She makes Teixcalaan a character in itself with world-building that matches the best of epic fantasy. Martine’s background in the history of the Byzantine Empire and in city planning form the foundation of what makes the setting her own. On her own in the land of a dominant culture that views her as a simple barbarian, Mahit must try to discover what has happened to Yskandr and how that fits into the growing threats within the Teixcalaanli Empire that could bring calamity to her station home.

Even worse, this imago of the younger Yskandr appears to be malfunctioning, going silent before integrating properly into Mahit’s psyche. The last backup of Yskandr’s mind occurred well in the past. However, the state of the imago technology she has received hinders her progress. Mahit eagerly begins her political service, propelled by a deep appreciation for Teixcalaanli art and expression. The station government appoints young Mahit Dzmare to replace him, sending her to Teixcalaan with a newly implanted imago of Yskandr’s memories according to traditional station practice. Yskandr Aghavn, Ambassador to the Teixcalaanli Empire from the independent, molybdenum-mining Lsel Station has died from unknown circumstances. While I liked Leckie’s Ancillary Justice, the narrative voice of Martine’s novel and the themes addressed through its plot resonated even stronger with me.Ī Memory Called Empire has a straightforward plot with an ocean of political intrigue and cultural analysis intricately mixing beneath its surface. Several others have also drawn comparisons to the more modern Imperial Radch novels by Anne Leckie. Martine takes the philosophical and political-historical intellect underlying the best of Asimov and refreshes the out-of-date social and cultural perspectives of his works.

I cannot fathom anything else coming this year to approach this level of achievement.Ĭompared to Paul, I’m not as broadly read in the genre, and I’m ashamed to say I still haven’t even read Dune! I did, however, grow up adoring the novels of Asimov, and the space opera setting of A Memory Called Empire immediately drew my thoughts to his linked series. Until now, I’ve never gotten to read a new release and think: This deserves to win all of the awards. Martine’s debut includes nearly all of the elements I would potentially look for in a great science fiction novel, balancing each of them to hit so many positive notes that I suspect other readers will find it just as elegantly captivating. But this novel is so notably brilliant that it’s worth fueling that hype with even more squee. Yes, Paul Weimer already delivered a ‘squee-tastic’ review of Arkady Martine’s debut novel, A Memory Called Empire, here earlier this week.

Arkady martine a memory called empire