound like.
  • Well… I think there’s a story in there.

    3
    By soloteachertraveler
    I think this could’ve been a truly great book with a lot less words.
  • Award Winning Introduction to Teixcalaan

    5
    By Prairie_Dog
    “A Memory Called Empire” is the first book in the Teixcalaan Series by Arkady Martine. It’s a very well regarded work, having received the Hugo Award for best Novel in 2020, and was a 2019 Nebula Award Finalist. It’s a sweeping space opera, that focuses on the relationship between the independent Lysel Station, and the Teixcalaan Space Empire. The story follows Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from Lsel Station to the Teixcalaanli Empire, as she investigates the death of her predecessor. We see this complex colonial society through her eyes. She is a well-regarded “barbarian” who has always been fascinated by Teixcalaan literature and poetry. As soon as she lands, she meets her cultural liaison, Three Seagrass, who helps her navigate the complexities of Teixcalaan government and society. She soon finds herself in the midst of plots and schemes that will impact not only her, but the foundations of the empire itself. Needless to say, this is a great book, and an impressive start of a new series. The world-building is complex and unique. Definitely different than most space opera. Culture is key in this empire, and it draws the reader in as the story unfolds. Next in the series is “A Desolation Called Peace” which reportedly picks up the story shortly after the events of this novel.
  • From an Ancillary Justice fan

    4
    By ucvuucvu
    I’m a huge fan of Ancillary Justice and I picked up this book because it sounded up my alley. A Memory Called Empire has many wonderful attributes - its characters, setting, world, politics, cultures, and writing are all superb. However, and I don’t doubt that I could be missing something, I think there’s too many loose threads on the plot and too little thematic cohesion for my taste. There’s just so much stuff that it’s hard to connect it all thematically. This book gave me a lot of little ideas to chew on, but no big moral dilemmas or concepts that were given much depth.
  • Fascinating

    5
    By Aerostar700
    For a first book, this is what Sci-Fi ought to be. A complete civilisation, engrossing characters, a complette new scoial structure, down to the details. Reminds me of Dune, in a fashion. A must read.
  • Good.... Not Great

    3
    By striz88
    I read alot of Sci-fi & Fantasy. Was excited about this novel due to the hype. It’s a good novel, not ground breaking IMHO. I dig how the plot is established early & continues to sustain throughout the thread. The character dynamics are strong yet unsurprising as things evolve. Its a slow plod the first half, maybe even 2/3rds. Picks up substantially the last third, although the bigger story is in novels to come. Ultimately don’t regret reading it, yet not sure I’ll read Desolation Called Peace.
  • All engrossing

    5
    By Captain Yerger
    A thrilling read. Do not understand why this erudite writer does not use the subjunctive case when it should be.