Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - A Memory Called Empire

i had fun annotating this book, but i admit it caused me to finish this later than i initially planned. writing down my thoughts and guesses about the plot lines kept me invested in the story, most of the time, though i had trouble with the pacing and the court politics on some instances that i had to take breaks. the exploration of language, the tools, seduction, and horrors of empire, as well as mahit's inherent longing to belong in a civilization that was quite literally meant to alienate her, were impressively done—martine's passion about her book and the influences it was based on really seeped through the pages. excited to return to this world for the second book once i'm done rereading gtn and htn.

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bubblyfemme's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

This book perfectly satisfied my sci-fi craving. It had political intrigue, cool space tech, great characters, and the usual, but lovable sci-fi jargon (there is a glossary).
All this was mixed with some great representation, and pleasant prose, which made for a great comfort read.

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective 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

5.0

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE is a political drama sparked by a murder mystery which asks whether the safety of secrecy is worth its weight in blood.

Mahit is the main character but she's not only herself (at least, that's the plan). She's supposed to have a technologically-enabled memory of her predecessor, Yskandr, the most recent ambassador to Texicalaan. It's fifteen years out of date but she's making do until a plot thing happens and she's alone in her head for much of the narrative. As an ambassador she's trying to make choices which will preserve her people's way of life, but increasingly she finds that her predecessor may have had different aims and made other promises.

Mahit forms her own connections (especially but not only with Three Seagrass), but she also has to contend with the remnants of relationships formed by Yskandr. His death is the catalyst for her arrival, but she doesn't know what promises he made (or broke). I enjoyed the webs of politics so much partly because Three Seagrass and Mahit are able to communicate well about the structure of what certain moves matter. I love the rapport between Three Seagrass and Twelve Azalea, beginning with but not limited to their nicknames for each other ("Reed" and "Petal", respectively).

The worldbuilding is excellent, colored with small details about ordinary objects and spaces, specifically how Mahit relates to them. Mahit's outsider status provides ample opportunity for in-universe explanations, but her training before arriving in Teixcalaan means that she doesn't need explanations for the simple stuff which would bog down the narrative even if a genuinely new visitor might benefit from the tutorial. Much of the active worldbuilding is through discussions about language and culture, filtering other characters' explanations and descriptions through Mahit's background as a Stationer. I particularly enjoyed the ways that foods are described, since generally I recognize the foods, but her way of describing them excellently conveyed what they are even though she didn't have the terms or the specific cultural context in Teixcalaan.

The plot centers around a murder mystery of sorts and the politics of imperial succession. It's emboldened and complicated by the aims of an empire whose people think of themselves as the only ones who matter, and their uncertain language around describing others while still letting their very words recognize humans outside Teixcalaan as people. I enjoyed the mystery, the "murder" portion of the mystery is just one part of a very fascinating whole. Mahit and Three Seagrass are players in an ongoing conversation about what it means to be a person, and how the language one uses changes the thoughts they'll have. This plays out gradually, where the discussion is given room to breathe amidst the more hectic parts of the plot.

I love this and I'm planning to keep reading the series, this is an excellent start and I'm eager to see where it goes.

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criticalgayze's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

First, I appreciate the excellent audiobook narration from Amy Landon.

I found A Memory Called Empire to be a really enjoyable court intrigue story. Martine has done interesting things with the integration of language, like a heavier version of How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe. I also found all the characters incredibly enjoyable, especially with the aforementioned work by the audiobook narrator. This was a long audiobook that spread across a span of two weeks for me, so I'm having trouble forming solidified praise, but I do recommend this one.

The problems are small for me, but they did keep from a full appreciation of the novel. The biggest is the minimal world-building. I don't know if this is done to give us a connection to the in-over-my-head feeling of Mahit, the novel's narrator, as she tries to navigate the inner turmoil of the Teixcalaan empire, but the reader is left with little sense of the history that would lead to the kind of civil war the capital city is facing or the relationship of Mahit's Lsel Station to the empire. My other sticking point centers around poetry, which is a central motif of the story. I'm not sure if it would be more accessible an idea in print, but there seems to be too much description of poetry characters are writing and not enough of the poetry itself, which comes across as overly indulgent linguistic fascination on the part of the author.

A Memory Called Empire is an interesting and effortlessly Queer entry into the science fiction genre that has plenty of things to chew on in the current conversation on American imperialism.

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mlewis's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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hanz's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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