Reviews with content warning for Suicide - A Memory Called Empire

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A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

87 reviews

quarkie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The major themes I took from this book were: an exploration of how cultures may differently define the "self", the feelings associated with accepting or rejecting a colonizing culture (as well as being accepted by or being rejected by that culture), and how quickly alliances and motivations can change based on changing circumstances and relationships.

What I liked: I thought the concepts of imago machines and a poetry-based political system were fascinating. I wanted to keep reading in order to find out more about the world. The characters were all written to be strong and individual.

What I didn't like: I'm not sure if it's because I wasn't paying close enough attention, but I found the plot to be a bit incoherent at times. I couldn't isolate the precise motivations of each character, as they seemed to be changing over time. Some plot points would come up, and then never come up again, or come up at a point where they no longer really matter since the situation had since changed. Maybe this was on purpose, to reflect the changing political circumstances, but it led to a slightly less-than-satisfying read. The main character kept coming back to two main points (her missing imago machine and her relationship with the Teixcalaani culture) so often that it felt a bit ham-fisted.

Overall, I think it's an interesting concept that could have been executed slightly better. Still a wholly worth-while read.

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existentialhell's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective tense fast-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

The horror and humanity of empire, and what loving it can do to its prey. And what the prey can do to the empire. Read it.

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peregrinwho's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

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malakelgindy's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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ha1yan's review against another edition

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mysterious 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

4.0

The science fiction worldbuilding was the highlight of A Memory Called Empire. I think some parts of the political tension dragged on for too long. It felt as if Arkady Martine introduces a variety of characters just for the purpose of throwing the reader off an otherwise simple mystery. I wish there were more non-political interactions between Mahit and Three Seagrass to build up their chemistry. Their romance took me by surprise! Characters are really important to me, and Mahit and Three Seagrass just didn't give me enough flavor. I found I wasn’t as invested in their dynamic as Yskandr and Nineteen Adze’s or even Three Seagrass and Twelve Azalea’s.

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madscientistcat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

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

5.0

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? No

4.5

A layered and complex space opera centered around a murder mystery. It explores inherited memories, the legacy of empire and lived experiences of those absorbed in it, and identity.

Honestly it was fantastic sci-fi regardless of the political machinations- the technology, world building and culture are fully fleshed out and you are able to be swept away as much as Mahit is with the Teixcalaanli empire, but also understand how it is terrible even if it beautiful.

I’ll give it a few days - might be a 5 star from me, but I think it falls just short because it does have some weird issues. One is with pacing in the middle.

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