When I read [b:A Memory Called Empire|37794149|A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1)|Arkady Martine|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526486698l/37794149._SY75_.jpg|59457173], it took me only a few pages to absolutely fall in love with Arkady Martine's prose and the skillful way that she wove linguistic and historical detail into a space opera and made it come alive into this critique of empire coming from a person who both loves and fears the empire in question. I put off reading A Desolation Called Peace multiple times because I needed a time where I had the brain space for it and honestly, I was afraid there was no way that it could measure up to how much I loved the first book. I've never been more happy to be wrong, Desolation is possibly the best sequel I've ever read and a perfect ending to the Teixcalaan duology. Part of me feels deeply unequal to the task of expressing how much I loved this book and how well executed it was, but I'll do my best.

Desolation takes the ideas expressed in Memory and pushes the reader outside of Mahit's head by including POVs ranging from side characters from Memory to Teixcalaan elite involved in the new war to the young heir to the empire who has entirely too much to deal with for an eleven year old. There are even some short sections from the viewpoints of Mahit's people, the Stationers, and the aliens with whom Teixcalaan is attempting to make first contact. This expansion comes at the cost of not being so closely connected with a single character but gives you a much wider view of the effect of Teixcalaan and its weight on a broad swathe of people.

And where Memory was a deep discussion of the ravenous impulses of empire and how entangled you can become in that even as an outsider, Desolation forces that empire to reckon with an existential crisis and how far the people who direct that power are willing to go to protect themselves and their legacy.

What I admire so much about this duology is the way that Martine integrates these historical ideas of empire and then makes it personal with characters you can empathize with even as they're making terrible decisions. And even if you don't have the personal connection to Mahit not fitting into either culture that she loves or Six Antidote struggling with the weight of legacy, you can witness and understand their struggle in a way that feels very personal and at times, heartbreaking.

While some sequels have finished out the story in a satisfying way that I enjoyed, A Desolation Called Peace really felt like the ultimate way to expand on the themes of colonialism and power with a greater view of the universe that still felt deeply personal and empathetic to the people involved. I'm not sure I'll ever read another duology that will measure up to how much this gripped my heart and made me reflect on the historical past despite being entirely through a science fiction lens. It is genuinely one of the best books I've read and I look forward to revisiting it as often as I have A Memory Called Empire.