A Memory Called Empire - a review

I finished reading A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine a couple of weeks ago and I’m still thinking about it. I was one of those books that once I started I couldn’t put down, and now I can’t wait for the sequel.

The book is science fiction, yet it didn’t feel that way--partly because of the detailed worldbuilding and partly because of the compelling characters. It reminded me of Shogun (which I read decades ago and loved, but the details of it are a bit blurry now).

The main character is from a remote space station that is independent yet on the edge of an expanding empire. She is chosen to be the station’s ambassador at the empire’s capital, replacing the previous ambassador who’s gone missing. Later she discovers the previous ambassador was murdered and she investigates. The story morphs through political intrigue, murder mystery and spy thriller with a very satisfying ending.

A star character in the novel is the Teixcalaan Empire and its capital where the events take place. It’s a delightful combination of both the high tech and ancient tradition. It is truly a scifi empire, complete with it’s citizens roaming around plugged into their devices and an omnipresent AI running the capital. Yet, they use ciphers based on trendy poetry. It’s a rich and complex world, made more so because the main character is enamoured with the culture even though they view her as a barbarian.

I really enjoyed the author’s writing style--which lead me to The Hydraulic Emperor, a short story, which is fantastic (and available here).