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hanarama's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Stunning world building
- Multiple, opposing POV
- Complex characters
- POV changes unexpectedly within chapters
- A lot of set up, slow-paced
- First contact stories, eg. The Arrival
- Political Intrigue
- Gradually rising tension from multiple threats
- Non-humanoid aliens
Arkady Martine delivers a really powerful sequel to her excellent debut novel, A Memory Called Empire. The novel picks up about 2-3 months after the events of Memory. The conflicts with the newly discovered non-human aliens has escalated, with Mahit and Three Seagrass finding themselves at the center of the growing danger. Struggling with personal battles in addition to interplanetary ones, the two women must race to bridge the divide between their peoples and the aliens.
This novel expands many of the themes presented in Memory. Most notably, Martine continues to examine the effects of colonialism, both on the colonized and the colonizers. Through Three Seagrass and Mahit, she investigates to power imbalances of romantic relationships between individuals on either side. Martine lets her characters ask if two people in such a relationship can be equal partners, and what does it mean for the colonized partner. Can they ever really turn down the colonizer when their requests are so similar to demands?
Questions of what constitutes "You" and "We" and "Them" pervade all parts of this book. Asking readers to explore these concepts alongside the characters. Many different perspectives are presented through Martine's rich characters.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Sexual content, Blood, and Colonisation
bookishjd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Gore, Violence, and Grief
nullandvoidlibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual content
kamreadsandrecs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“If we are lucky” indeed. Sometimes we are. Sometimes we aren’t. But we try anyway, try to make ourselves understood to others – and to understand others, in turn. And when the desire to understand and to be understood in turn is genuine, borne from a true desire to comprehend, well— If language is what makes us human, then to know another, and to be known by another, is one of the greatest accomplishments of our species.
Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Ku
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
achingallover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, and Grief