A Memory Called Empire

I finished this a few days ago, and was going to give it a 4-star review, but how much I keep thinking about it and how many times I've recommended it tells me it's really 5 stars for me! This is...just an epic space opera! I think part of the reason it also resonated so much with me right now started with the dedication: “This book is dedicated to anyone who has ever fallen in love with a culture that was devouring their own.” I've been reading/thinking a lot about modernity and its perils recently, and Martine has a lot to say about culture, how it defines us and others, self-perpetuates, but also self-destructs. There's just so much stuff here about selfhood as well - what is memory, what parts of it are shared and what cannot be, and what do our stories mean to us. I haven't ordered her second book yet, but certainly will.