A Desolation Called Peace

I really loved A Memory Called Empire, but one of the bits of it that felt a little forced to me was the Mahit/Three Seagrass romance. I feel like that book was so much about Mahit and Yskander and the murder mystery that the romance just didn't ever feel like it belonged. This book actually changed my opinion completely. This book is totally about the complicated relationship of Mahit and Three Seagrass because it's about the complicated relationship between colonized and colonizer. They are the microcosm for the larger political themes, and the two stories play out in a way that is both realistic, emotional, and fascinating. The political intrigue is ramped up another level, the aliens are great, and Martine's writing remains strong. If you liked or were just ambivalent with the first book, definitely go on to the second. Well-deserved Hugo.