A Desolation Called Peace (#1,089) is Arkady Martine's sequel to her remarkable novel A Memory Called Empire. It is another meaty space opera centered around a war about to break out in the vastness of space. How this came about is a plot line of A Memory Called Empire, so you really need to read these two books in order. Most of the characters are familiar here, but there are potentially more enemies, and not just out in the void. Some of them are much closer to home.
What I really enjoyed about these two books are the author's use of language. In the Empire of Teixcalaan, poetry is used as entertainment, culture and as a political weapon, so it is fitting that the beauty of some of the passages feels so utterly right.
There's political intrigue, sabotage, love, loss and the fear of annihilation here, as the Teixcalaan forces battle an unknowable enemy perilously near the territory of Lsel Station, home of Mahit Dzmare, Ambassador to the Teixcalaanli Empire. When Special Envoy Three Seagrass swoops into the Station to convey Mahit to the Teixcalaanli Fleet battleship to help in communications efforts, it's just in the nick of time for Mahit. But is she jumping from the frying pan to the fire?
This book, admittedly, did take me a long time to read, but that was mostly because I didn't want to rush the experience. Here's hoping there will be a third addition to this series.
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