#34: Arkady Martine, A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1)

[kareila]

I picked this book up because I saw that it was well reviewed by several authors I have enjoyed recently, and I enjoyed it as well. It has the exotic flavor of foreign interstellar imperial culture, both admired and feared by the protagonist, mixed in with likable characters being clever and brave and cunning and loyal (yes, ALL four of the Hogwarts houses rolled into one), and figuring out how to manage multiple loyalties when they come into conflict. There are definite thematic similarities to the Imperial Radch trilogy, but with fewer soldiers and more poetry.

Briefly, without giving too much away: Mahit Dzmare is assigned to become the new ambassador from her independent space station to the Teixcalaani Empire. She discovers upon arrival that the previous ambassador has died under mysterious circumstances, so she can't trust anyone, and yet she must find allies within the imperial government in order to do her job. Just when she thinks she has uncovered the reason for her predecessor's fate, that's when the situation starts to get even more complicated.

Happily, this story does reach a satisfying conclusion while leaving room for further developments in a promised sequel. No cliffhangers here.

Comments

[kareila]

Tangentially: this is the second fantasy story I've read recently to use the word "queue" to refer to a hairstyle I've only ever heard described as "pulled back" or "in a ponytail". Both authors are American, but the internet results for "hair queue" only refer to Europeans and Asians. I thought it was odd.