A Memory Called Empire
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
A Memory Called Empire
| Author | Arkady Martine |
|---|---|
| Published | 2019 |
| Pages | 464 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Arkady Martine’s Hugo-winning novel about an ambassador from a small independent station sent to the capital of an empire that runs on poetry, carrying an implant of her dead predecessor’s memories that is fifteen years out of date. Written by a Byzantine historian, it is about how a small polity keeps its independence from a culture so attractive that assimilation feels like promotion. |
A Memory Called Empire
Where I heard about it
- a16z’s infrastructure team — on the a16z Infra Reading List, B tier (“also worth reading”), as volume one of the Teixcalaan series. Their read is that the novelty is not the tech but culture, identity and language — plus an uncomfortably realistic depiction of what an overflowing inbox does to a person.
Connections
- a16z Infra Reading List — the list this came from.
- Arkady Martine — the author, a historian of Byzantium.
- A Desolation Called Peace — volume two.
- Memory — the imago implant, and the book’s title.
- Identity — what the implant costs.
- Power — empire as attraction rather than force.
- Science Fiction — the genre page.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.