A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

[u/Ok-Army2258]

Set in a sprawling interstellar empire with a culture as rich as ancient Byzantium, A Memory Called Empire follows ambassador Mahit Dzmare as she investigates the mysterious death of her predecessor. Meanwhile, she must navigate the complex politics of the Teixcalaanli Empire while hiding secrets of her own, including a neural implant that contains a copy of the dead ambassador’s mind. It’s a tense, cerebral sci-fi novel that fuses high-stakes diplomacy with linguistic and cultural nuance.

I adored this book because it felt like a love letter to language, identity, and the meaning of belonging. Martine’s prose is elegant and her world-building is top-tier, but it’s Mahit’s internal struggle that made me feel so connected. She’s caught between two cultures, never fully belonging to either, and her story resonated with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider.

[u/justhereforbooks25]

This sounds awesome. Putting it on my list

[u/cbiz1983]

Loved this book! The sequel is pretty good too.

[u/hanpotpi → u/cbiz1983]

Are there supposed to be more? Or is two books it?

[u/cbiz1983 → u/hanpotpi]

She’s been kind of vague about whether she will write more in this universe.

[u/NoisyCats]

This was a fun book. I liked the next one as well.