A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) in In Between the Lines UT 2.0

Mar 19, 2024 Libby Green rated it it was amazing

This book is amazing. I’ve never read a book that checks the boxes like this one. Weird linguistic stuff, hell yeah. Pretentious poetry shit, God yes. SPACE POLITICS, there’s so much of that. Lesbianism, bureaucracy, the best prose AND verse. The list goes on. If you want to understand me, read this book; Martine wrote it for me.

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Jan 04, 2023 Tina rated it really liked it

great world-building with complex characters

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Dec 23, 2022 Harrison Jin rated it really liked it

In A Memory Called Empire, the themes of imperialism and globalization (galaxyification?) are masterfully portrayed within the context of an interstellar civilization. This book follows the story of a newly appointed ambassador, Mahit, who is sent into the capital of an Empire she has looked up to since childhood.

On a macro level, the story contains lots of political intrigue, espionage, and a murder mystery (that doesn't have the most satisfying resolution imo) as she navigates her responsibil In A Memory Called Empire, the themes of imperialism and globalization (galaxyification?) are masterfully portrayed within the context of an interstellar civilization. This book follows the story of a newly appointed ambassador, Mahit, who is sent into the capital of an Empire she has looked up to since childhood.

On a macro level, the story contains lots of political intrigue, espionage, and a murder mystery (that doesn't have the most satisfying resolution imo) as she navigates her responsibilities as a political ambassador. All of these elements were super fun, though I won't talk too much about them to avoid spoilers. Martine does do a great job of making me feel the tension and anxiety of living in an authoritarian state. On a micro level, Mahit's struggle to resolve her patriotism with her desire to fit in with the Empire's citizens was super interesting. As a second-generation immigrant, I can't say it all fully resonated with me, but I definitely related to a lot of the things that Mahit feels in regards to culture and sense of belonging. It's certainly a compelling commentary on cultural assimilation, and I think that after reading this book, I will have a lot more empathy and understanding for the perspectives of first-generation immigrants in America, or really anyone who is an outsider in any "in-group."

Something that annoys me about a lot of sci-fi books is that they have to do a lot of world-building by the nature of the genre, so the beginning of the story tends to be pretty boring. A Memory Called Empire does its best to avoid this trap, and I think it generally does succeed in progressing the story while also introducing new elements of the universe. One thing I did love about the pacing of the book is that the story seamlessly grows in scope from Mahit's personal conflicts/goals into the fate of the Empire and star system at large. Really excited to see how the scope will continue to grow in Book 2! Overall, the pacing of the book is quite good, though I will say there were definitely still parts in the beginning of the book that I was a little bored or confused as to the motivations of certain characters. I do think this is mostly unavoidable in space operas though, so I'm not too mad.

Mahit's character is developed pretty well, but most of the other characters don't really get too much "screen-time" to really feel like anything more than cartoon characters. Hopefully this changes more in book 2, but I can't say too much more without spoiling. The prose itself is generally really good and descriptive.

Those are my spoiler-free thoughts, spoilered thoughts below!! Overall this was a really fun read, especially in the back half of the book. I'm pretty sure this is the first sci-fi book I've ever read with a female protagonist, which is pretty dope (Mahit is a total girlboss). I will definitely be reading A Desolation Called Peace!

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The imago-machines were dope, and I think it's really cool how Mahit's struggle with her sense of self identity when combined with Yskandr parallels her internal conflicts about both wanting and not wanting to be Teixcalaanli.

I kinda wish that the murder mystery was resolved in a cooler way than the Minister of Science just admitting it, though I do understand the narrative effect of Mahit realizing that no one in the Palace cares that Yskandr was just straight up murdered.

Most of the characters were not that fleshed out. Even Three Seagrass, the character with the second most screen-time by far, just simps for Mahit for no discernible reason (is she just horny for Mahit???). Maybe she'll have more motivations revealed later, but it feels kinda weird to commit treason several times for an ambassador you've just met last week (especially if she loves Teixcalaan as much as the book tells me she does?). Also the whole romance thing did not really feel that organic, especially from Mahit's perspective. Maybe I'm just dense (actually I am) but I didn't really pick up on anything super flirtatious during the book despite Yskandr's comment on them flirting with each other from hour 0.

Kind of along the same lines, things just work out for Mahit a lot. Don't get me wrong, she is a total badass but she also does get kinda carried by convenience. Like Nineteen Adze suddenly changing her mind about assassinating Mahit (why tf would you touch an unknown plant KNOWING that your predecessor was murdered???), Twelve Azalea just happening to be a hobby scientist with black-market ties (and also simping for Mahit/Three Seagrass??). Also I'm surprised that Five Portico was able to do a perfect imago-machine neurosurgery operation with no consequences on her first try. Obviously I knew that the operation would be successful, but there weren't even really any short-term consequences for Mahit besides "Oh I'm tired." I can't imagine that literally implanting someone else's consciousness into your brain is as easy as plugging in a USB. And if Five Portico really is that CRACKED of a surgeon, how tf did Twelve Azalea get a same-day appointment with her? He got that rizz? Anyway, Twelve Azalea seemed to exist as a character just to drive the plot forward (stealing Yskandr's imago, giving them a place to crash, finding Five Portico), so I was only really sad when he died because Three Seagrass was sad (which Mahit didn't even realize that was the reason LOL).

Enough criticism though, the assassination attempts were dope, the politics were dope, the ending was DOPE. Definitely didn't expect Six Direction to sac himself, but it was an awesome way to end the story. The story as a whole was just super fun, felt a lot like a superhero origin story. Excited to read book 2 and learn more about the aliens, who the Sunlit really are, and why tf Heritage is evil.

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May 18, 2021 tillie hellman rated it it was amazing

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holy shit this was so good!!!!! it was unlike anything i’ve ever read and now i wanna read more like it?? it was just so fricken great so fricken great

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