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sersi's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail
nhollie's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Xenophobia, Colonisation, Body horror, Violence, Vomit, and Medical content
Minor: Genocide
alexijai98's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Would be 5 stars but the ending slightly irked me
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Genocide, Medical content, War, Colonisation, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Sexual content
quarkie's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
As in the first book, a really interesting world and some thought-provoking takes on various concepts, but I was a bit distracted by what I thought to be less-than-stellar writing. I liked this one a bit more than the first one, but I think it was more due to the change in structure rather than a significant change in writing. Rather than the entire book told from a single point of view, this story was told from four distinct viewpoints. This helped avoid repetition of the same topic and thoughts that was present in the previous book, and also allowed readers to better follow the motivations of characters, since they had access to more internal monologues. It also allowed for readers to see characters' thought processes develop over the course of the book.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
One thing I really enjoyed was the pacing - while the beginning was s bit slow, the second half had me on the edge of my seat, and made it difficult to put down!
One complaint I have, that is similar to the previous book, is that sometimes plot points "just happened". Meaning that they either seemingly had no lead up to them, or that they happened and didn't actually have an effect on the plot. It left readers hanging in a few cases.
The main topics that I took away from reading this were what the concept of "you" means to various societies, which was explored in the previous book and then expanded even further upon here. It was also an interesting look at how a society that is know for consuming cultures through colonization acts when confronted with a (SPOILER ALERT) society that will much more literally consume them. Finally, this book explored more concretely the ways in which people from these various cultures interact with one another, and how they can be actively doing harm when they are in fact well-intentioned.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, War, Vomit, Murder, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Death, and Violence
Minor: Grief and Alcohol
michaelcattigan's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Genocide, Xenophobia, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Gore
gardens_and_dragons's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was a sequel that really delivered. The weaving stories of Mahit (and her indigo Yskandr) and the various Texcalaanlitzlim of this world was fascinating.
This book drew together a lot within its pages - predominantly it’s the story of first contact with aliens that the humans here cannot understand. It’s about trying to broker peace when the other side doesn’t see you even as a person because it cannot understand the way you communicate as language.
But this duology is also about colonization of the mind and heart, culture as it pertains to identity, what constitutes personhood, and sometimes how identity is informed by how wide your definition of “you” is. It’s also about loyalty, memory, political machinations, and the line between treason and doing the right thing.
Also, the prose is beautifully crafted. Each POV feels unique, the poetry of the prose itself, but also the poetics of how certain words and actions felt so purposeful and thematic… gosh Martine is an astounding writer.
If you are a fan of political sci-fi, this is a must read.
This book drew together a lot within its pages - predominantly it’s the story of first contact with aliens that the humans here cannot understand. It’s about trying to broker peace when the other side doesn’t see you even as a person because it cannot understand the way you communicate as language.
But this duology is also about colonization of the mind and heart, culture as it pertains to identity, what constitutes personhood, and sometimes how identity is informed by how wide your definition of “you” is. It’s also about loyalty, memory, political machinations, and the line between treason and doing the right thing.
Also, the prose is beautifully crafted. Each POV feels unique, the poetry of the prose itself, but also the poetics of how certain words and actions felt so purposeful and thematic… gosh Martine is an astounding writer.
If you are a fan of political sci-fi, this is a must read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Violence
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Genocide
nixwithapen's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, War, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content, Genocide, Gore, and Death
Minor: Suicide and Vomit
iam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
I already loved A Memory Called Empire, and I loved A Desolation Called Peace even more. It not only featured the same political intrigue and twisted machinations, but also an alien first contact storyline the likes of which I adore, and two new POV characters whose chapters I greatly enjoyed.
I especially liked Eight Antidote, the 11-year-old clone to the previous emperor. His chapters were a delight, though maybe not entirely realistic to the mind of such a young person. My suspension of disbelieve was however never broken, and his arc was just so much fun to read.
I also really liked Nine Hibiscus, the fleet captain, and Swarm, her second in command, was one of my new favourites.
But Mahit and Three Seagrass, too, had their moments, and I liked how their relationship developed.
The aliens and various technologies were all fascinating, and I really like the worldbuilding of this series.
I greatly enjoyed any direction the plot turned to, and I cannot wait for more of this series.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, death, anaphylaxis, violence, vomiting, trauma, exile, mentions of and plans to commit genocide.
I especially liked Eight Antidote, the 11-year-old clone to the previous emperor. His chapters were a delight, though maybe not entirely realistic to the mind of such a young person. My suspension of disbelieve was however never broken, and his arc was just so much fun to read.
I also really liked Nine Hibiscus, the fleet captain, and Swarm, her second in command, was one of my new favourites.
But Mahit and Three Seagrass, too, had their moments, and I liked how their relationship developed.
The aliens and various technologies were all fascinating, and I really like the worldbuilding of this series.
I greatly enjoyed any direction the plot turned to, and I cannot wait for more of this series.
Content warnings include: sex on-page, death, anaphylaxis, violence, vomiting, trauma, exile, mentions of and plans to commit genocide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Genocide
anaphylaxis, trauma, exilemadscientistcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Genocide
azlanm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-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
5.0
I'm going to need to stare into space for a bit and process the absolute perfection of this book... This is a space opera on a grand scale, with complex intrigue and worldbuilding. Arkady Martine explores the concept of "other" and the layers of colonialism and conquest within the genre of sci-fi.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide