A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace–Arkady Martine

I listened to both of these books over approximately the last month. They were riveting. The series seems complete but I would absolutely love to read another book in this universe. So interesting, so many ideas and thoughts.

The basics of the story is that there is a galactic empire, the Teixcalaan, and there is an independent station (Lsel… so weird to see that in print after only hearing the word) who is concerned about being annexed and subsumed into the empire. But there is a larger threat… ships are going missing, and no one understands why. Mahit Dzmare is the diplomat to the empire and Three Seagrass is assigned as her liaison. Mahit also has a secret… an imago machine which carries a copy of the personality of the previous diplomat. Political intrigue ensues. The first book takes place over approximately a week during an upheaval of the empire from without and within, and Mahit is caught up in the middle of it, along with the possibility of sabotage from her superiors at Lsel. The second book is several months later, out on the front lines of the war with the alien race who kills indiscriminately.

The worldbuilding was fantastic. Arkady Martine is a Byzantine scholar and her description of an empire seemingly past its prime (or certainly beginning to fall) is so interesting, especially in today’s political climate. But, while the story is of epic scale, the story is told from only about 5 POV characters and is quite intimate (in terms of feeling and the long slow setup for the relationship that finally happens between the two women.

I should probably read all the Nebula award winners from the last 20 years (the ones I haven’t read, anyway). Her debut and its sequel both won. Well deserved, in my opinion. this book series was why I read SF.