Audiobook Review – A Desolation Called Peace (Teixcalaan, Book 2) by Arkady Martine, Narrated by Amy Landon (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera
Length: 17 hours and 32 minutes
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Release Date: March 02, 2021
ASIN: B082WK914S
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Teixcalaan series
Source: Borrowed on Audiobook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.
In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass – still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire – face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.
Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction – and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion.
Or it might create something far stranger….”
Series Info/Source: This is the second book in the Teixcalaan series. Right now there aren’t any other books planned in this series as far as I could find. I borrowed this on audiobook from the library.
Thoughts: I ended up enjoying this book even more than the first book in the series. We hear from a number of different points of view but the way things unfolded with the alien race that’s destroying Teixcalaanli planets was fascinating.
Mahit has returned to her space station but Three Seagrass wants her to journey along to the fleet that Captain Nine Hibiscus is running in hopes that Mahit might figure out a way to communicate with this new alien life-form that is threatening Teixacalaanli space. Meanwhile, down in the capital, Eight Antidote (the emperor’s heir) is trying to make sense of the events happening on the edges of Teixcalaanli space.
The book switches POV frequently and we hear mainly from Mahit, Three Seagrass, Nine Hibiscus, and Eight Antidote. Each POV has its own unique voice and I didn’t have any issues with knowing when the POV had changed (even though I was listening to this on audiobook).
The world-building continues to be absolutely amazing and the plot is complex and epic. However, it is never confusing to follow and even with the huge scope this story covers the characters remain relatable, likable, and engaging. It takes true skill to take a science fiction epic like this and make it feel so personable. The story of the characters embroiled in these events and their personal lives have just as much impact as the overall fate of the Teixacalaanli empire.
I really enjoyed the encounters with the new alien race that the Teixcalaan empire had to deal with. This just drives home the fact that even though Teixcalaan considers a lot of the worlds they have absorbed to be “in-human” they have no idea what kind of alien ideas of civilization are present in the universe.
As mentioned above, I listened to this on audiobook. The audiobook was very well done. The narrator was easy to listen to and did an excellent job differentiating between characters and portraying emotion.
My Summary (5/5): Overall I really loved this second book in the Teixcalaan series. I thought it was even better than the first book and did an excellent job conveying this huge science fiction world and story while keeping the story very engaging and personable. I hope Martine decides to write more books in this fascinating world and would recommend this series to science fiction/space opera fans out there.
