A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
Teixcalaanli space’s outskirts are home to an alien danger. No one can interact with it, it cannot be destroyed, and only Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is capable of defeating it in battle.
The fleet captain has dispatched an ambassador to speak with the strange invaders in an effort to broker a diplomatic settlement. With the previous turmoil in the Empire still fresh in their minds, Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass now have an impossible task on their hands: they must attempt to negotiate with a hostile entity without unintentionally sparking the end of both the Empire and themselves. Whether or whether they are successful could permanently alter Teixcalaan’s appearance.
A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine
5 used from $12.00
Free shipping
Amazon.com
- A Desolation Called Peace
- ABIS BOOK
- Tor
This is, I suppose, space opera, not necessarily about the first encounters but about interplanetary strife. Three Seagrass, the main character from the previous book, is sent in to try and converse with the superior alien menace the Teixcalaanli Empire is facing. In an effort to avert war, she insisted on enlisting the assistance of her friend, Ambassador Mahit Dzmare. However, there are elements within the empire that enjoy war or who would find it advantageous to their careers, so there are many contradictory and unclear motivations on display.
Mahit Dzmare, a diplomat, has returned to Lsel Station with two imago lines of Yskander Aghavn firmly implanted in her mind. Dzmare had warned Lsel and the Teixcalaan Empire of an approaching alien invasion outside of Teixcalaani Space at the end of MEMORY. In the lead of the approaching conflict with the aliens are Nine Hibiscus and Twenty Cicada, her deputy. But things are difficult. A faction that might not want her to survive has sent her out with a small fleet that isn’t large enough to handle the approaching invasion.
Political factions on Lsel Station want the impending conflict to continue indefinitely in order to exhaust the Empire’s forces and prevent it from amassing sufficient forces to eventually absorb Lsel. Even worse, it appears that there is no means to communicate with the enemy.
Due to her position in the government, Three Seagrass accepts the assignment when Nine Hibiscus calls home to request a diplomat trained in first-contact communication. She eventually locates Mahit and drags him along with her because she had been wanting to see Mahit again and because Dzmare might have the right kind of training to assist her with this mission…
