A Desolation Called Peace
{{Short description|2021 novel by Arkady Martine}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox book
| author = Arkady Martine
| language = English
| country = United States
| genre = Science fiction
| publisher = Tor books
| pub_date = 2 March 2021
| english_pub_date =
| published =
| media_type = Print, ebook
| pages = 496 (Hardcover)
| awards =
| isbn = 978-1-250-18646-1
| series = Teixcalaan
| preceded_by = A Memory Called Empire
| image = A-Desolation-Called-Peace-by-Arkady-Martine.jpg
| caption = Cover art for A Desolation Called Peace
| release_number = 2
}}
A Desolation Called Peace is a 2021 space opera science fiction novel by Arkady Martine. It is the sequel to A Memory Called Empire, and the second novel in Martine's Teixcalaan series. Like its predecessor, the book won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, in 2022.{{cite web|url=https://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2022-hugo-awards/|date=September 5, 2022|title=2022 Hugo Awards}}
Synopsis
A few months after A Memory Called Empire, alien forces massacre an industrial colony of the Teixcalaanli Empire. The Teixcalaanli admiral Nine Hibiscus, tasked with confronting the threat, requests an Information Ministry specialist to attempt to communicate with the inscrutable enemy. That specialist is Three Seagrass, now a senior Imperial official, who smuggles herself to the frontlines by way of Lsel Station. There, she convinces her former associate and still nominal ambassador to the Empire, Mahit Dzmare, to accompany her. Mahit seizes on the chance to escape the increasing danger from factional conflicts on Lsel, and she is tasked by one of Lsel's leaders to sabotage first-contact efforts in order to prolong the Empire's war with the aliens.
In Nine Hibiscus's fleet, the two women develop methods to communicate with the aliens and restart their romantic relationship. With the aid of Nine Hibiscus's adjutant, Twenty Cicada, they establish a line of communication to the enemy, who turn out to be a hive mind that does not understand the personhood of individuals. Their fragile truce is almost foiled when a rebellious subordinate of Nine Hibiscus launches an attack with weapons of mass destruction against one of the enemy's home planets. But an intervention by Eight Antidote, the emperor's young heir, back in the capital allows Nine Hibiscus to stop the attack. As the prospect of further war recedes, Mahit considers a future in the Empire after having burned her bridges to Lsel.
Major themes
Continuing with themes from the first book in the series, the book tackles subjects conquest and colonialism, what constitutes language, and personal connection to culture and institutions.{{cite web |last=Martini |first=Adrienne |url=https://locusmag.com/2021/03/adrienne-martini-reviews-a-desolation-called-peace-by-arkady-martine/ |title=Adrienne Martini and Russell Letson Review A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine |date=2021-03-26 |work=Locus }} The book also introduces new themes such as collective consciousness.{{cite web |last=Wang |first=Amy |url=https://cornellsun.com/2021/04/05/a-desolation-called-peace-language-and-personhood-in-a-space-opera-sequel/ |title=A Desolation Called Peace: Language and Personhood in a Space-Opera Sequel |date=2021-04-05 |website=Cornell Sun }}
The title alludes to a famous phrase by Tacitus who quotes a Caledonian chieftain describing the policies of the Roman Empire: {{lang|la|solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant}} – "they make a wasteland and call it peace".Tacitus, Agricola, ch. 30; See also Tacitean studies.
Reception
In his starred BookPage review, Noah Fram compares how Martine’s debut effort showcased her talents in creating a gripping narrative, blending humor and consummate world building, to the more cerebral thematic exploration in A Desolation Called Peace, which he writes features "some of the cleverest and most elegant foreshadowing in modern science fiction."{{Cite web|title=Book Review - A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine|url=https://bookpage.com/reviews/26054-arkady-martine-desolation-called-peace-science-fiction-fantasy|access-date=2021-04-22|website=BookPage.com|date=25 February 2021 |language=en}} He predicts that as well-deserving of the Hugo Award A Memory Called Empire was, Desolation "might just eclipse it."
According to Martin Cahill in Tor.com the novel is both an action-packed space opera and a "thoughtful, complicated examination of identity, language, personhood, and truth."{{Cite web|last=Cahill|first=Martin|date=2021-03-04|title=Arkady Martine Examines the Costs of Empire in A Desolation Called Peace|url=https://www.tor.com/2021/03/04/book-reviews-a-desolation-called-peace-by-arkady-martine/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=Tor.com|language=en-US}} Lisa Tuttle in The Guardian wrote that it was "first-class space opera, with added spycraft, diplomatic intrigue and scary aliens, along with interesting explorations of perception, ways of communicating, and what makes a person."{{Cite web|date=2021-03-12|title=The best recent science fiction and fantasy – reviews roundup|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/mar/12/the-best-recent-science-fiction-and-fantasy-reviews-roundup|access-date=2021-04-22|website=the Guardian|language=en}}
= Awards =
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.tor.com/2021/03/04/book-reviews-a-desolation-called-peace-by-arkady-martine/ A Desolation Called Peace] on tor.com
{{Hugo Award Best Novel}}
{{Locus Award Best SF Novel}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Desolation Called Peace}}
Category:2021 LGBTQ-related literary works
Category:2021 science fiction novels
Category:Hugo Award for Best Novel–winning works
Category:LGBTQ speculative fiction novels
Category:Novels about imperialism