A Memory Called Empire tells the story of Mahit Dzmare, the ambassador from a small asteroid-mining nation to the expansive space empire known as Teixcalaan. She arrives following the mysterious demise of the previous ambassador, and has to move quickly to avoid becoming a political football in a court where she is completely unaware of her predecessor's schemes. Following the intelligent and likable Mahit as she works to unravel the political intrigues of the court and her predecessor's place in them is a joy. However, I would be remiss not to mention the excellent world-building--Teixcalaan has a very inwardly-focused society that's reminiscient of the Roman Empire, but at the same time it's a society that attaches a great deal of prestige to the literary arts and poetry. Put together, this is one of the better books that I've read in a while. ( )

Interesting sci-fi story about an ambassador from a small nation to the capital of the major local Empire with the twist of having the memories of their predecessor accessible/semi integrated. I only had a bit of a tough time with the names of the character as the numbers made me mix them up quite often. Looking forward to the next book in the series. ( )

I think this is probably the most ambitious debut novel I've ever read. Martine has created such a deeply, multi-layered, and intricate novel that it boggles my mind to think about all the work that must have gone into writing this! "Memory" is a novel about political intrigue, cultural imperialism, history keeping, and belonging. At times the narratives were so deeply tied up and obfuscated that I had little idea what was going on, but (as a friend pointed out to me - thank you, Chris!) that actually helps to emphasize the bigger themes of the book. The main character, Mahit, struggles so much with her ideas of where she belongs and is often overwhelmed by the culture in which she finds herself; as a reader, I felt the same sense of displacement at everything related to Texicalaan.
That being said, I probably (definitely) missed some things. Even with rereading certain pages over again, I still don't think I fully understood what exactly happened at times. Aside from the main four, characters became muddled in my mind, and honestly just seemed to speak in riddles to each other. And while it heightens that sense of the unknown I also would have like to have been less confused at key moments. This is definitely a book that needs a reread to grasp what goes down.
Again, I'm so impressed by just how much went into writing this! Texicalaan is well fleshed-out and has a deep, rich presence, full of its own literature, poetry, characteristics, nuances, etc. that just make reading the book feel like a trip to the city itself. I'm very interested to find out where this story is taken next. ( )

This book had ( )

A Memory Called Empire is a political thriller filled with danger and intrigue, and a tender story about trust and love and grief.

Mahit is the new ambassador from Lsel, a tiny mining colony at the edge of known space, to the empire of Teixcalaan (think Space Rome). Her predecessor died unexpectedly and without much explanation, so she has to navigate the twisting maze of foreign politics and her predecessor's secrets without "unexpectedly dying" herself. She also must decide who is an ally, who is a friend, and who is an opponent in this lonely, unfamiliar world.

It's early in the year to declare a favorite, but this book stands up to all the best ones I read in 2019. ( )