Welcome to Litsy!

#SpringSkies @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @Eggs
#AwardWinner

This book won the Hugo award in 2022.

I read this in one sitting on my day off and enjoyed every bit of it. It felt different than the first though because we have more POV characters to follow. Eight Antidote stole the show though.

Complex and interconnecting characters, well drawn and thoughtful.
Aliens and civilizations that are different and complex
Beautifully written. Plot a bit hard to follow at times, but then there are many layers that make that true. Players with competing wants/needs/fears.
I confess to some confusion with the interactions of some of the characters. I think I need to re-read at some point.
Great read.

Will Mahit discover who sabotaged her imago?

Never before have I read that book that speaks to that feeling of foreignness of going back to your homeland. Everything has moved on, and you no longer belong, just as you still don't belong in the new country you've chosen to live in.

I really enjoyed this second installment in Martin‘s Teixcalaan series. The characters, as with the first book, are strong and entertaining. I‘m ready for the next book in the series.

I enjoyed this 2022 Hugo Best Novel nominee even more than the first in the series. Compared to A Memory Called Empire, this one had more action and a more interesting cast of characters and felt like it fit the space opera genre better. #hugoawards #hugo2022

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

#fourfoursin22 diplomacy (full of political intrigue, the main chars are ambassadors, envoys, etc) @Lauredhel

Definitely not a standalone book, but if you read book 1 and liked it then I think you will like book 2 as well. I sure did. Like the first book, lots of importance on language and with a lot to say about dominant cultures, colonizing empires, identity... One of my favourite books so far this year.

In book two of the Teixcalaan saga, Ambassador Dzmare of Lsel and Three Seagrass of Teixcalaan are summoned to attempt the impossible task of negotiating with an enemy that doesn't talk. Existential threats don't stop the eternal jockeying for power at home and in the fleet. Only someone with nothing left to lose can make the right choices.

Full review: https://lamp.works/bwl?s=B07QPJHNSM
#sciencefiction #LGBTQ

Pain day reading plans. I‘d love to finish A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE today, but I‘m not sure if I‘ll feel enough of a drive to read all 175 remaining pages in such a short stretch of time. I find I‘m really into the cultural stuff and the characters‘ perspectives but I‘m less engaged with the military side of the plot.

I don‘t quite love A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE so far, but I do like it an awful lot. All the characters are so INTERESTED in everything. It makes them a joy to read about.

One content warning: Martine uses “spook” in the British sense, to mean “spy.” I understand it‘s considered a vile racial slur in the US, so the Americans among you may want to brace yourselves going in. There are a lot of spies in this book.

And this morning, little Casimir helped me start A DESOLATION CALLED PEACE. I hope I can find the time to really sink into it today.

I think I liked this one better than the 1st one! Martine's meticulous work in 'A Memory Called Empire' really pays off. This follow-up has multiple POVs, introduces some great new characters and has plenty of action. Throw in fascinating & terrifying aliens, a meditation on the meaning of 'self,' an intrepid 11 year old emperor-to-be, & the continuation of Mahit & Three Seagrass's love story, put it all together & you have a great Space Opera!

I really liked this one, and plowed through it after rereading A Memory Called Empire to remind me of the characters and situation. I described the first book as cerebral, but this one feels more action-packed. The conflict with the aliens that was set up in the first book pays off here. We see a lot more of the world, and we see the world through more characters' eyes.

Another twisty, turny, political Sci-fi thriller from Martine with a very interesting LGBT+ romance subplot. Tackling powerful themes about how power differentials in an unequal universe can affect relationships.

Also political mind games, space battles, scary aliens, and kittens. A strong sequal to A Memory Called Empire and defo a pick. Five out of five.

Teixcalaan faces an enemy who communicates without language, immune to poetry. Humanity‘s future depends on a maverick general and her unconventional adjutant, a lovestruck spook and her favourite barbarian to figure them out.

It features so much of what I love: characters in precarious situations, tenuous relationships, mistrust and attraction, loyalty and duty, diplomats and first contact - in a dense world rife with politics.

Glorious.

Don‘t you touch a hair on the head of my precious Nine Hibiscus, I am already prepared to do dumb shit for her 🤣

My November reads! Between a stressful month at work and a couple long books, I only got 8 read. Hopefully December is better.

It's been a very stressful week at work and probably not the best time to be reading a book that requires a lot of concentration. But I'm 20% in and will keep going. I love this author's creativity and writing style.

Started this ARC today. Absolutely loved the first book - A Memory Called Empire - so very happy to be reading this second book in the series. #sciencefiction

io9 has the cover and a short excerpt from the sequel to A Memory Called Empire. Loved the first book and am excited to see where the story goes in A Desolation Called Peace. Out 3/2/2021.