A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine – Review

Published: March 26, 2019

Publisher: Tor Books

Series: Teixcalaan #1

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 462 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 3.0/5.0

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

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 Memory Called Empire is something I’ve wanted to read since I first saw the cover. I mean, the star feature is the sci-fi equivalent to the Iron Throne and I just couldn’t resist. And then the synopsis…. A murdered ambassador and deadly secrets? Say no more!

This book basically shoves you off a cliff into a convoluted alien culture which isn’t necessarily a negative. I like piecing things together as I read along and info dumps are rarely an elegant addition to any story, so in many ways this worked for me. The learning curve with this book was quite steep though and I can see that this probably won’t work for everyone.

For me the biggest thing that kept me from getting maximum enjoyment (a 5 star rating) was that it took me fully half of the book before I cared about the characters or the plot. I wasn’t tremendously invested in them and I pondered putting the book down and trying again later but I pushed onward. I’m really glad I continued because things really picked up in the latter half – THE PLOT THICKENED! I cared about what happened to the new ambassador Mahit Dzmare and her assistant/liason Three Seagrass. There was rebellion in the streets, attempted assassinations, and even illegal technological enhancements. I would say this book is in the category of slow-burners. Not everything starts off with a bang – good things can take time.

Overall, this was an intriguing and ambitious book with an exotic culture. The Teixcalaanli (how do I even pronounce this???) culture is one of poetry and power. The names were interesting – Three Seagrass, One Lightning, Six Helicopter… you kind of see where this goes. I didn’t love this book, but it was one that prodded the imagination and the city and people are subjects I would love to see in painting.