A Desolation Called Peace

Though both work very well as stand-alone novels, Arkady Martine's follow-up to the Hugo-winning _A Memory Called Empire_, released a few days ago, returns us to the original's timeline a scant month after the first book's conclusion and plunges us pretty much immediately back into the high intrigue and galaxy-spanning conflicts that we loved before. But in _A Desolation Called Peace_, her characters have a bit more room to breathe and develop, in spite of the fact that the plot proceeds at near-breakneck speed throughout. Featuring a background society that's fully-fleshed and intricate, Martine gives us dangers aplenty, with high stakes for both the characters and the Empire (and its enemies) that strike home on scales both personal and grand, and pulls them off to a satisfying conclusion. The author's main themes revolve around what it means to be on the outside looking in, well-traveled tropes in the genre that nevertheless are presented here in fresh and multi-faceted perspectives that never feel forced or cliched. She invites us along as her characters come to terms with the rapidly-developing plot forcing them to onion-peel their interpersonal relationships, each of them exploring the space around what it means to be human, and "other", and the places in-between - with themselves, their partners, friends and colleagues, and society at large. Martine's debut novel was popular enough to net her the highest award in science fiction, and the sequel has been furiously anticipated. She does not disappoint with her sophomore effort, and in fact has elevated her game considerably. Highly recommended.

Almost as good as the first book, it loses some originality points. Without spoiling anything, a couple of choices are straight out of Star Trek - and entirely predictable as a result. I found myself hoping for a *worse* ending to avoid the inevitable (which is heavily, if not cleverly, foreshadowed). Also, the kid's narrative is almost entirely skippable. On the whole, though, this is a solid second entry.