Someone once said that all fiction is either a person coming to or leaving town. Arkady Martine uses this setup in her debut novel, A Memory Called Empire from Tor. Only this person is an ambassador, and the town’s a capital city that is, at once, an entire planet and the heart of the empire itself. Using an ambassador instead of tourist infuses every interaction with tension from the start. Ambassadors’ seek to create relationships and foster peace through diplomacy while making deals and by necessity questioning everyone’s motivations. But that’s not enough for Dr. Martine1; she increases the complexity by making the ambassador represent a small nation-state that could not prevent unwanted annexation by the empire. To round it all out, the ambassador was called to the empire early due to the sudden death of her predecessor. From there, the novel rockets off to a political thriller filled with polite society, violence, and poetry. A Memory Called Empire balances intrigue, character, and action into an enchanting introduction to the Teixcalaan empire. Oh, and the memory/personality of the previous ambassador that is stored in a device on her brain stem just happens to be malfunctioning. Interested, yet?
TL;DR
Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire is an excellent debut novel. Like all good SFF, it combines action, big ideas, political intrigue, and a setting that evokes that good ole sensawunda. Highly recommended for fans of space opera.
From the Publisher
Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.
Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.
A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.
Story
Mahit Dzmare, Lsel Station ambassador, heads to the City, which is the heart and capital planet of the Teixcalaanli empire. Mahit carries with her in her mind an imago of her predecessor. This imago is a memory backup of many people, stored in a machine attached to her brain stem. Since she left Lsel Station earlier than expected, she and her imago didn’t have time to properly integrate. Mahit quickly learns that the previous ambassador was murdered and the situation in the City is much more fraught than she knew. Violence, protests, a war of annexation, and an emperor with failing health wait for her planet-side. During her education, Mahit fell in love with the empire before stepping one foot in it. On Lsel Station, she studied the empire, its language, and culture, even to the point where she wrote her own poems in the Teixcalaan style. In other words, Mahit is well prepared for her job and her journey to the empire. But, as this is an entertaining novel, she’s in for more than just diplomacy. As she investigates the death of her predecessor, she finds herself awash in internal politics and the target of assassinations, and all while attempting to protect her home from the whims of a much larger nation-state.
A Memory Called Empire is the outsider’s story because Mahit is a literal outsider. In fact, the citizens of Teixcalaan won’t let her forget that fact. To them, she’s a barbarian; to them, she plays at being a citizen of the empire. This novel of power dynamics delivers on the outsider point of view. Mahit is so well-versed in the traditions and cultures of Teixcalaan, she can play up or down her ‘barbarian-ness.’ Yet, despite all Mahit’s studies, the lived-in experience of the civilization still lies outside her grasp. It’s subtle but well done. This layer of friction fleshes out the themes dealing with identity.
Identity
With the imago, A Memory Called Empire asks interesting questions about identity. These machines store other personalities, even going generations back. The Stationers call these imago lines. As these other personalties blend, how does a person maintain their own? The Stationers seek to put the imagos with compatible personas, but the blending must alter the course of a person’s development. Imagos act as additional memory but also wisdom and understanding. They don’t pass on just knowledge; since the imagos are personalities, they also pass along experience from a life already lived. The process seems like the downloading scene from The Matrix, but instead of perfect knowledge and actions, the data could be viewed as a Stationer apprenticeship shortcut. The Teixcalaanli outlaw this technology because their society relies on an individuals ability to recall poetry and culture, but the Stationer culture depends on the imago technology.
In addition, Mahit’s identity throughout the novel is constantly at war with itself. On the one hand, she admires Teixcalaanli culture and language. She acts like a Teixcalaanli citizen while being constantly reminded that she’s not one. In fact, the society considers her a barbarian. She feels the tug of home while being surrounded by the society that she admires. Mahit puts on the trappings of the empire as needed and plays the role of barbarian as needed. It feels lonely, and yet she’s constantly aware that she’s the outsider. The awkward bits where she’s congratulated for being so civilized are as much about identity as the imago machine. Because of her need to protect her home, Mahit endures small indignities. The empire looks down on her and her people as less than civilized, which is ironic. Imago technology exceeds Teixcalaan abilities (and morals) with neurotech.
Imperialism
Criticisms
A Memory Called Empire takes place over the course of a few days. The action zips right along, and the solution comes about too fast. While the ending contains some magnificent imagery, it moves along too fast and finishes too easily. The solution makes sense and allows some of the characters to have great moments, but it also feels out of sync with what came before. This could be entirely a personal matter. Nor does it take away from the joy of the novel. The journey is where A Memory Called Empire shines.
Conclusion
Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire is an excellent debut space opera. It blends the political maneuvering of A Song of Ice and Fire with the philosophical and science fictional elements of Ancillary Justice. Hopefully, A Memory Called Empire opens a new space opera series, and readers can return to the universe of Teixcalaan and Lsel Station.
Available March 26, 2019 from Tor Books.
8 out of 10!
- Or should it be Ms. Martine? After all, Arkady Martine is the pen name for Dr. AnnaLinden Weller. I’m unsure of how it works for pen names, but I’m going with Dr. Martine. If it’s wrong or the author asks, I will change it. Return.