A Desolation Called Peace

I'll admit it, I was only so-so about Arkady Martine's debut despite all the awards it hoovered up. This sequel, however, is a jump up in quality. The characters are better drawn, the intrigue is better handled, the prose is better, and there are some of the nastiest, most alien, aliens I've seen in a long time. There are new characters, new points of views, and the whole thing feels so much more confident and assured. It's not often you get to see an author levelling up on the page, but it happens here. I loved it.