Reviews

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

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lillieslibraryy's review against another edition

5.0

I don't think I'll ever read a better space opera. Arkady is such an amazing writer, I can't believe someone can come up with all of this.

Desolation expands upon the events of AMCE in the best way possible. We have the political intrigue, some romance, an alien invasion/war and all the stuff happening with Mahit and Yskandr. I don't think I can even put into words how much I love these books.

If you want a great political space opera the Teixcalaan books are a must read!

manuphoto's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Arkady Martine took a risk with this novel. She kept the framework of her first book, but decided to look outward instead of inward. Hence, we see a lot less of Teixcalaan but we are indeed treated to a story of war, espionage, first contact, and hot sex. Question is: does it work?

In one word: yes. The structure here is a lot more complex than in A Memory Called Empire. Instead of following ambassador Mahit most of the time, we follow her, Three Seagrass, the emperor, the heir to the empire, and a fleet captain. They alternate perspective regularly. Martine manages to make that effortless; I was never confused by the setting. I always knew which storyline I was following, who was guiding me, and what aspect of the story mattered at that juncture.

Despite this added complexity, I actually found the novel better structured than its predecessor. Everything felt tighter, more important. It didn’t suffer from the weird pacing issues that afflicted part of AMCE.

The plot itself is good, although the real focus of the story is in its characters. Yes, there are aliens, a first contact plot (quite well done too!), but we mostly care about what happens to our main protagonists. As for the rest of the known universe… we’ll see.

I can see that as being a bit off-putting for some readers who would like to know more about these aliens. To me, they are basically plot devices. They are neither really interesting nor original. I’ve read enough sci-fi by now to not be that easily wowed by strange aliens. I have to say that Martine did a good job in recognizing the difficulty of communicating with aliens. She acknowledged that the sheer concept of language ought to be different, and that establishing common ground should be difficult (looking at you Axiom’s End...). Despite this, it’s not the real focus of the story.

Also, the whole biological aspect, which becomes a major plot device in the middle of the book, just doesn’t work. It's barely an easy, TV-like scenario. It’s a minor gripe, but still, it can be distracting.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t go into details, but overall, I quite enjoyed this one despite the science in it being bad. It’d be a bigger issue if the book focused more on that, but it doesn’t, so it’s OK I guess. I was still happy to find out what would happen with the main characters and Teixcalaan (and to a lesser extent, Lsel Station). Martine’s prose made this very readable, something that we shouldn’t overlook. A solid if not stellar Hugo winner.

kmdll's review against another edition

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4.0

Another 4/5. Not by any fault of the story. I just couldn't immerse myself entirely in the story, but I nevertheless enjoyed listening to it.

I wasn't certain how the author would go about the story set on the war front, but I quite liked the result.

The new characters introduced had depth and we learned more about the ones from Memory Called Empire. I especially loved Eight Antidote. He was such a determined little thing and it was a joy to listen to his spying adventures.

Overall, the pacing was steady and I wasn't bored at any point. The aliens had promise, but I think they served their purpose without taking over the narrative.

I particularly enjoy the way the story has so many relationships between side characters that are profound and precious. Nineteen Adze and the Emperor Nine Direction. Yskandr with the Emperor and Nineteen Adze. Nine Hibiscus and Twenty Cicada. The ghost of Twelve Azalea haunting the narrative when Three Seagrass and Mahit were concerned.

The more I think about it, the fonder I am of these lovely books.

rhianne's review against another edition

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4.5

Living up to book one was a very big ask and I think it gets close but doesn't quite hit the mark - still an excellent book by all counts. Writing, characters, setting all great as expected.

I loved being in this universe and returning to these characters though the plot didn't quite grab me the same way book one did but I still devoured the book in one sitting - maybe being thrown off because I read the books back to back.

rainbowrachel's review against another edition

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challenging tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I did like this, but not as much as its predecessor.

I think this one tended more towards the literary SF end of the spectrum with stronger theming and deep thinky thoughts, whereas the first one had a stronger emotional core. My personal tastes mean I liked Memory Called Empire better, but I can easily see someone with different tastes going the other way. And ultimately, they are both good.