MH Thaung reviewed A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
A great mix of space opera and court intrigue, with an upbeat tone
A Memory Called Empire might be my favourite book this year (so far). It took me a while to settle in to the naming conventions, and (as usual) I didn’t envisage the setting too clearly, but overall a great read.
Highlights included the undercurrents of political and diplomatic intrigue, and that uncertainty about whether anyone was genuinely trustworthy. (Or rather, which actors’ motivations happened to align with the main character’s, and which were maybe a bluff…) I enjoyed Mahit’s ongoing sense of being an outsider/other, how she used that role, and the challenges to her loyalties when she didn’t know what was going on.
There’s peril and injury and death, but the tone was generally upbeat. Perhaps that’s not terribly realistic, but since I’m not a fan of grim and gritty, it suited me just fine.
Highly recommended.
