A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

Should you read the first before the second? Yes. He read all kinds of poems.'Ī note on story order: The story was meant to be told as a duology, so it might be worth trying to read them both reasonably close together. It's definitely earned a spot on my bookshelf. To say, I 'liked it' is an understatement: it was one of the best books I read in 2020. It does it in beautiful, evocative ways, with action and emotion. And it does this without long, wall o'texts that make readers' eyes start to roll back in their heads. It explores cultural identity, communication, treason, first contact, war crimes, the nature of memory and identity, the nature of experience and self, and love between people of different cultures. Especially if someone else powerful was intervening in the movement of information.' It didn't move up and down the chain of command smoothly. 'He'd have to remember not to make, when he was Emperor. Eight Antidote's narrative is an intriguing counterpoint to the adults his voice is clear, usually not wrought with emotion, and his role as student helps the reader orient themselves to the complexities of the situations and conflicts as well: Marit's conflict is more emotionally insidious and challenging, as she and her imago, Yskandr, try to negotiate their way back into Lsel life. Early on in the story, Nine Hibiscus engages the aliens and her story has an active tension to it. The plotting felt both well done and largely organic. 'Mahit had done fine without her on Lsel, had missed her only as much as she'd missed Teixcalaan, which was enormously and with aching frustration.'Īs each narrative develops, they slowly begin to intertwine.

These two share the narrative with two new characters: Eight Antidote, an eleven year-old who happens to be the former Emperor's clone and current heir and Nine Hibiscus, the rear admiral of the military force seeking to discover what (who?) has been eating ships at the edge of 'civilization,' right by Lsel Station. Mahit has returned to Lsel Station, and Three Seagrass is working for the Emperor's Information Ministry. It was fascinating, and also awful, and she was never, ever drinking it again.'Ī Desolation Called Peace follows up on the events of A Memory Called Empire. ''What is it made of?' Three Seagrass asked, and then drank it before he could answer her. Almost every word feels like it has weight, and it's almost impossible to predict where her starry empire will take the reader. Martine is almost the exact opposite, in the best way possible. Some authors write books suited to QB: undemanding, fun, predictable, and about as interesting as chocolate pudding. I am grateful that Martine's A Desolation Called Peace came my way at the end of 2020 instead of during the middle, when I had a full case of Quarantine Brain™.

A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine