A Memory Called Empire

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is one of those gigantic worlds in a book. An epic start to what will surely be an epic series (the Teixcalaan series). But if epic series scare you, don’t worry. This book has a nice resolution and is a complete story unto itself.

The main character, Mahit is an ambassador from a small system with no habitable planets (everyone lives on space stations, and they call themselves Stationers). She has been assigned as an ambassador to the gigantic Teixcalaan Empire. Her job is to keep her system from being gobbled up by the empire. She is replacing the previous ambassador who is dead. How he died is one of the first things she must figure out.

The Stationers like Mahit may not have the rich culture of the empire, but they have a secret. They have a machine (an Imago) infused in their brain that gives the host access to the memories of a previous host. It’s not really immortality, but it is a way to keep memories and experiences alive. In her case, her imago carries the memories of the dead previous ambassador, which would be helpful except for the fact that the recording of his memories was made 15 years prior, so she has no idea what has been happening in the imperial capitol when the prior ambassador was killed. Mahit is a stranger in a strange land. She has studied Teixcalaan, but she is as obvious an outsider as a gorilla attending the opera. She does have an ambassadorial liaison named Three Seagrass who is there to help smooth the way for the barbarian. But Mahit is never sure of who she can trust. (All Teixcalaani names begin with a number and end in a noun. This can be amusing like when we meet an annoying bureaucrat named Six Helicopter).

These are treacherous waters as Mahit survives two assassination attempts, though we are not certain if she was the target for the first one. Also, her imago is malfunctioning (possibly sabotage), denying her access to the previous ambassador’s memories and knowledge. If this was not enough, the empire is in conflict. A potential war of succession looms as the old emperor grows closer to death. Three co-emperors have been named to succeed him, and also a general is maneuvering to take the throne. The empire has split itself into factions (not unlike what is happening to my country right now. Coincidence?) The political intrigue calls on every bit of Mahit’s wits to stay alive and protect her home.

It is no surprise that this book won the 2020 Hugo award. Martine has crafted the world building with care and attention to detail. The pace begins slow, but escalates to an edge-of-your-seat thriller. I had a hard time putting it down. Even though this novel is satisfying in itself, I am looking forward to the sequel.

Star Liner

Comments

Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove

Despite both of us having science backgrounds, my wife and I share a leaning toward the artistic, though we may express it in different ways. In her life, my wife has been a painter, a poet, a singer, an actor, and a fiction writer. Not to mention a mother. I don’t remember what precipitated this event, but my wife, my son, and I were at home in the front room. My wife was responding to something my son said. She said, “remember, you get half your brains from me. If it wasn’t for me, you’d be a complete idiot.” To which my son started howling with laughter and said to me,” I think you have just been insulted.” Sometimes I feel like Rodney Dangerfield. I get no respect. But that is not an uncommon state of affairs for fatherhood. When my son was going to middle school and high school, my wife was always the one to go in with him to get him registered for classes. One time she was unable to go and I had to be the one to get him registered. “Ugh,” he said. “why can’t Mama do i...

A Child of the . . .

What was it like to grow up as a child in the 90s? How about the 1940’s? Thinking about a child growing up in each different decade, conjures up images in my mind. But that is all they are: images. I was a child in the 1960’s. I can tell you what it felt like to be growing up in the 60’s and 70’s, but what it felt like to me is not what the history books remember. History will tell you the 60’s was about the Viet Nam War, civil rights, and the space race. The 70’s was Disco and Watergate. I remember being aware of all of those things, but to me this era was about finding time to play with my friends, something I probably share with a child of any decade. It was about navigating the social intricacies of school. It was about the Beatles, Three Dog Night, The Moody Blues, The Animals, Jefferson Airplane. It was Bullwinkle, the Wonderful World of Color, and Ed Sullivan. There are things that a kid pays attention to that the grown-ups don’t. Then there are things the adults ...

Telephonicus domesticus

Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone from 1877 bears about as much similarity to the modern smart phone as an abacus bears to a PC or Mac. There are just about as many leaps in technology in both cases. It’s funny how a major jump in technology happens (like the actual invention of the phone). Then there are some refinements over a few years or decades until it gets to a useful stable form. Then it stays virtually the same for many years with only minor innovations. The telephone was virtually unchanged from sometime before I was born until I was about forty. Push-buttons were replacing the rotary dial, but that was about it. (Isn’t it interesting though that when we call someone, we still call it “dialing?” I have never seen a dial on a cell phone.) Cell phones were introduced and (once they became cheap enough) they changed the way we phone each other. New advancements followed soon after, texting and then smart phones. Personal computers were also becoming commonplace and wer...

A speculative mind

Search This Blog