Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - A Desolation Called Peace

I was hopeful that at some point in this series that Martine would address the colonization of the Teixcalaan in a meaningful way beyond poetic metaphor. They are absolutely colonized people who really do want to assimilate in whatever way is possible, but it's disappointing that Dzmare, as the main character, never really grows in this regard. At no point does she move past "I want to be accepted/understood/made human/etc. the colonizer" to anything more complicated, complex, or self-reflexive...which like, okay, I guess, but it is really the analytical and narrative reckoning this series needs to actually be the sharp novel it could be.

Content Warnings

keeper_of_dark_materials's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.75

I don't know if I like the way that Martine glorifies conquest through Mahit. She describes the Devouring Maw of Teixcalaan as though it's something beautiful and mostly ignores the fact that this is an empire that has brutally colonized large parts of the galaxy.

There's a quick explanation of "well they haven't had a war of conquest in hundreds of years", but that doesn't really matter to me when alien xenophobia is very obviously, deeply entrenched in their society.

Also, sp**k is a real racial slur and either Martine didn't think to check, or knew and used it anyway (like, a disturbing amount of times).

Still, I can appreciate that the main cast we're mostly in agreement that they should open dialogue with the new species before they try and wipe them off the face of the galaxy, and it actually works.

Overall solid read and a good expansion on the first book, but I think the major subjects that it covers were not discussed deeply enough.

Content Warnings

alexijai98's review

Go to review page

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

quarkie's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious reflective 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

5.0

A brilliant conclusion to this duology. Martine’s writing is so lyrical and precise, and Mahit and Three Seagrass’ relationship is so well written. I loved how the narrative explores imperialism through memory, language, and personhood. Will probably be thinking about this for a long time.

Content Warnings

michaelcattigan's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

gardens_and_dragons's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

peregrinwho's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging emotional reflective 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

4.25

Content Warnings

More...