A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) (2019) by Arkady Martine

Evidently this author must be doing something right, since her first two books have both won the Hugo Award. A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan #1) (2019) by Arkady Martine is the winner of our September 21st poll!

(I started listening to this a while back on audiobook, but it was a little dense and hard to follow while listening so I recommend getting an early start on the print or ebook version.)

Winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident - or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion - all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret - one that might spell the end of her station and her way of life - or rescue it from annihilation.

A fascinating space-opera debut, Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.

"[A] gorgeously crafted diplomatic space opera . . . Readers will eagerly await the planned sequels to this impressive debut."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"The most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love."—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky