A Memory Called Empire

… wirklich schön anzusehen. Die Unterschiede auch in der Betrachtung der Welt, zwischen denen, die auf einer Weltraumstation aufgewachsen sind und denen, die auf DEM Planeten aufwuchsen. Gute Charakterisierungen, tolles Namenssystem, das mir das Merken von Namen sehr erleichtert. Alle auf dem Planeten heißen $Zahl $Substantiv also bspw „Neunzehn Breitaxt“, „Sechs Vektor“, „Drei Seegras“. Die Zahlen haben manchmal auch Verbindungen zum Charakter oder Job der jeweiligen Personen — so viel einfacher zu merken für mich als irgendwelche random Fantasynamen wie „Ft‘anr Lobdart“ oder sowas. Ich mochte auch die Poesie-Obsession der Planetenbewohnenden, die ihre ganze Kultur formt. Hier hatte ich allerdings desöfteren das Gefühl, dass die Übersetzung ihr nicht gerecht wurde. Auch wunderte es mich sehr, dass die Menschen in dem Buch alle Männer oder Frauen waren und sehr sehr viel generisches Maskulinum genutzt wurde. Daher werde ich den 2. Band auf Englisch lesen zum Vergleich. An sich ist das 1. Buch aber abgeschlossen und kann alleinstehend gelesen werden.

Was ein bisschen kurz kam, als seiendes Thema nur angeschnitten aber nicht ganz ausgespielt worden: Der Charakter der Stadt. Diese ist AI gesteuert und wird von Ministerien beeinflusst, scheint aber auch das Potential zu haben, rogue zu gehen. Mal sehen ob das im Band zwei anklingt.

Kurzum: Echt spannend, manchmal n bisschen langatmig aber überlebbar und richtig gutes Worldbuilding. Zudem ein paar „Queers“, wobei Heterosexualität nicht die Norm zu sein scheint und daher als Beschreibung vermutlich L/G/B besser passen würde.

If I'm honest I first picked up this book because of the image on the cover but once I picked up the book I remained interested and the aesthetic remained pretty cool throughout and gave me vibes from the "Coup" and "The Resistance" board games.

The book really focuses in a lot on the political manoeuvrers of the central character Mahit and her allies (and enemies). There's a fair amount of political theatre and description of Mahit's internal monologue which reminded me of House of Cards. The world building meant that the plot does take a little while to really get going but once it does get going, there's a fair amount to be excited about. The last few chapters were pretty gripping and more reminiscent of something like The Expanse.

There is a lot of description of the culture and language used in the Teixcalaanli Empire which for me, really teetered on the precipice between detailed world-building and self-absorbed. I'm not really in to poetry - which is a huge part of Teixcalaanli culture so maybe that explains why I didn't really get on board with certain aspects of the world building but the descriptions of the technology, city, space vessels etc were well done.

Overall a solid, captivating sci-fi read if you can get on board with some of the slower descriptive parts of the book.

What if an Aztec-like culture became a vast conquering space empire? How would that culture, ritual, and language evolve?

This is my first read of Arkady Martine, prompted by award nominations, book club recommendations, and the apparent streak of Aztec/Nahuatl influence and language present in Martine's vast space empire. I was intrigued that some reviewers recommended this book to fans of C.J. Cherryh. Combine all that with a "whodunit" murder mystery, and I began.

I was pleasantly surprised by the skill of this writer. I was delighted by her use of language, linguistics, and poetry in world-building. This book combines psychology and anthropology skillfully. This story is not an action-movie (although it contains everything from warships to daggers). However, it is a layered kaleidoscope of ideas about culture, linguistics, literature, politics, and above all: identity. While there are several points where an astute reader can see where events are going, it is still a delight to watch how the path will unfold from here to there. Part of the pleasure is watching the protagonist learn and discover, even if we can already see a bit ahead of where she can see. I enjoyed the main characters and the process of discovering them with the protagonist.

There are moments when this author taps perfectly into the torn feeling a person can have who comes from a less "mainstream" culture into a larger one. That feeling of being the outsider, even if one is well-versed. This could have been so easy to mess up, but she handled it well.

This author is not C.J. Cherryh, but try this book if you love Cherryh's exploration of personal identity. Neither is this author Guy Gavriel Kay, but try this book if you love the way she uses the "big" human themes of pivotal moments in history, immersion in layers of culture, and lovely descriptions of place. Most of all, give this book a try if you like the idea of identity discovery in the midst of a whodunit, in the midst of a culture that breathes poetry.