A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Very, very good. Great concepts, excellent character development, great dialogues, humour, emotional depth…
“Ambassador Dzmare,“ he said, „welcome to the Jewel of the World. A pleasure.“
Mahit, a very green-behind-the-ears ambassador, comes to the capital of the empire that might have designs on her home, Lsel Station. This is what she yearned for, but it‘s not entirely what it was supposed to be. And things don‘t go as planned.
After the first two chapters this made me think of Ann Leckie‘s Imperial Radch and Cherryh‘s Foreigner. Loved the first, was bored silly by the second and never got past the first book. I am reconsidering that now.
I like Mahit and how this world is slowly revealed to her and the reader. The character building is excellent. The imago lines are a fascinating concept.
There is a lot more talking and showing than doing, which normally results in me not liking a book much. But this was excellent. It took me quite a while to get through this, because it was pretty dense, but in the end I truly loved it. I can‘t wait to find out what will happen to my new best friends in the next book, A Desolation Called Peace.
You can call me ThirtyOne Adaptation!
https://www.torforgeblog.com/2019/03/…
P.S.: This could be fun for poetry lovers. And Sarah Gailey, Ann Leckie and Martha Wells 5-starred it on Goodreads. High praise indeed. Recommended.
Author‘s website: https://www.arkadymartine.net
Review on Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/s…
And if you liked this, check out https://www.tor.com/2019/04/03/7-spac…
I received this free e-copy from Tor via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Cathy's Reading Bonanza 
4 thoughts on “Space Opera at its best”