A review by illtakethenightshiftx
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

adventurous reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I absolutely loved the world building and new characters that were introduced in this novel, especially Eight Antidote. His insights were fresh and wise beyond his years. I found everyone’s individual story compelling and what their role is in this political war in alien space.

This novel expanded on the themes explored in A Memory Called Empire, but with ‘aliens,’ a first contact situation, and spies. I really enjoyed the first contact scenes and the subsequent events and fallout from various alliances and decisions made by characters both back in the City and on the spaceships. 

This series also explores hive minds, AI, and algorithms and how they run the City, which is something I find extremely interesting, especially since we live in an age where algorithms (and soon AI) control almost everything we come into contact with in digital spaces. 
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