THIS IS NO BEACH READ! It absolutely requires your full attention, but the payoff is worth the effort. An awesome political space opera with more opera than space and vaguely reminiscent of ancient Asian Empire epics. If you have the time, energy, and patience to commit to this book I highly recommend it.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I enjoyed reading this. An interesting story with fun characters. Well written.

A Memory Called Empire is something I’ve wanted to read since I first saw the cover. I mean, the star feature is the sci-fi equivalent to the Iron Throne and I just couldn’t resist. And then the synopsis…. A murdered ambassador and deadly secrets? Say no more!

This book basically shoves you off a cliff into a convoluted alien culture which isn’t necessarily a negative. I like piecing things together as I read along and info dumps are rarely an elegant addition to any story, so in many ways this worked for me. The learning curve with this book was quite steep though and I can see that this probably won’t work for everyone.

For me the biggest thing that kept me from getting maximum enjoyment (a 5 star rating) was that it took me fully half of the book before I cared about the characters or the plot. I wasn’t tremendously invested in them and I pondered putting the book down and trying again later but I pushed onward. I’m really glad I continued because things really picked up in the latter half – THE PLOT THICKENED! I cared about what happened to the new ambassador Mahit Dzmare and her assistant/liason Three Seagrass. There was rebellion in the streets, attempted assassinations, and even illegal technological enhancements. I would say this book is in the category of slow-burners. Not everything starts off with a bang – good things can take time.

Overall, this was an intriguing and ambitious book with an exotic culture. The Teixcalaanli (how do I even pronounce this???) culture is one of poetry and power. The names were interesting – Three Seagrass, One Lightning, Six Helicopter… you kind of see where this goes. I didn’t love this book, but it was one that prodded the imagination and the city and people are subjects I would love to see in painting.

A Memory Called Empire follows Mahit Dzmare – a young Ambassador from an independent mining Station – arrives in the Teixcalaanli Empire to find that her predecessor has died, and she is left alone to navigate the changing political culture of the heart of the Empire. Not only must she figure out how her predecessor has died (not accidentally, as some would have her believe), but she must also tread carefully to avoid the same fate. When the political unrest hints at expansion of the Empire, she must also figure out how to avoid annexation of her Station she calls home.

This book was so much better than I thought it would be. Although it was a little hard to get into toward the beginning – there is so much detailed world-building that it was initially hard to follow – it was worth sticking it through for the journey.

Arkady Martine’s world-building was breathtaking – it was so layered and complex. Although it was a little overwhelming in the beginning – as it should be, when introducing a whole fantastical world – it was done in a way that wasn’t overly heavy-handed. World-building is a crucial element to any story of this breadth, and in A Memory Called Empire, these elements are so intricately woven into the story that it blends more-or-less seamlessly into the narrative.

The plot, also, was interesting and nuanced. I enjoyed watching as Mahit peeled back the layers of political intrigue and learned more about Teixcalaanli culture. She together with her “cultural liaison” Three Seagrass, had to navigate an increasingly tumultuous political landscape that quite literally put them into serious danger more than once.

All-in-all, this was an exciting and intricately detailed space opera, and I wish I didn’t have to wait an entire year for the next book in the series…

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

I read the book and have reread the preview. Both pull you in and don't let go. I recommend the book. The plot keeps you on your toes. Well worth the read.

It's the second book I've reviewed by this author and I have thoroughly enjoyed the previews I've come across. I will be looking for more and will try to buy the books in order to be able to provide a more thorough opinion. So far so good!

• Title: A Memory Called Empire Excerpt
• Author: Arkady Martine
• Series: Teixcalaan Book 1
• Pages: 4 Chapter Excerpt
• Genre: Space Opera/ Fiction/ Sci Fi
• Rating Out of 5 Stars: 3

My Thoughts:

This quick look into what promises to be an impressive and original political space opera has only one fault that I can place to it. That would fall with the name system. While unique in that people of our main space port have names based off of a number and plant/natural event along with certain title additions. I confess I had a lot of difficulty keeping who was who straight, especially when there were groups involved. Not everyone seemed to refer to a certain person the same way. One might use the title version, one might use a “pet name” one might use this numerical/biological combo to reference one person.
While there was not enough of the excerpt to discern true character personalities and relationships, the ones we focus on are interesting.
The story offers the promise of intricate, corrupt political abuse and intrigue. The world building with the various space ports and interstellar colonies is worth exploring. However the problem with trying to keep the characters straight is weighing heavily on my choice to pick this up to read the rest. I can see this being a popular title for many but I fear it is not for me.

Cuando en otoño de 2018 me llegó una copia de prensa de esta novela al Kindle yo no podía creer mi suerte. A Memory Called Empire, de Arkady Martine es una de las novelas que MÁS ganas tenía de leer de este año. Prometía una historia que fusionaba lo mejor de la opereta espacial con una trama política estilo Dune. Intercambios interesantes entre personajes, tramas políticas complicadas, resoluciones y giros de guion... Y mirad esa portada. ¡ESA PORTADA! ¿Cómo no os va a dar ganas de leer el libro? Lo malo (y cierto) es que el libro da parte de lo que promete. Tiene mucha política, tiene conversaciones larguísimas entre personajes y la trama palaciega existe. Pero. Puede que hayan sido las expectativas, mi propio hype (algunos amigos saben lo ansias que estuve por conseguir una copia de prensa del libro que precompré con 5 meses de antelación), o quizá una cubierta que genera expectativas y una ilusión por encontrarme una historia de ciencia ficción nueva, original y espectacular.


La novela comienza cuando el emabjador de Lsel en Teixcalaan muere en circunstancias algo extrañas. La nueva embajadora, Mahit Dzmare, debe acudir al planeta para esclarecer los hechos de la muerte de Yskandr. Para ello cuenta con el elemento más interesante de la novela, un implante en su memoria con todos los recuerdos, conocimientos y memoria del anterior embajador y de todos los anteriores embajadores. De este modo ni una pizca de conocimiento se pierde. Además, este implante es casi una conciencia independiente en su propia cabeza con la que puede mantener conversaciones. A Mahit le implantan los recuerdos de Yskandr incompletos, pues su última actualización fue hace mucho tiempo, así que el propio Yskandr también se ve envuelto en querer descubrir por qué y cómo ha muerto su "yo físico".

En A Memory Called Empire no hay viajes intergalácticos, no hay conflictos planetarios ni a gran escala. Por supuesto no hay batallas espaciales, ni acción. Hay política, mangoneo y mucha puñalada trapera. Sutilezas, dobles sentidos, uso del lenguaje y de la cultura para beneficio político y demás. La novela de Martine explora las visicitudes de una embajadora que llega a un planeta donde la cultura, las maneras, las preconcepciones y todo lo que os podáis imaginar juega en su contra. No sabe si se la están jugando o no, no sabe si le ordenan o le sugieren. El libro se desarrolla en salas, habitaciones y pasillos de un palacio gigantesco, y la trama estará dominada casi por completo por tira y aflojas políticos.

Pero no todo es negativo, y es que de haber sabido de antemano cómo iba a ser el libro seguramente lo hubiera disfrutado más (me alucina la cf política y las novelas estilo Dune). Creo que A Memory Called Empire tiene suficientes elementos interesantes como para resultar una novela recomendable y destacable. Sin ir más lejos, el implante de memoria de su predecesor que he mencionado antes me parece una idea excelente y que juega muy a favor de la trama, dando a situaciones curiosísimas (con el añadido de la pérdida de fragmentos posteriores por ese supuesto boicot). Además genera muchas preguntas e incógnitas que la embajadora no puede resolver de buenas a primeras y que la conducirán a resolverlas de maneras diplomáticas. Además Martine usa la dosis justa de terminología alien para dotar de color el libro. Aunque no se queda en decorado ya que muchos de estos términos favorecen al ritmo y a la historia misma de la novela (de hecho hay un glosario al final del libro).

En definitiva, A Memory Called Empire me ha parecido una novela que ha sufrido el revés de las expectativas. La novela se vende como algo que no es. Pero que a pesar de todo no es una mala novela (os recuerdo que es novela debut, ya quisieran muchos este nivelón). Arkady Martine es una autora interesantísima a seguir y cuya visión de la sociopolítica, de las interacciones entre distintas culturas y del manejo de varias subtramas palaciegas y la forma de resolverlas me ha parecido muy interesante. Quizá destacar que hay un tramo bastante largo a mitad de novela en el que el progreso de la historia se detiene casi por completo, convirtiendo ese fragmento en un tramo que casi me hizo dejar el libro y abandonarlo. Tras un descanso lo retomé y terminé muy satisfecho con la conclusión de la historia. Yo, desde luego, seguiré la trayectora de Arkady Martine, aunque esta novela adolezca de algunos problemas de estructura y planteamiento, es un debut más que notable.

An intriguing interstellar mystery complete with diplomatic, political, and cultural complexities.

Note: This is a review of an excerpt of this novel received from Netgalley.

A Memory Called Empire opens with a newly appointed ambassador arriving at Teixcalaanli Empire after the previous ambassador has died under suspicious circumstances that no one wants to discuss. While still learning and adjusting to the new culture and political landscape she begins to realize how delicate the situation is because after all she is an ambassador and must remain diplomatic without causing offense.

Part of the enjoyment of reading science fiction novels is learning and seeing the world that the author has created, which includes cultural, political, and personality differences outside our own known world. In this novel, the author has created a very fleshed out world that at times made my reading go slower as I tried to understand the culture being presented. However, it was never so difficult that I lost enjoyment from reading the book - in fact quite the opposite. Toward the end of the excerpt I was given, part of not understanding the culture and political landscape was adding to my enjoyment of the book as I and the main character truly didn't understand what was going on or what the correct next step should be.

One very minor thing that did stick out and catch my attention were the curse words. The main character is a diplomatic who has trained for years for this role and goes to extensive lengths to ensure the right words and gestures are provided so as not to give offense, which is why it is so jarring at times to read the random curse word from the ambassador. Although they were never said 'to' anyone it just doesn't seem to fit the tone of the book or the character's temperament, which is why I felt they were a little out of place.

As I only received an excerpt, I cannot comment too much on the book, but I can say that after reading the few chapters I was given I was very sad when it ended and wanted to keep going and will probably purchase this book so that I can read it fully.

The first four chapters make up this preview, and introduce both the universe (literally) and Mahit to us. In this world technology exists to have memories and knowledge uploaded and shared, which allows them to be used, for example, by ambassadors to have a full and expansive history passed down by predecessors to the current holder of the position.

Mahit only has one predecessor to learn from, and his knowledge is 15 years out of date, as the prior ambassador didn't get in contact with his home world for a long time before he vanished, and a new one was requested by the empire. Yskandr, in his memory form, is about the same age as Mahit, and they're still learning how to get along and work together. 

As the blurb alludes to, this is going to be a murder mystery (but set in space), with the political complexities that come with trying to figure out who killed her predecessor without insulting anyone, getting killed herself, or causing offence. There are several cultures described to the reader that make things that could otherwise be simple, perhaps not, and then there's the whole big thing about the huge empire that isn't letting anything stand in its way just to ramp up the fun. 

I'm already in love with the memory-implant idea from reading Aliette de Bodard's work and I'm thrilled to be able to read another take on it. I hope to get my hands on the rest of the book because this preview alone isn't going to let me sleep tonight. Luckily, the rest is out in a few days.

Another very short story which I presume is the start of a series. Seems to be an interesting prospect but not long enough to become engaged in the story and a very abrupt end.

Note: This is a review of an excerpt of this novel.

It's difficult to review excerpts because it feels as though my words may come back to bite me. However, I enjoyed the first four chapters of A Memory Called Empire. It's certainly dense with world building but as an epic fantasy and sci-fi fan, I like to be thrown into the deep end of a world and have to get my own head above water in understanding how things work. The prologue was engaging and the first chapter gave some good insights into the main character who I really liked. I enjoyed the main three characters the reader ends up with at the end of this excerpt and the air of political intrigue suits the story well thus far. From what I read, I would have been interested enough to continue reading if I'd had the whole novel in front of me. I can see this series doing very well with those seeking a richly built sci-fi universe with well-detailed, likable characters, especially if politics is your jam.

Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this excerpt via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Tor, and the author Arkady Martine for the opportunity to do so.

Rating: 4.5 stars

[Excerpt]:

The full-length novel, “A Memory Called Empire,” is available on Netgalley, but so is this preview excerpt that includes a prelude and chapters one through four. I never got approved for the novel itself (in fact, I think it’s still pending), but it’s nearing the release date, so I decided to just go ahead and read the short preview instead since I’ve been very intrigued by this story ever since I first read the synopsis.

This is a science-fiction fantasy world like no other. It’s clearly been excellently fleshed out. In fact, there is so much information that at times I’d have to read extra slow in order to absorb what was going on or what was being clarified. The story follows Mahit Dzmare, the new Ambassador of her home, Lsel Station. The Teixcalaan Empire is massive: it spans not merely planets but entire solar systems and, as far as I’m aware, galaxies. It’s a giant, all-encompassing machine. Mahit arrives in the City, which is the name of both the planet itself and the “city” that’s the central part of the Empire, very suddenly as a replacement for the former Ambassador, Yskandr, who died very suspiciously. It doesn’t take long for Mahit to determine that Yskandr’s death was in fact murder, although she can’t really prove much yet.

[Full review on my blog!]

Let me begin by saying that had I realized this was just the first four chapters, I would never have agreed to read/review it, but now that I have, sadly I can say that I have no desire to finish the book or the series, so perhaps I should be grateful that this was just an excerpt.

There is a lot of very dense world building in these first four chapters and while I sense a lot of potential, this excerpt is bogged down and slow. The names of the race of people that make up the Empire and the characters themselves are cumbersome and, quite frankly, ridiculous. I detest the sci-fi trope of creating nearly unpronounceable words for the fictitious world. It’s not clever. It’s simply annoying.

While this seems to be an unpopular opinion so far, I never came to care for any of the characters and am only mildly interested in the mystery of the first ambassador’s death. I’m definitely not invested enough to slog through more cumbersome world building prose. I’m just bored.

Collaboration. Diplomacy. Identity. Culture. Discovery. Wow.

This fresh science fiction book took me into a world unlike any I'd read about before, full of complex characters, sometimes hillarious, always inviting, attempting to fulfill their professional obligations while blazing vital relationships and overcoming steely distractions. I found myself pulled into a political twister reminding me politics aren't always predictable and that motivations can be both subtle and strong. Well worth savvoring, while waiting for the second book in the series and the day we can wishlist some of the book's fascinating tech.

This excerpt contains only four chapters, but I'm already hooked. I haven't read many sci-fi books of this scope before, but Martine somehow makes going into a complex and wholly different world smooth and seamless even for people new to the genre like I am. There's a lot of worldbuilding and exposition at the beginning, but once the story gets going it becomes interesting - that is, by the time the preview ended. I'm looking forwards to checking out the full book when I can get my hands on it.

I received a free copy of the entire book so will write the review from that. So far so good. Glad that i have the entire book to read.

This is only an excerpt but based on what I read, I think I would like to read the completed book. Mahit is sent as an ambassador to the center of the Teixcalaanli Empire. This alien world is new to her and the political instability makes her new job difficult. Before she was sent, she received a cerebral implant that contains the outdated memories of her predecessor in order to understand him and what might have happened to him. No one will explain the circumstances of how he died and she must find out the truth in order to avoid his same fate. It took me a while to get into this story because there was so much detailed world building in the first few chapters and I found that the author was a bit verbose. She would introduce a place with a short sentence and then write at least five or more sentences describing it. It sometimes got in the way of the flow of action in the story and was a little distracting but I liked the story and am looking forward to reading the finished product. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a very promising start to a story of empire that reminds me of some of my favorite series. I definitely will request the full book.

This excerpt is a very promising glimpse of the book to come - and thank you to the publisher for giving us four chapters to sink our teeth into. All too often excerpts are too short to get a true sense of the book, but not in this case; I'm confident in this review.

Arkady Martine has built a completely original and inventive universe. The cultural and personal difficulties Mahit experience ring so true, and yet she manages to establish a very firm bond with the reader; she may be uncertain of her sense of self, but we're not. And despite some very alien concepts, she very much worked as the conduit of introduction for the reader to this society - avoiding the dreaded infodump, and ensuring the reader isn't left feeling confused.

In short, I adored this extract, and I'm now eagerly awaiting the full novel. Lovers of original science fiction with a soul have a lot to look forward to!