EXCLUSIVE: A+ Members, Read a Generous Excerpt of Arkady Martine’s “A Desolation Called Peace” Here!

In Arkady Martine’s debut A Memory Called Empire, she brought us into a universe indelibly marked by imperialism where the contours of state and self are formed by language and memory. Inspired by the real-life Byzantine and Aztec empires, the Teixcalaanli Empire is dazzling in its complexity and hierarchy as well as its hunger to assimilate the rest of space into its borders. Mahit Dzmare, from the small outpost of Lsel Station outside the Empire’s control, is called to its capital to serve as ambassador under troubling circumstances. The universe of the Teixcalaan series unravels how our conceptions of self, community and nationality are inextricably tied to our language and to our sense of shared collective memory, whether that comes from the meticulously detailed historical art and poetry of the Teixcalaanli people or the fascinating imago technology of the Stationers of Lsel, linking each individual citizen with a dynasty of living memories of their predecessors.

In A Desolation Called Peace, Martine expands our world to the borders of the Teixcalaanli Empire, where Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass find themselves thrust in the middle of the grim machinations that sustain it — with millions of lives on the line. Readers of socially aware space opera with ambitious worldbuilding will find themselves totally absorbed in the Teixcalaan series, and fans of Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb trilogy or Samuel Delany’s Babel-17 will be thrilled to have 800+ new pages to dive into across both books.

We know this series will resonate with A+ members, who are a readymade audience for complex worldbuilding and smart, challenging queer scifi – we’re delighted to be able to share an exclusive EXTENDED excerpt of A Desolation Called Peace in honor of its launch. Enjoy the excerpt included here, and then grab your copies of both current titles in the Teixcalaan series today from Tor Books!

Book cover art for "A Desolation Called Peace". Illustration of a figure looking out of a large geometrically paneled window, where a large saturn-like object floats in a dazzling burst of light and red smoke. Text reads "A Desolation Called Peace — Arkady Martine" "A mesmerizing debut... it left me utterly dazzled." — The New York Times Book Review on A Memory Called Empire
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Rachel

Originally from Boston, MA, Rachel now lives in the Midwest. Topics dear to her heart include bisexuality, The X-Files and tacos. Her favorite Ciara video is probably "Ride," but if you're only going to watch one, she recommends "Like A Boy." You can follow her on twitter and instagram.

Rachel has written 1140 articles for us.

6 Comments

  1. I was so excited to see this advertised on AS yesterday and immediately got it out of the library!

    As a committed reader of lesbian science fiction, this is the first time in my life I have felt truly targeted by an advertising campaign – who knew capitalism could feel this warm and fuzzy?

    I really enjoyed the first book, and am looking forward to what Mahit and Three Seagrass get up to next!

  2. YES! I loved A Memory Called Empire (thanks to the lesbrarian column for recommending it a while back) and was already on the waitlist for the sequel at the library! I’ve got a week or so left for my copy I think, so I’m excited to have this in the meantime.

  3. I absolutely loved the first book in this series and cannot wait to read the sequel. I’m thrilled to see coverage here on AS!

  4. !!!!!!!! Saving the rest for later but WHAT a prelude!! The command of language is here and I’m so ready

  5. I loved A Memory Called Empire and was DEVASTATED to realize it was the first in a series and the next hadn’t come out yet. I also read the author’s bio, realized her partner is also an author, which led me into her entirely different but also very enjoyable venture of heartwarming British monster/vampire doctor stories, which as a medical student were just the thing.

  6. I joined A+ this week and this has ALREADY. MADE. IT. WORTH. IT. tnx to anyone and everyone who brought this to being.

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