A Memory Called Empire

The delicious worldbuilding, with its gorgeous, sensual details, and the intriguing story setup, were the things that grabbed me and pulled me into the book. The characters—funny, complicated, and utterly loveable—convinced me to stay.

But it was the complex, beautiful exploration of identity, belonging, love, grief, and longing that’s stayed with me since I listened to the last word of the audiobook. This book manages to be both an exciting and action-packed adventure and a beautiful tribute to the bittersweet complexities of being human. 

For those who loved Netflix’s The Diplomat and Asimov's Foundation, this book has got you covered.

A story about a small-time space diplomat as she tries to navigate the overwhelming capital of a galactic empire. I appreciate that the characters here are all savvy and smart as they navigate galactic politics. I enjoyed the inventive sci-fi elements, and the sprawling world building which was inspired by a mix of Aztec mythology and Byzantine history (the author is a Byazantium scholar). But I mostly appreciated that it's a light and breezy read with big ideas, a space opera escapist pleasure.

Foundation… show more.

A galactic empire. A space station on the outer fringes. Mysterious aliens coming from the darkness. I love how Arkady Martine’s twisty space opera is just teeming with life; she creates a world that seems so different from ours, but is instantly relatable. This story, of an ambassador dispatched from that remote station to the Empire she’s always admired, only to discover that her predecessor was murdered and the chip containing his memory sabotaged, kept me guessing throughout. Plus, you don’t want to miss the scene with some extemporaneous brain surgery.

Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire imagines a galaxy-spanning empire as a kind of reincarnation of the Byzantine Empire. A song that starts a revolution? Foreign agents enamored with the culture they want to destroy? A society wrapped up in its own account of the heroism of its army? All of these describe Martine’s amazing galaxy-spanning empire but also describe the massive Byzantine Empire that ruled much of Europe and the Middle East from the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) between 700 and 1453. An expert on Byzantine history she shows a beguiling, self-obsessed empire and the people in a… show more.