A Memory Called Empire

Overall, this was a really excellent book. It reminds me a lot of Ann Leckie's Ancillary series and Katherine Addison's Goblin Emperor, very intricate world-building, political thriller. The worlds Martine creates are vivid and real, and she has a beautiful ability to highlight the ambivalence of the ex-pat in a country one used to love through rose-colored glasses and now must see the dark truth of. The only part that fell a little flat for me was the romance. Something about it just felt a little tacked on. Granted, I like my romances either entirely subtextual tension or plot-drivingly present, so this one was just a bit lukewarm, like if you removed it from the story, nothing would really be lost. That said, the rest of the tension and mystery more than make up for this, and I will eagerly read the next one when it arrives.