Still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire, which they played a big part in, Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass find themselves facing the task of trying to communicate with a hostile alien armada lurking on the edge of Teixcalaani space.

It’s not often I say this, but I enjoyed this book so much more than the first. A Memory Called Empire was quite difficult to follow at times, I think because it was setting the scene and introducing so many complex sci-fi elements, so the fact that all this was already established really helped when reading A Desolation Called Peace.

We follow lots of different threads, following different characters with conflicting agendas, but it is really well written so it’s clear throughout who we’re with and what’s happening. The plot flows smoothly across the different viewpoints, and I thought the political complexities were very well explained and, somehow, not at all boring.

I really enjoyed Mahit, Three Seagrass, and their relationship again, with all it’s complications. I also loved the increased role of Eight Antidote – he is a fantastic character and I felt really able to relate to his way of thinking as he learnt more about the state of politics in his empire.

There is a lot of detail in this duology, with interplanetary-relations, alien languages, space-age technology, intricate plotting, various character arcs and even a bit of romance.

It’s really, really good.

Having loved the first book in this duology, I was both excited and nervous to pick up this second and concluding book. Happily, it didn't disappoint and while I didn't love it quite as much as book one, I definitely loved the scope and broadening of the world. The interactions between Mahit and Three Seagrass never fail to delight and it was fascinating to see new characters introduced here that instantly took up residence in my heart (Swarm is a prime example. Overall, this has been a fantastic and incredibly thought provoking duology and I would recommend it to anyone with a love for space opera. Fabulous!
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Phenomenal! This was possibly even better than the first book. How does one come up with such a complex and creative world where every aspect of cultures and language and sociology are so wonderfully thought out and articulated? I wonder what my Texicalaan name would be.. this book has a more military focus where language and communication, first contact and diplomacy are paramount. Sci fi space opera at its best. Many thanks to Netgalley for an arc of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing the ARC of this book, in exchange for a review.

First, I have to say, that the lack of proper formatting in this ARC, was a real hinderance, slowed my reading down no end, and might have contributed to my diminished love for this sequel of [book:A Memory Called Empire|37794149]. I don't feel like I can complain too much, because I did get it for free and all, but still. It's a shame.

This book was quite a bit different than Teixcalaan #1. There were multiple POVs, which I did like, especially the Imperial Heir Eight Antidote's POV. We even got a POV of the dangerous aliens Teixcalaan was at war with, as well as the military captain and Three Seagrass and Mahit, the main characters from the first book. I enjoyed them all, but it might have served more to dilute the story than to move it along. (Not to mention that the lack of formatting did not show clearly when we were changing POV. Luckily, Arkady Martine did show us admirably. I still prefer to get a heads-up!) I did miss Nineteen Adze as a character though.

We got a little bit of Mahit's difficulty having a foot in both worlds, but I wish we had gotten more. I felt so seen.

Spoilers ahead, which I will put in spoiler tags, because I can't really talk about what I liked about this book without including some things it's best not to spoil. Just suffice it to say that I really enjoyed how Martine pulled all the various groups together at the end through a very unusual commonality.

<spoiler>And it tickled my fancy for linguistic/psychological aspects to stories. Each People (Stationers, Teixcalaanli pilots and Aliens) all use a form of collective consciousness, which was very cleverly exploited through out the story and is what pulls them all together in the end. I found this very pleasing. Even if the Aliens' form of collectivity in the form of fungi spores was a bit Ewww. I found it very interesting that despite the Teixcalaanlitzlim's distaste for the Stationers' imago-machines, they developed something, but a different technology, for their pilots to communicate and live inside one-anothers' heads.</spoiler>

I decided to rate it 4 stars, even if my experience with it was less than stellar. I will probably reread both of these one day when I'm at loose ends, because there is a richness that will bear it out.

DNF @ 50%

I always try my best to finish an ARC, even when I don’t necessarily enjoy it but I just could not bring myself to read any further. I struggled through the first book of this series but thought that by the end I would have grasped the world well enough to read the next book and enjoy it more. Alas, it seems like this series is just not my cup of tea.

I think what has always bothered me is the naming conventions in this book. I’ve read some strange science fiction books but the names in this just ripped me straight out of the story. It took so much concentration to keep up with who was who that I sometimes lost track of the story. The names are so ridiculous at times that I cannot take this book seriously. I thought that I would be used to it by now but it’s still bothering me.

The plot really starts to get going in this book which makes ‘A Memory Called Empire’ feel like a 500 page prologue to this book. I think I would have preferred it if the first contact plot was introduced from the beginning. I just feel like the war doesn’t seem serious enough and the book weirdly focuses on the petty squabbles between minor characters. All of the infighting is pointless in the eyes of this great enemy they’re supposedly fighting. Not that we really get a lot of exciting action sequences.

The writing was so clunky. I felt like the writing was the biggest reason why I disliked this book. I hated the add ons in parentheses at the end of sentences and the book is yet again filled with way too much introspection and dialogue. There was so little action and if the plot got exciting, it was over-explained and over thought out by one of the characters, making it boring and giving the reader nothing to think about.

I also feel like the tone was completely off. I didn’t feel any emotions that I was supposed to when reading. My mind was a blank and I felt so disconnected to all of the characters, except for Yskander who remains the only interesting character in the book.

Eight Antidote’s entire storyline felt a little bit unbelievable and he is given so much page time. I did not expect that and I did not want it either.

It was also strange to observe a culture that’s so invested in rank and manners, flout those ridiculous rules every chance they get. It made the world building feel inconsistent at times. I also think the book had way too much vomiting in it.

Unfortunately, the idea behind the hive mind enemy has been seen before countless times in science fiction and this was not a great example of it. Because the reader is aware of the enemy, it gets repetitive when the characters over-explain it again.

Ultimately, I just think that this series is personally not for me. I know that this series is very beloved by so many and has gotten critical acclaim. I just could not stand to read it any longer.

Following on from 2020's A Memory Called Empire, this is a sequel which is well worthy of its predecessor, picking up the various strands left hanging and following them to fascinating places.

This time, the action takes us away from the heart of the mighty and all-consuming Teixcalaanli empire to distant Lsel station and the space beyond where there lurks a mysterious alien force which threatens to overcome everything, rivaling the great cosmic imperialists in ravenous hunger.

Like the first book, Martine's world is more about politics and negotiation than action. Everyone has an agenda and most of the plot is given over to reader and characters alike trying to discern everyone's motives are. The novel risks getting tangled in complexity, yet our author manages to avoid the whole thing becoming convoluted while keeping the reader very much fascinated by the intrigue.

I loved the first book, so this one had a lot to live up to. Happily Mahit and Three Seagrass are back, though not in quite the same roles as before. Three Seagrass felt a bit more rebellious in this book and Mahit needed to get away from Lsel Station, having discovered some people there are not as they seemed. Though I admit getting on a ship to deal with a destructive alien could be seen as a bit extreme, it did work. Being on the ship in a completely unknown situation put Mahit and Three Seagrass to the test and I enjoyed watching them working together and dealing with the situation they had ended up in.

Although the ship and the impending alien threat is the focus of the story we do still get to spend time on Teixcalaan as well, and it is through this that we get to spend more time with the emperor’s clone and other government departments. While the first book felt mostly about Mahit and Yskandr, this one feels like it’s split between the action on the ship and the planet, seeing a lot more of Eight Antidote and his perspective on both his life and what is happening to his people. I felt his character was much more developed in this book and I liked that.

This book covers first contact with a new species, a bit more depth to how some of the government departments work and a bit of deceit, politics and manipulation. It also introduces us to a few new characters like the fabulous Twenty Cicada and Nine Hibiscus. This is an excellent follow on from the first book and, though I believe I will always slightly prefer book one, I really enjoyed this one. The description of everything was again excellent, I found it really easy to become immersed in both the scenes set in space and the ones on the planet. Splitting the story between on- and off-planet action has given the story a wider scope than I felt there was in the first book and it’s definitely widened the possibilities of what will happen in book 3.

I’m really looking forward to the third book, it’ll be interesting to see where it takes Mahit, Three Seagrass and, hopefully Eight Antidiote who has become a character I want see more of.

With thanks to Arkady Martine and Pan MacMillan for an advanced readers copy of this book.

"A sharp, ugly noise with the intimation of a headache inside it, that ended in a scream that had taste—a foul, oilslick, tongue-coating taste that made her nauseated."

This book is ultimately a tale of communication, with war, politics , and murder mystery all wrapped in.

An outstanding follow up to one of the best sci-fi books I've read in a long time! The first was the jewel that emerged from the Hugo awards and this sequel surppases the first.

First of all, if you happened to pick this one up without first reading A Memory Called Empire, then put it down and go looking for the first book. This one picks up more or less immediately after the first book finishes, featuring the same characters and continuing the same narrative arc. So you’ll probably flounder and given that the writing style is dense, layered and challenging, you won’t enjoy or appreciate it as you should.

I liked that we got more of Mahit and Three Seagrass, though at the start I was worried in case Three Seagrass wouldn’t feature so much. I love the fact that they are both human, separated by differing cultures that make it very difficult to understand each other. Though at times, it’s easy to forget that – until they are confronted by an alien presence whose thinking and values is utterly different. And devastatingly lethal… That’s all I’m going to say about the plot, as I don’t want to venture into Spoiler territory.

It was interesting to further explore some of the characters who had only walk-on parts in A Memory Called Empire – particularly Eight Antidote, the young emperor-in-waiting. Seeing this eleven-year-old desperately trying to live up the expectations of his tutors and the empress Nineteen Adze was both poignant and gave us a ringside seat to the machinations of Teixcalaan politics, which is truly a shark tank of conflicting loyalties and ambitions. I also enjoyed following Nine Hibiscus, now promoted to be the ultimate warleader in charge of the armada of the fleet sent out to engage the alien threat. Her relationship with Twenty Cicada, her loyal No. Two who went through training alongside her is strikingly close – he is probably the only person she completely trusts… Which made the ending bittersweet and left me with a lump in my throat.

The aliens were very well depicted – it’s a big ask to successfully give an effective sense of ‘other’, but Martine triumphantly succeeds in doing so. This isn’t a foot-to-the-floor, action-packed story, as the writing is too dense and layered to move the story along at the usual brisk clip we’re accustomed to seeing with space opera adventures. But I think it works, nonetheless. For me, there was one jarring note that caused me to knock off a point – the steamy sex scene. There were a couple of details too much. I don’t know why we were treated to such a graphic scene, as the first book didn’t tend to linger on the sexuality of the characters in general and it was an unwelcome surprise. However, it isn’t a dealbreaker as I’m aware that although it is only February, this is probably going to be one of the best books I’ll read in 2021. Highly recommended if you enjoy reading space opera featuring beautifully depicted, complicated characters and an amazing world. While I obtained an arc of A Desolation Called Peace from the publishers via Netgalley, the opinions I have expressed are unbiased and my own.
9/10

“Trust is not an endlessly renewable resource. Loyalty might be. For longer.”

With A Desolation Called Peace Arkady has achieved something quite rare in a sequel. In fact, I liked A Desolation Called Peace so much so that, when I looked back to my review for A Memory Called Empire, I found much of my criticism unfair. In my review, I describe AMCE as a case of ‘great concept, poor execution’ but now I wonder whether I just read it at the wrong time. All of this to say that for those worried that A Desolation Called Peace may suffer from ‘second book syndrome, I say, fear no more. A Desolation Called Peace was an exhilarating and wonderfully inventive read. Arkady’s world-building is phenomenal, the stakes are even higher than in AMCE, and we follow multiple characters, most of whom are plotting against one another. Political scheming abounds within these pages, each character has their agenda, no one is trustworthy or necessarily ‘likeable’. But I liked how bold Arkady is when it came to characterisation. She does not resort to easy ‘evil/good’ dichotomies and repeatedly challenges her characters’ ideas and views.
While much of AMCE was dedicated to introducing us to this world and learning of the Teixcalaanli Empire through Mahit’s Stationer eyes, A Desolation Called Peace provides a ‘first contact’ scenario. Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is fighting against a terrifying and unknown enemy, and requests the assistance of someone from the Information Ministry and it is Three Seagrass who takes on the job. Before making her way to the fleet Three Seagrass is reunited with Mahit who is not only struggling to reconcile herself with her imagos (of a young and old Yskandr) and who has more than one enemy at Lsel Station. Mahit’s linguistic skills make her an asset in this ‘first-contact’ situation so she finds herself tagging along with Three Seagrass. The narrative follows Three Seagrass and Mahit, and their feelings for each other, which are complicated by the fact that Three Seagrass views Stationers as ‘barbarians’, Nine Hibiscus, who not only has is engaged in a war against an unknown enemy but is aware that someone is conspiring against her, and 11-year-old Eight Antidote, who is a clone of His Brilliance the Emperor Six Direction and heir-apparent to the Sun-Spear Throne of Teixcalaan. Eleven years old, and is being pulled in different directions at court. I found each storyline to be deeply engaging and, to my surprise, I probably found Twenty Cicadas to be the most in The tension between the characters, who always seem to be assessing each other’s words and actions in an attempt to gauge their motivations and intentions, gives the narrative a fantastic edge.
Another central aspect of this novel is, of course, language. Arkady demonstrates incredible knowledge and originality when it comes to linguistics. The words her characters use have such nuance and meaning that it enhances any exchange they have (so we can just how much words matter in every discussion or conversation they have). Arkady incorporates many other interesting themes in her storylines: the fraught relationship between coloniser and colonised (which complicates any relationship Three Seagrass and Mahit may wish to have with one another), xenophobia (and, in some cases, its opposite), identity (especially with Mahit and Eight Antitode), memory, and ethics.
This novel certainly made me think, and re-think. Arkady has created a stunning world and her prose is as sharp as a knife (or dare I say, even badass?). As I wrote above, I liked this novel so much that it made me re-value my less than warm feelings towards its predecessor (something that happens...very rarely indeed). Perhaps this is because I started learning more about languages or maybe this time around I was able to connect with her story and characters because I read it at the ‘right’ time, but, in any case, I would definitely recommend this to fans of AMCE. The only thing I had trouble with is Teixcalaanli names (part is due to the fact that numbers come to me in my mother tongue and not in English). I read an arc that sadly did not come with a glossary and I had a hard time keeping their names straight. Ideally, I would also have liked to have re-read AMCE before sinking my teeth in A Desolation Called Peace. But, overall, this novel elevated my feelings towards this series and I actually look forward to re-reading it (and I hope that Arkady will write more!).

A Desolation Called Peace is the sequel to  A Memory Called Empire , and it's a duology.  I haven't heard of that before for books, but it makes sense.

This starts 3 months after the previous book, and Mahit has returned to the Isel station, and is feeling homesick for Teixcala, and the whirlwind week she had there, and for Three Seagrass.  

Three Seagrass is still on Teixcala, feeling out of sorts, and hasn't written poetry for the last 3 months.

Teixcala has a new Emperor, Nineteen Adze, who is already in the middle of a war with the aliens that Mahit pointed out just before the death of the previous Emperor.  

The aliens are rampaging through Teixcalaan space, and they've just got a recording of the noise they make - is that a language?  Three Seagrass wants to investigate and help, and knows who she can take with her to help with barbarian languages - another barbarian.

This is a sci-fi book, full of court intrigue, with characters uncertain who they can trust, or what their real motives are.  Eight Antidote, the heir to the Emperor, and the ninety percent clone of the previous Emperor is 11 years old, and running around being a spy, which gives you insight into a lot more places than you would get with an adult.  I very much enjoyed my time in Teixcala, and enjoyed the conclusion to the story.

 A Desolation Called Peace  was published on 4th March, and is available to buy from  Amazon , Waterstones and  Bookshop.org .

You can follow Arkady Martine on  Twitter ,  Instagram  and her  website .

I was given this book in exchange for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley, to Arkady Martine and  Pan MacMillan .

A Desolation Called Peace is the sophomore instalment in the Teixcalaan series and follow-up to Martine’s debut, A Memory Called Empire (AMCE). It contains beautiful prose and complex worldbuilding that will immerse readers in a dazzling story of alien contact and colonisation. The book takes place shortly after the events of A Memory Called Empire. The Empire faces the pressure of internal government tensions and a deadly alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options. As the newly appointed yaotlek, she sends six fleets to the front lines to encounter the coming alien menaces that lurk just beyond a nearby jumpgate. When Nine Hibiscus requests a trained diplomatic envoy to aid in alien relations, Mahit Dzmare’s former liaison and love interest, Three Seagrass takes up the post and stops by Lsel Station to convinces Mahit to join her to help her translate the messages they have received from the aliens in a last-ditch attempt to prevent an all-out war. But there are factions on Lsel and in Teixcalaan who would benefit from an endless war and who work to undermine their negotiations. Now Mahit, who returned to her native and fiercely independent Lsel Station three months ago and is still ascertaining whether she belongs there, and Three Seagrass, who —still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity without inadvertently triggering the destruction of themselves and the Empire.

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the Empire to continue its rapacious expansion. Or it might create something far stranger. This is a riveting and compulsively readable sequel and Martine has somehow, inexplicably, crafted an exciting, fast-paced narrative that is even better than AMCE. The richly-detailed and creative world-building pulls you in and immerses you and the multiple perspectives add depth to the narrative as each character is rendered in exquisite detail. It's an elaborate, complex powerhouse saga with a diverse cast that I felt totally invested in. With several plot threads progressing simultaneously there was the worry that it may become confusing or convoluted but Martine’s masterful precision plotting allows a seamless slipping between each one with clarity and consummate ease. Written in a believable manner, Martine explores diplomacy, conspiracy and first contact and she utilises the unsettling alien beings to bring in themes of cultural violence, cultural assimilation, interpersonal relationships, self-identity, diplomatic strategy, and colonisation but also wider and highly ubiquitous political, social and economic issues that very much reflect, in an allegorical fashion, the problems we face as earth inhabiting humans. A captivating, scintillating and absorbing sophomore instalment, this is a must-read for those who enjoyed AMCE. It's a real treat of a sci-fi novel and I can see it winning multiple awards. Utterly exceptional and one of the finest, most intelligent space operas in years. Highly recommended.

A Desolation Called Peace’ is the follow up to 2019’s ‘A Memory Called Empire,’ which was one of my favourites reads last year. An alien enemy lurks at the edges of Teixcalaanli space, when the commander of the fleet requests a language expert, Three Seagrass still reeling from her part in the events two months before hops aboard. First, she's going to make a little detour to Lsel Station to pick up her favourite barbarian, Mahit Dzmare, who has fallen into some political troubles back home.

This is a story about contact with an alien culture. Martine reprises the characters Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass from the first novel. This is a direct sequel to the first book, so reading ‘Memory’ is essential. These characters ultimately make their way to the edge of the galaxy, where the Fleet has encountered an alien civilization that acts so different from what is known. Language and communication are at the heart of this book. It very much reminded me of the “Arrival” a short story by Ted Chiang. As we spend time with Mahit and Three Seagrass their relationship is flesh out more for us and we get the subtle nuances of their relationship.

There are lots of politics, everyone has their agendas, motivations, and different ideas of what the Teixcalaan Empire should become. On Lsel Station, although it’s maintained its position and knowledge as much as it has because it has passed down its memories in human form, to the point where imago history/human memory is considered the only accurate form of history and knowledge, rendering paper histories useless.

Like the first book, it is a dense, rich world and culture. As a reader, there are no compromises, you are plunged into this strange universe without warning. This story is filled with intricate politics, intra-government political backstabbing, whilst also building on the characters and world.

Several themes are covered. Language and communication. What is the price of civilization and isolationism? Can you be a person even though you aren't "civilized" in the eyes of your opponent? To Teixacaalisim, everyone else is a barbarian, including other humans, so the encounter with something even more alien has them unsettled and unable to react properly. Who are you in the end as an individual, when your home feels like a hostile environment, but the Empire you longed to belong to all your life threatens to swallow you whole and kill your individuality? That is the question Mahit grapples with throughout the book.

A Desolation Called Peace is a fascinating novel, written with such beautiful language, ideas and tropes, which are cleverly twisted. Whilst I appreciated that immersive experience, you do need a clear head for all the complexities of the story and plot. That said, this was such a fantastic book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan - Tor/Forge Tor Books for an e-galley of this novel, all opinions expressed are my own.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I wanted to like A Desolation Called Peace more than I did. (It’s the perfect title by the way.) Part of the problem may have been that I wanted to read it faster than the pace of the story itself.

Being thrown into the frontline of the war felt like coming home to the Empire even though none of the characters were familiar, in contrast to Mahit being literally home on Lsel Station felt disorientating - intentionally so. My main difficulty was how many points of view there were as people tried to work out what personhood was and what they were willing to do the context of a border war with aliens. Some parts dragged while others flew by.

I like the resolution a lot but sometimes it felt like characters were there because the author wanted them to be the ones dealing with the situation (ahem, Three Seagrass and Mahit) and to say something more - I’m not sure whether this sacrificed plot for message sometimes. Thinking back I remember the good parts outweighing the bad and recommend it as an utterly unusual take on a first contact scenario but advise you to read it slowly on its own terms.

I loved A Memory Called Empire, and I was intrigued about where the story would go next, as Empire had such a decisive ending. As such, it took a little bit of time for ADCP to find its feet, as the story established where the main characters were and drew them back together. I was really drawn into the stakes of the war, and the strange yet almost unbeatable alien race, were both terrifying and intriguing. Three Seagrass, as always, was a delight, as was Eight Antidote and Three Cicada, whose plant cult was one of my favourite of the subplots.

The only subplot I struggled with was Mahit Dzmare's and her entanglement with Darj Tarats, which felt, to me at least, much more forced and unlikely than the other strands in ADCP. Mahit, who was so confident and resourceful in AMCE, seemed to be unable to think her way out a quite pedestrian blackmail scenario. I also didn't really understands Mahit's reluctance to cut ties with Lsel Station when she didn't have any friends or family there anymore. The confrontation with Darj and Mahit just seemed unbelievable, for both of them.

However, I still love this series and cannot wait to read more about what Three Seagrass and Mahit Dzmare get up to next.

I’ll admit it, I was only so-so about Arkady Martine’s debut despite all the awards it hoovered up. This sequel, however, is a jump up in quality. The characters are better drawn, the intrigue is better handled, the prose is better, and there are some of the nastiest, most alien, aliens I’ve seen in a long time. There are new characters, new points of views, and the whole thing feels so much more confident and assured. It’s not often you get to see an author levelling up on the page, but it happens here. I loved it.

Sometimes middle installments can be a little disappointing, more a placeholder than moving the story on, but A Desolation Called Peace definitely does not fall into that category.

The Empire is now at war, but Mahit and Three Seagrass are back in the thick of things and are on the frontline trying to negotiate an understanding with the aliens whilst trying to understand the various factions inside the Fleet.

The politics are more convoluted, not just on the homeworld, but also the Station and on the Fleet. As with A Memory Called Empire it's the language and the use of language that makes this book a pleasure to read.