Arkady Martine 2 Books Collection Set

Teixcalaan #1-2

by Arkady Martine

A Memory Called Empire
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.

A Desolation Called Peace
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.

Genres: Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Colin Webber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved these

[Hadrien Cornier · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this because it's supposed to be one of the best science fiction books if you just look at the awards it has won, but I hadn't read science fiction in a while, and my impression reading this was extremely negative. I actually felt like this book was so poorly written, so lazy, that I really finished it out of a sense of duty, of not wanting to leave it unfinished, but it was painful towards the end.

I think the main way I would characterize this is, we have not really world building, it's just an empire that likes poetry and flowers. It's the bare minimum. It's like the decor of a play. It's really just cardboard with nothing behind it. And if you compare this to other books that have won the awards, like The Left Hand of Darkness, the difference is stunning.

It tries to do the same thing as The Left Hand of Darkness by having some quotes at the beginning of chapters, but whereas The Left Hand of Darkness is creating actual world building with religious texts and songs and poems and fake historical books, this one is just like boring ship logs, and it's just extremely dumb documents that don't really add anything to the world.

Another thing that is stunning is, usually when you read science fiction there's more focus on the world building, because you know the author doesn't have time to both do world building and complex characters. However, in this case, not only is the world building lazy, but the characters themselves are all the exact same internal voice, copy paste. The characters are just a role. They don't have an independent conscience. They're not different from one another. They all think in the same cynical, pragmatic way that is extremely modern, to be honest, and it just feels like the author didn't even try to come up with different intentions or motivations. Not only that, but actually the characters speak out their motivation plainly, like they are reading a character sheet, instead of letting the reader infer what is happening. Whether the characters are after something, they just plainly state their motivations upfront. It's just so dumb. And then there are many contradictions. Even the plot itself doesn't hold. I mean, the fact that the ambassador Mahit is supposed to be a spy, and yet she does absolutely nothing of the sort. The only thing she does is just carry out her normal functions. Even the fact that this empire doesn't have this special technology, it doesn't make sense. I mean, the empire is just extremely large, and you know, probably has a million times more inhabitants. How does it make sense that it wouldn't be able to replicate this technology? That's not how technology works. And also the fact that somehow the emperor would be promised this technology, and then the previous ambassador dies, and you don't even try to copy what's inside his skull. That is just so dumb. It doesn't make any sense.

Not only that, but we're supposed to be in the future, and the characters don't even have like a cell phone. You know, in many scenes they have to send each other messages with like these letters. For instance, the emperor's son has to go to the spaceport with a letter instead of just using an email. It's just so dumb.

So at the end, you're just reading these copy paste characters with a frankly boring and uninteresting mindset that is all the same, that's just copy paste. They're all reading their stupid character sheets. And the decor? It's cardboard depth, empire that likes poetry. I mean, wow, this is really the bare minimum. It's just so mind boggling to me that this book can receive any award let alone the Hugo prize. I think it must mean that the process of awarding the prize is either extremely corrupted, or truly, this was the best book that year, and that is honestly concerning. I feel like I could've written a better book, and I'm not a writer at all. I wonder if this one won simply because it is popular and people are not really making up their mind in an honest way and simply trying to follow the crowd.

Awful

[jude st transis · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So much of who we are is what we remember and retell”

4 ⭑

A Memory Called Empire is, the first book in the Teixcalaan duology, when I picked up this book I never expected to like it this much, it was just that good. I instantly bought the second volume called A Desolation Called Peace, it was as good, maybe even better.
This science-fiction series is about remembering the pasts, legacy, colonialism, languages and so many other themes… I loved everything about the books and wished there was more to this series, the word-building is incredible and if you know me (I expect you don’t) you know i’m a sucker for good world-building and science-fiction I just couldn’t not love this series.
In these books we follow Mahit Dzarme, the main character from a small mining station, she’s the ambassador of her station and holds the legacy of other ambassadors. Once she arrives in the center of the Teixcalaanli Empire she meets Three Seagrass there, she is her liaison, her job is to follow Mahit and help her adapt to her new life, their relationship really expends as the series nears its end. Once on Teixcalaan she discovers the previous ambassador has died, begins the long search of trying to understand how and why he died and save her station from colonisation, which is her main mission.
The characters and their relationship are so interesting, they have real depth to them, their development is truly incredible with a touch of romance.
Arkady Martine’s writing is on point, it is so good I aspire to be as good to be honest, she tells her story with so much confidence it’s amazing..!
I could go on for hours trying to make you want to read this book but i am going to leave you the chance to experience it..!

[Sydney Ou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great plot! I love how the political dynamics and conspiracies make the whole story so fascinating. Coming from a small island that has been threatened by foreign powers for hundreds of years, our history makes the internal ambivalence of colonialism very familiar to me, also deeply understanding Mahit’s desires and her underlying self-hatred.
To be honest, I usually avoid spoilers before reading, so it was a wonderful surprise to discover the sapphic relationship between Mahit and Three Seagrass. I really loved how the author wrote the dynamic between these two women from completely different cultures. They have entirely different ways of thinking, and the gap in language and cultural norms feels almost impossible to cross no matter how hard they try, yet those very connections pull the entire story together.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some intrigue, espionage, empire building, foreign relations, and cultural assimilation all wrapped up in a science fiction duology. A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace took some cliché aspects for alien races that reminded me of a blend of several episodes of Star Trek (Next Generation) but alloyed them to a few interesting characters and dropped them into a plot (or pair of plots) that explore the machinations of diplomacy in such a singular way that took my focus off the clichés. The characters at the center of the story, Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass, did not win me over at first but as the plot progressed, I became more engrossed in their development. What really worked for me in these stories was the multiple perspectives on imperialism from different sides, the empire builders and those that are absorbed. I would recommend this duology to someone who prefers their sci-fi with a dose of allegory. (3.5/5)

[Laura Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read both of these books one after the other and enjoyed them. I use my own system to keep track of everything I have read and how much I enjoyed it. I pretty much only post on Goodreads if I liked a book. I don't see any reason to post criticism about books I did not enjoy. These were both surprisingly good books. I usually stick to Hugo and Nebula award winners, which mostly are enjoyable but not always. I have not heard of Arkady Martine before but I hope to hear more from this author.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐ A Desolation Called Peace
Wow, I really like Arkady Martine's lyrical, deep writing. A great space opera about empires, colonies, politics, first contact, language, belonging and relationships. Definitely going to search out more of her writings.

[Sarah Lump]

I loved the poetic texicalanitsims, the city, and the fungus

[Sunny · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best sci-fi books I've read!

[Tai · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent tale, with just delightfully poetic writing, a real gem.

[Zeko Madson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has it all: Galactic Politics, hot aliens, sketchy medical procedures. 10/10.

[Nate Sherwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

elevated gossip. catty and serious. real questions of what we delineate as civilized and un. i will be writing in italics for months.

[eliizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read for class. I didnt enjoy it.

[Chloe Persian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best epic sci-fi I've read in years, tense, philosophical, political, intriguing world building. Don't miss it.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

前段時間拖拖拉拉把第二部看完了，因為第二部加了太多新角色的視角，加上劇情總有種雷聲大雨點小的感覺。各種勾心鬥角後期看得有點頭暈，不排除是我很不會記人名的緣故（而且書裡帝國的人名系統跟現實差滿多的）。
但我還是滿喜歡這部作品的，尤其做為帝國邊陲的居民（喜歡中國文化的台灣人），真的好容易跟主角、也就是來自太空站的瑪熙特共情喔。邊陲小國努力保有自主性的掙扎，想到現在的狀況，讓我好想哭。
關於帝國、殖民、記憶的思考，內部與外部都有自我與他者的辯證；最喜歡的，其實還是這個世界完全的性別平等，更展示出多樣的親密關係，無論性別、年齡、階級、國族。
作者是拜占庭帝國研究學者，泰斯凱蘭帝國世界觀建構也相應的華麗細緻，反覆強調泰斯凱蘭語中「帝國」便等同「世界」，對應到東亞，大概便是所謂的「天下」。
最後，主角有戀愛劇情，是女同，讚。