Arkady Martine is a speculative fiction writer and, as Dr. AnnaLinden Weller, a historian of the Byzantine Empire and a city planner. Under both names, she writes about border politics, rhetoric, propaganda, and the edges of the world. Arkady grew up in New York City and, after some time in Turkey, Canada, and Sweden, lives in Baltimore with her wife, the author Vivian Shaw. A Memory Called Empire is her debut novel.
A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it. --Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice In A Memory Called Empire, Arkady Martine smuggles you into her interstellar diplomatic pouch, and takes you on the most thrilling ride ever. Tis book has everything I love: identity crises, unlikely romance, complicated politics, and cunning adventurers. Super-fun, and ultra-fascinating. --Charlie Jane Anders, author of All The Birds in the Sky An elegant and accomplished example of the subgenre of subtle scheming with abackground of stars. A delightful read. I couldn't put it down. --Jo Walton, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author of Among Others A taut murder mystery entwined with questions of technological ethics, A Memory Called Empire is also an evocative depiction of foreignness. Martine creates an elaborate and appealing culture against which to play out this story of political intrigue, assimilation, and resistance. Daring, beautiful, immersive, and often profound. --Malka Older, author of Infomocracy A Memory Called Empire is a murder mystery wrapped up in a political space opera, and deeply immerses the reader in a unique culture and society. I very much enjoyed it and look forward to what Martine does next. --Martha Wells, author of The Murderbot Diaries A Memory Called Empire elevates space opera to poetry--clever, deep, sometimes tragic, sometimes violent, always transcendent poetry that shines like the edge of a knife. --Delilah Dawson An intricate, layered tale of empire, personal ambition, political obligations and interstellar intrigue. Vivid and delightfully inventive. --Aliette de Bodard, Nebula Award-winning author of the Xuya Universe stories and The House of Binding Thorns A cutting, beautiful, human adventure about cultural exchange, identity, and intrigue. The best SF novel I've read in the last five years. --Yoon Ha Lee, author of the Machineries of Empire trilogy An exceptional first novel recommended for fans of Cherryh, Leckie, Banks, and Asimov. --Elizabeth Bear, author of Hammered A Memory Called Empire . . . is so frigging good. It's like a space opera murder mystery combined with all the political parts of Dune. --Dan Wells, author of I Am Not a Serial Killer