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Summary
Summary
WINNER OF THE 2022 HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL
Now a USA Today bestseller!
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2021
Amazon's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Bookpage's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy of 2021
Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee for Best Science Fiction Book of 2021
"[An] all around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it."--Ann Leckie, on A Memory Called Empire
A Desolation Called Peace is the spectacular space opera sequel to Arkady Martine's genre-reinventing, Hugo Award-winning debut, A Memory Called Empire.
An 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.
In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass--still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire--face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.
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 . . .
Also by Arkady Martine:
A Memory Called Empire
Author Notes
Arkady Martine is the Hugo Award-winning author of A Memory Called Empire. She is a speculative fiction writer and, as Dr. AnnaLinden Weller, a historian of the Byzantine Empire and a city planner. She is currently a policy advisor for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources Department, where she works on climate change mitigation, energy grid modernization, adn resiliency planning. Under both names, she writes about border politics, rhetoric, propaganda, and the edges of the world. Arkady grew up in New York City and, after some time in Turkey, Canada, and Sweden, and Baltimore, lives in Santa Fe with her wife, the author Vivian Shaw.
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Martine spins a dizzying, exhilarating story of diplomacy, conspiracy, and first contact in the powerhouse sequel to her Hugo Award--winning debut, A Memory Called Empire. Mahit Dzmare has returned home to Lsel station after a brief, eventful stint as ambassador to the empire of Teixcalaan, but now Teixcalaanli warships are moving into formation against the terrifying aliens that live beyond a nearby jumpgate. When Nine Hibiscus, the leader of the warships, requests a trained diplomat to aid in alien relations and avoid conflict, Mahit's former liaison and love interest, Three Seagrass, assigns herself the job--and drags Mahit along with her. But there are factions on Lsel and in Teixcalaan who would benefit from an endless war and who work to undermine their negotiations. Martine effortlessly balances several points of view--including the idealistic 11-year-old imperial heir, Eight Antidote--to provide a vivid window into a struggle over the question of who gets to be counted as a person. Martine's aliens are viscerally unsettling and utterly believable, and she deploys them masterfully to underscore themes of colonization, assimilation, and cultural violence. This complex, stunning space opera promises to reshape the genre. Agent: DongWon Song, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)
Booklist Review
Martine follows up her Hugo-winning space opera, A Memory Called Empire (2019), with the second installment of the Teixcalaan saga. The Teixcalaanli Empire faces pressures of internal government tensions and an unknown but deadly alien threat at the far edges of space. Ambassador Mahit Dzmare has returned to her home, the fiercely independent Lsel Station, but she is enlisted to assist in deciphering the alien's incoherent language. A fleet commander is urged to rush into conflict, but she must weigh the motives of opportunistic officers. Set against the intricate machinations of an ancient empire that views outsiders as inferior, Martine weaves a dramatic and suspenseful story of political intrigue and alien first contact. Multiple points of view add depth to the narrative as each character is rendered in exquisite detail, and that in turn propels the varied plot lines of diplomatic strategy, space conflicts, interpersonal relationships, and self-discovery. Elaborate and complex, with a diverse cast of characters, this saga will appeal to those who enjoy the detailed history-based world building of Guy Gavriel Kay combined with the intimate camaraderie and grand adventure of James S. A. Corey's Expanse series.
Library Journal Review
Mahit Dzmare has returned to Lsel Station after her time on Teixcalaan, stepping up as ambassador after the untimely death of the previous one, Yskandr Aghavn. Now trying to protect the two Imagos of Aghavn hosted in her brain, she is once again reunited with Three Seagrass, the Teixcalaanli liaison she grew fond of. Both have been brought to the edge of a jumpgate to try to negotiate with the terrifying aliens on the other side. However, factions on both Lsel Station and Teixcalaan believe that fighting is better, and Mahit and Three Seagrass must navigate the tumultuous negotiation and stave off war. Multiple points of view give a full view of the issues including fear of what is different, and the ease of cultural violence and assimilation when one believes they are better. Three Seagrass and Mahit continue to delight in their interactions with each other. VERDICT This follow-up to Martine's debut, A Memory Called Empire, contains beautiful prose and complex worldbuilding that will immerse readers in a dazzling story of alien contact and colonization.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton