Splinter in the Sky

Splinter in the Sky is an sf book about a tea-making political prisoner, caught between multiple factions all wanting to spy on each other. The book pitch here is "sapphically taking down an empire from within".

It's hard for me to not think of A Memory Called Empire while reading this. Mahit in that book felt very conflicted about the Teixcalaanli Empire; she both studied and dreamed about wanting to be a part of it (and knowing she couldn't ever truly be so), but also knew with eyes wide open how that empire consumed and absorbed everything it touched.

Here, it feels like Enitan has no such ambivalence. Her culture isn't appreciated; she's looked down on (at best); she certainly doesn't want to emulate said empire; her people aren't even seen as real people. She's traumatized by trying to find her sister, but I don't understand why she's not more angry, and can find forgiveness and trust so easily for her oppressors.

One major plot point is that the new imperator is seen as weak and so Enitan also tries to figure out who actually is in charge. It makes sense from a plot perspective why this is going on, but in practice it takes a lot of teeth away from the empire itself. Shouldn't meeting the god-imperator at the head of the empire be terrifying for a political hostage from a recently conquered planet? Why would said imperator trust Enitan so quickly?

It all just feels a bit thin. The political players are introduced often right before when they are needed for their plot points. People in the empire who have committed atrocities seem to be quickly forgiven because they feel bad about it. Trust feels like it happens far too quickly. The empire is told to be scary, historically and off page, but on page I only get brief glimpses of this, and few feelings.

Sorry for all the negative thoughts. I still thought this book was fun, but I just wish it was a bit deeper and had more of a bite.

Imagine your little moon was conquered and colonized, your people exploited. You live with it and try to get by. Then one day your sibling gets abducted. When you ask your ex, who happens to be the governor, to find out what happened, your ex dies rather suddenly. Then, unexpectedly, you have the chance to travel to the heart of the empire, there possibly to seek revenge for your people's insults and maybe even find your sibling.

As noted in other reviews, the book strains belief occasionally with the protagonist's many lucky breaks. A couple of details were inconsistent--like an android who can't go undercover for long because he doesn't breathe, but he does sigh once. In my opinion, these aren't enough to outweigh the interesting development of a character who's far from a spy or assassin having to cope with spy/assassin type problems. Plus, the author clearly has an intimate understanding of what it's like for a colonized person to live amongst their colonizers, constantly dealing with condescension, exploitation, bigotry, and even outright violence. Overall, it's a good balance of serious and silly, plus the descriptions of cultural conflict are absolutely on the nose. Worth it, unless you're a stickler for detail.