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Cover of A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace

Science Fiction · 2023 · R

A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace

by Arkady Martine

The empire absorbs everything. She's trying to stay herself.

This ebundle includes: A Memory Called Empire and A Desolation Called Peace. The action-packed space opera series from Arkady Martine, Teixcalaan, blends mystery and adventure on an interstellar scale. In the first book, A Memory Called Empire, the new Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the ever-expanding Teixcalaanli Empire only to realize that her predecessor’s death, occurring at the height of political instability, was no accident. Acclimatizing to an alien culture, tracking down the murderer of the former ambassador to their small but independent mining community, and saving

For17+GenreScience FictionLength925 pagesRead time~24 hours

This analysis was generated by AI from publicly available reader reviews, literary criticism, and book discussions. It has not been verified by a BookLens community reviewer and may contain errors. Be the first to verify →

Content snapshot

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

A lot

Political assassinations and alien combat violence throughout both novels

Language

Some

Moderate language; Teixcalaanli literary culture shapes the prose

Sexual Content

Some

Adult romantic relationships; queer characters throughout; some intimate content

Substance Use

None

No substance use

Emotional Intensity

A lot

Cultural imperialism and its seductions, the cost of belonging to something that doesn't see you fully, first contact as a philosophical problem

What this book is about

Two Hugo-winning novels in one volume. In A Memory Called Empire, Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives at the center of the Teixcalaanli empire and discovers her predecessor was murdered — and that she wants very badly to belong to this culture while understanding why it's dangerous. In A Desolation Called Peace, Three Seagrass and Eleven Lathe investigate first contact with an alien species while the empire's internal politics threaten to consume them. Together they form an extraordinary examination of empire, identity, and what it means to love a thing that would erase you.

Notes for sensitive readers

Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.

political violence and assassination

adult queer romantic content

complex world-building across two novels

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