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A review by mauricekofi
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? It's complicated
4.25
This was an honestly very good read. I will be honest, the first half doesn't necessarily drive the story, but remains engaging in it's political intrigue and rhetoric, and the necessary world building and clues that lend to when the mystery and action truly begins.
For a good part of the book, you will feel as confused as Mahit, as she attempts to understand the situation(s) she finds herself in without the aid that she was promised she would have. At first, this feels detrimental to the progress of the story, but upon finishing the story it's obvious that it's necessary that we the readers feel just as confused as Mahit does, to understand that truly she can trust very little people around her, nor can she have a full grasp of the situation until she receives her first concrete answers.
But the point of sci-fi stories are to impact an allegory, lesson, and story that informs us the reader of our current moment. Martine accomplishes this task using cultures and lifestyles so unlike our owns, removed by millennia because of European conquest and colonization, only to still impact those central themes in the discussion and progression of the story. The never-ending hunger of empires is something instantly recognizable in this story, and how they encroach on the sovereignty, economies, and cultures of independent nations only trying to survive. To put it plainly: the world you will be thrust in is not America or the West, but an age old empire that deserves to stand tall today, and still flawed by the same ambitions of our empires today. If there is nothing else you take from the story, take that central theme, and see how it extends into every little interaction, thought, action, and word described.
For a good part of the book, you will feel as confused as Mahit, as she attempts to understand the situation(s) she finds herself in without the aid that she was promised she would have. At first, this feels detrimental to the progress of the story, but upon finishing the story it's obvious that it's necessary that we the readers feel just as confused as Mahit does, to understand that truly she can trust very little people around her, nor can she have a full grasp of the situation until she receives her first concrete answers.
But the point of sci-fi stories are to impact an allegory, lesson, and story that informs us the reader of our current moment. Martine accomplishes this task using cultures and lifestyles so unlike our owns, removed by millennia because of European conquest and colonization, only to still impact those central themes in the discussion and progression of the story. The never-ending hunger of empires is something instantly recognizable in this story, and how they encroach on the sovereignty, economies, and cultures of independent nations only trying to survive. To put it plainly: the world you will be thrust in is not America or the West, but an age old empire that deserves to stand tall today, and still flawed by the same ambitions of our empires today. If there is nothing else you take from the story, take that central theme, and see how it extends into every little interaction, thought, action, and word described.