Arkady Martine - Tor/Forge Blog

On the (Digital) Road: Tor Author Events in March

March 2, 2021May 8, 2024Rachel Taylor

We are in a time of social distancing, but your favorite Tor authors are still coming to screens near you in the month of March! Check out where you can find them here:

Arkady Martine, opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace

Tuesday, March 2
New York Public Library, in conversation with Sarah Gailey
opens in a new windowZoom
8:30 PM ET

Wednesday, March 3
Collected Works Books, in conversation with Ann Leckie
opens in a new windowZoom
6:30 PM ET

Friday, March 5
Poisoned Pen
opens in a new windowFacebook Live
6:30 PM ET

Wednesday, March 24
Tor After Dark Presents: OTPs After Dark, featuring Vivian Shaw
opens in a new windowInstagram Live
7 PM ET

Friday, March 26
Mysterious Galaxy, virtual group event with S.B. Divya, Premee Mohammed, and Adrian Tchaikovsky
TK

Charlie Jane Anders, opens in a new windowEven Greater Mistakes and Annalee Newitz, opens in a new windowThe Future of Another Timeline

Wednesday, March 10
Tor After Dark Presents: OTPs After Dark
opens in a new windowInstagram Live
7 PM ET

A. K. Larkwood, opens in a new windowThe Unspoken Name

Sunday, March 14
Towne Book Center Virtual Book Club
TBD

Sarah Gailey, opens in a new windowThe Echo Wife and Charlie Jane Anders, opens in a new windowEven Greater Mistakes

Wednesday, March 31
Strand Book Store, Trans Visibility Day virtual panel with Bishahk Som, Neon Yang and two other authors (TK), moderated by Daniel Lavery
TK
8 PM ET

Author Features / What's New

Six Things I Borrowed Wholesale From History for A Memory Called Empire

February 28, 2021March 20, 2024torforge7 Comments

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You may not know what a Byzantinist is, and that’s okay. We didn’t either before we read opens in a new windowA Memory Called Empire, the first book in Arkady Martine’s Hugo Award-winning Teixcalaan series. The series continues with opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace this March.

Martine is a Byzantinist—a historian of the Byzantine Empire—and has a Ph.D. in History! Her series takes historical events borrowed from the annals of the human race, and plays them out in a galactic civilization that’s kind of like House of Cards in space.

Check out some of her inspirations below!

Six Things I Borrowed Wholesale From History for A Memory Called Empire

By Arkady Martine

In the year 1044 AD, the Byzantine Empire annexed the small Armenian kingdom of Ani. The empire was able to do this for a lot of reasons – political, historical, military – but the precipitating incident involved the Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church, a man named Petros Getadarj, who was determined to prevent the forced conversion of the Armenians to the Byzantine form of Christianity. He did this by trading the physical sovereignty of Ani to the Byzantine emperor in exchange for promises of spiritual sovereignty. When I started writing this book, my inciting question was: what’s it like to be that guy? To betray your culture’s freedom in order to save your culture? Except, y’know, in space.
The number-noun naming system of Teixcalaan is a direct reference to the naming practices of the Mixtec people of Oaxaca, who, like many Mesoamerican peoples, were named for the day in the 260-day cycle of the year on which they were born: a cycle of thirteen numbers and twenty signs (animals, plants, and natural phenomena).
Extemporaneous and extremely political court poetry contests like the one Mahit attends in the City were a centerpiece of Byzantine political life during the Middle Byzantine Period (approximately 900-1204 CE), and were used in much the same way as I’ve used them: to prove an orator’s intelligence and cultural competence, and also to make political arguments. Sometimes both at once. ‘Fifteen-syllable political verse’ is a direct lift from Byzantine literature.
The acclimation by the legions of some general to emperorship – or the threat thereof – was a constant problem in the late Roman empire and into Byzantium, as imperial legitimacy was so tightly linked to military prowess, success, and the celebration of triumphs. Teixcalaan has similar issues.
Blood sacrifice for luck, promises, and the preservation of society is common in many cultures, but I specifically built Teixcalaanli religion in reference to the practices of the Mexica … and in reference to the idea of summer kings, the king being linked to the land, and whose sacrifice might be the only thing sufficient to redeem that land, which is common in European pre-Christian cultures.
Ixhui dumplings are 100% Turkish/Ottoman manti. They’re my favorite food that I can’t make to save my life, so of course I used them.

Order A Memory Called Empire in Paperback:

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Lists / What's New

Series We’re Saying Goodbye to in 2021

February 24, 2021May 1, 2024Rachel Taylor

We’re saying hello to the year 2021, but a bittersweet goodbye to some of our favorite SFF series. Find out which ones are wrapping up in 2021 here.

opens in a new windowA Summoning of Demons by Cate Glass ( opens in a new windowChimera series)

Catagna has been shaken to its core. In every street and market, the people of Catagna are railing against magic-users with a greater ferocity than ever before, and magic hunters are everywhere. Meanwhile, Romy has been dreaming. Every night, her dreams are increasingly vivid and disturbing. Every day, she struggles to understand the purpose of the Chimera’s most recent assignment from the Shadow Lord. As Romy and the others attempt to carry out their mission, they find themselves plunged into a mystery of corruption and murder, myth and magic, and a terrifying truth: the philosophists may have been right all along.

ON SALE NOW!

opens in a new windowEngines of Oblivion by Karen Osborne ( opens in a new windowThe Memory War duology)

Karen Osborne continues her science fiction action and adventure series the Memory War with Engines of Oblivion, the sequel to Architects of Memory—the corporations running the galaxy are about to learn not everyone can be bought. Natalie Chan gained her corporate citizenship, but barely survived the battle for Tribulation. Now corporate has big plans for Natalie. Horrible plans. Locked away in Natalie’s missing memory is salvation for the last of an alien civilization and the humans they tried to exterminate. The corporation wants total control of both—or their deletion.

ON SALE NOW!

opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine ( opens in a new windowTeixcalaan duology)

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 . . .

ON SALE NOW!

opens in a new windowBreath by Breath by Morgan Llywelyn ( opens in a new windowStep by Step series)

The residents of Sycamore River have weathered the Change and the nuclear war it provoked. They emerge to try to build a life from the shattered remains of their town. But for some, the very air has become toxic. The people of Sycamore River have to survived the unthinkable. Can they build something new from the ashes?

ON SALE 4/13/21!

opens in a new windowFortress of Magi by Mirah Bolender

The Hive Mind has done the impossible—left its island prison. It’s a matter of time before Amicae falls, and Laura Kramer has very few resources left to prevent it. The council has tied her hands, and the gangs want her dead. Her only real choice is to walk away and leave the city to its fate.

ON SALE 4/20/21!

opens in a new windowFury of a Demon by Brian Naslund ( opens in a new windowDragons of Terra series)

Brian Naslund’s epic Dragons of Terra series, beginning with Blood of an Exile, is perfect for comic book readers and fans of heroic fantasy. Action-packed and full of fast-paced adventures, the story follows Bershad, the most successful dragon slayer in history—he’s never lost a fight. But now he’s faced with a dangerous conundrum: kill a king or be killed.

ON SALE 8/31/21!

opens in a new windowInvisible Sun by Charles Stross ( opens in a new windowEmpire Games series)

A inter-timline coup d’état gone awry. A renegade British monarch on the run through the streets of Berlin. And robotic alien invaders from a distant timeline flood through a wormhole, wreaking havoc in the USA. Can disgraced worldwalker Rita and her intertemporal extraordaire agent of a mother neutralize the livewire contention between their respective timelines before it’s too late?

ON SALE 9/28/21!

Lists / What's New

Every Book from Tor Coming in Spring 2021

February 20, 2021May 3, 2024Rachel Taylor2 Comments

Spring is in the air, and a new season means, you guessed it, NEW BOOKS!!! Check out everything coming from Tor Books in spring 2021 here:

March 1

opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

March 16

opens in a new windowThe Fiends of Nightmaria by Steven Erikson

The king is dead, long live King Bauchelain the First, crowned by the Grand Bishop Korbal Broach. Both are ably assisted in the running of the Kingdom of Farrog by their slowly unravelling servant, Emancipor Reese. However, tensions are mounting between Farrog and the neighboring country of Nightmaria, the mysterious home of the Fiends. Their ambassador, Ophal D’Neeth Flatroq, seeks an audience with King Bauchelain. But the necromancer has some other things on his plate. To quell potential rebellion nearly all the artists, poets, and bards in the city have been put to death. A few survivors languish in the dungeons, bemoaning their fates. Well, just moaning in general really…and maybe plotting escape and revenge.

March 23

opens in a new windowStand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

Now in a Tor Essentials edition, the Hugo Award-winning, uncannily prophetic Stand on Zanizbar is a science fiction novel unlike any before in that remains an insightful look at America’s downfall that allows us to see what has been, what is, and what is to come. Now withan introduction by cyberpunk pioneer Bruce Sterling, author of Distraction and Islands In the Net.

April 13

opens in a new windowThe Helm of Midnight by Marina Lostetter

In a daring and deadly heist, thieves have made away with an artifact of terrible power—the death mask of Louis Charbon. Made by a master craftsman, it is imbued with the spirit of a monster from history, a serial murderer who terrorized the city. Now Charbon is loose once more, killing from beyond the grave. But these murders are different from before, not simply random but the work of a deliberate mind probing for answers to a sinister question. It is up to Krona Hirvath and her fellow Regulators to enter the mind of madness to stop this insatiable killer while facing the terrible truths left in his wake.

opens in a new windowBreath by Breath by Morgan Llywelyn

In Breath by Breath, book three in the trilogy, the residents of Sycamore River have weathered the Change and the nuclear war it provoked. They emerge to try to build a life from the shattered remains of their town. But for some, the very air has become toxic. The people of Sycamore River have to survived the unthinkable. Can they build something new from the ashes? Llywelyn blends her signature character-driven portrait of small-town life with the appeal of William Fortschen’s One Second After.

April 20

opens in a new windowThe Last Watch by J. S. Dewes

The Divide. It’s the edge of the universe. Now it’s collapsing—and taking everyone and everything with it. The only ones who can stop it are the Sentinels—the recruits, exiles, and court-martialed dregs of the military. At the Divide, Adequin Rake commands the Argus. She has no resources, no comms—nothing, except for the soldiers that no one wanted. Her ace in the hole could be Cavalon Mercer–genius, asshole, and exiled prince who nuked his grandfather’s genetic facility for “reasons.” She knows they’re humanity’s last chance.

opens in a new windowFortress of Magi by Mirah Bolender

April 27

opens in a new windowThe Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

They are the Beautiful Ones, Loisail’s most notable socialites, and this spring is Nina’s chance to join their ranks, courtesy of her well-connected cousin and his calculating wife. But the Grand Season has just begun, and already Nina’s debut has gone disastrously awry. She has always struggled to control her telekinesis—neighbors call her the Witch of Oldhouse—and the haphazard manifestations of her powers make her the subject of malicious gossip. When entertainer Hector Auvray arrives to town, Nina is dazzled. A telekinetic like her, he has traveled the world performing his talents for admiring audiences. He sees Nina not as a witch, but ripe with potential to master her power under his tutelage.

May 4

opens in a new windowImmunity Index by Sue Burke

In a US facing growing food shortages, stark inequality, and a growing fascist government, three perfectly normal young women are about to find out that they share a great deal in common. Their creator, the gifted geneticist Peng, made them that way—before such things were outlawed. Rumors of a virus make their way through an unprotected population on the verge of rebellion, only to have it turn deadly. As the women fight to stay alive and help, Peng races to find a cure—and the cover up behind the virus.

May 11

opens in a new windowThe House of Always by Jenn Lyons

In the aftermath of the Ritual of Night, everything has changed. The Eight Immortals have catastrophically failed to stop Kihrin’s enemies, who are moving forward with their plans to free Vol Karoth, the King of Demons. Kihrin has his own ideas about how to fight back, but even if he’s willing to sacrifice everything for victory, the cost may prove too high for his allies. Now they face a choice: can they save the world while saving Kihrin, too? Or will they be forced to watch as he becomes the very evil they have all sworn to destroy.

May 25

opens in a new windowThe Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

Kinch Na Shannack owes the Takers Guild a small fortune for his education as a thief, which includes (but is not limited to) lock-picking, knife-fighting, wall-scaling, fall-breaking, lie-weaving, trap-making, plus a few small magics. His debt has driven him to lie in wait by the old forest road, planning to rob the next traveler that crosses his path. But today, Kinch Na Shannack has picked the wrong mark. Galva is a knight, a survivor of the brutal goblin wars, and handmaiden of the goddess of death. She is searching for her queen, missing since a distant northern city fell to giants. Unsuccessful in his robbery and lucky to escape with his life, Kinch now finds his fate entangled with Galva’s.

June 1

opens in a new windowThe Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu

Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker – and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children – leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. Ropa will dice with death as she calls on Zimbabwean magic and Scottish pragmatism to hunt down clues. And although underground Edinburgh hides a wealth of dark secrets, she also discovers an occult library, a magical mentor and some unexpected allies. Yet as shadows lengthen, will the hunter become the hunted?

opens in a new windowAlien Day by Rick Wilber

Will Peter Holman rescue his sister Kait, or will she be the one to rescue him? Will Chloe Cary revive her acting career with the help of the princeling Treble, or will the insurgents take both their lives? Will Whistle or Twoclicks wind up in charge of Earth, and how will the Mother, who runs all of S’hudon, choose between them? And the most important question of all: who are the Old Ones that left all that technology behind for the S’hudonni . . . and what if they come back?

June 8

opens in a new windowShadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe

The Book of the New Sun is unanimously acclaimed as Gene Wolfe’s most remarkable work, hailed as “a masterpiece of science fantasy comparable in importance to the major works of Tolkien and Lewis” by Publishers Weekly.

Author Features / Behind the Scenes / What's New

What’s in a Teixcalaanli Name?

February 15, 2021March 20, 2024torforge9 Comments

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Arkady Martine’s brilliant (and now Hugo Award-winning) space opera A Memory Called Empire has a sequel coming next month and we NEED to share some of our many feelings. And our Teixcalaanli names.

That’s right. Like our protagonist Mahit, we love ourselves a bit of predatory space empire culture. That’s why we’ve all claimed names like 8 Gravity, 45 Neon, 23 Spandrel, and 13! Teapot.

Now you can join in the fun too. We’ve included our short and sweet name generator below, but if you’re ready to dig deeper for your perfect author-approved Teixcalaani name, we’ve got you covered. Continue below for Arkady’s guide to Teixcalaani names!

BASIC RULES FOR TEIXCALAANLI NAMES

By Arkady Martine

Each Teixcalaanli personal name has a number part and a noun part. Both parts have symbolic meanings.

Numbers in general:

The number part of the name is a whole integer (i.e. no negative numbers, no decimals or fractions, and irrational numbers like pi or e are only for jokes). The range of numbers is almost always between 1 and 100, with lower numbers being more common.
Numbers from 1-20 are the most common number-parts, and suggest tradition and normalcy. Think about names like ‘John’, ‘Elizabeth’, ‘Maria Jose’, or ‘Mohammed’ – names that lots of people have and aren’t unusual choices.
Numbers from 21-60 are slightly more unusual but not weird in any way – they’re just the sort of name that is a little more unique. Think ‘Nadia’, ‘Malik’, ‘Yuko’, ‘Gabriel’ or ‘Makenzie’.
Numbers from 61-99 are less common, but no one is really going to blink at them too Think ‘Fashionette’, ‘Clemency’, ‘Ezekiel’, or ‘Thor’.
Numbers over 100 are like naming your kid ‘Moon Unit’ or ‘Apple’. Except in Teixcalaan you could name your kid Moon Unit or Apple…

Numbers in specific:

ONE – achievement, aggression, singularity, primacy, solidity
TWO – balance, reflection, liquidity, succession, mirroring
THREE – aggression and balance, think of a pointy but stable triangle
FOUR – intellect, broad-based knowledge, evaluation, strategy
FIVE – speed/quickness, humanity, diplomacy, exemplar-of-type (think of five fingers on a hand)
SIX – imperial power, ambition, multi-tasking, associated with the six directions of the world (N/W/S/E plus up and down) – Teixcalaanli symbolism is full of sixes
SEVEN – life of the mind, softness, care, security, unbiased evaluation
EIGHT – twice four, intellect applied, solutions
NINE – three threes, prickly, difficult, brilliant
TEN – reliability, omnipresence, financial success
ELEVEN – subversion, cleverness, flexibility … and loyalty. Tactics.
TWELVE – two sixes, power/authority, ambition but not the dangerous kind, success in money/trade

Numbers in the Teixcalaanli writing system:

Since Teixcalaan writes in characters (sort of a hybrid of Mayan glyphs and hanzi), there are multiple ways to write each number, most of which are not the simple way which is used in mathematics. Name-numbers have specific fancier glyphs, and these can be passed down or re-used. (See Eight Loop, the Judiciary Minister, and Eight Antidote, the imperial heir, who use the same number-glyph to write their names).

Nouns in general:

The noun part of a Teixcalaanli name is always a plant, an inanimate object, or a concept (in order of likelihood). No animals and no self-propelled inanimate things – i.e. ‘boat’ is an acceptable noun, but ‘self-driving car’ is not. (Honestly, both ‘Boat’ and ‘Self-Driving Car’ are names that Teixcalaanlitzlim would laugh at.)
Teixcalaan loves flowers. A lot of plant names are flowers and trees, including some unusual ones. See ‘Three Seagrass’, ‘Twelve Azalea’, ‘One Cyclamen’, ‘Eleven Conifer’.
Object names tend to be related to the natural world (‘Five Agate’, ‘Ten Pearl’), astronomical objects or phenomena (‘Sixteen Moonrise’, ‘Twelve Solar-Flare’) or common objects, often ones which can be held and manipulated. Tools are highly represented. (‘Nineteen Adze’, ‘Eleven Lathe’). Occasionally object names refer to architecture – ‘Five Portico’ is only a little bit odd as a name. (Something like ‘Two Paving-Stone’ would be odd, but no odder than a kid named ‘Winston’.)
Concept names again tend to be astronomical, mathematical, or scientific. ‘Six Direction’, for example, or ‘Eight Antidote’.
Often the noun part of a Teixcalaanli name is where a use-name or nickname is derived from. Some examples: Three Seagrass à ‘Reed’; Twelve Azalea à ‘Petal’; Two Cartograph à ‘Map’; ‘Eight Antidote’ à ‘Cure’.

Some symbolism for nouns, of what could be a very long list:

‘Ink’ vs. ‘Inkwell’ – a person named Two Ink is someone who makes quick-thinking, indelible decisions, but a person named Two Inkwell is an endless store of new ideas. Both of these people are from traditional or tradition-minded families.
‘Graphite’ – as opposed to ‘Carbon’ or ‘Diamond’, a child named ‘Graphite’ has a parent who is hedging their bets: ‘Graphite’ is flexible, changeable, useful in all its forms, while ‘Carbon’ has suggestions of ‘unavoidable, necessary’ and also ‘ashes’, and ‘Diamond’ is ‘inflexible, strong, beautiful’.
‘Nasturtium’ – a victory flower! But also one you can eat as a delicacy. A Six Nasturtium is a name for a very ambitious child whose parent has aspirations of grand and flamboyant success … but a Two Nasturtium is a serene and delicate child whose success, while assured, does not have to be grand.

Order A Desolation Called Peace:

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What's New

Five Space Couples We (Space)Ship

February 13, 2021May 1, 2024Rachel Taylor

We know OTP means One True Pairing but we have so many pairings we cannot help but stan. We love action, adventure, space battles, lazer fire, galactic empire–pretty much everything about sci-fi. But we’re also suckers for a bit of romantic tension. So romantic tension in space? *Chef’s kiss* *Literal stars in our eyes*

Here’s a list of some of our favorite recent space!ships.

Kiem and Jainan from opens in a new windowWinter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Two perfect cinnamon rolls. Too good for this world. Too pure. Arranged marriage turns into surprise feelings when these two space princes get married to keep a fragile alliance going between planets. They also have to solve a murder together, and what’s more romantic than that?

Mahit and Three Seagrass from opens in a new windowA Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

Just an ambassador, standing in front of her diplomatic attaché, there’s a body over there in the corner, but maybe this is the right time to ask for a kiss? This gorgeous space opera has so much going for it, but one of our favorite is the delightful romantic tension between Mahit and Three Seagrass. And there’s more to come with them reunited in opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace this March.

Gideon and Harrow from opens in a new windowGideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

We have only one thing to say about this Necromancer and her Cavalier, which we hope will clarify our stance on this potential pairing: “One flesh, one end, bitch.”

Sun and Hetty from opens in a new windowUnconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott

We love an established couple, and Hetty and Sun just work. They steady each other, they look for each other, they revolved around each other, and all of those things are needed when half your pairing is the heir to an expanding space empire whose ambitions stretch across the stars. In a world full of inconstancies, these two, for now at least, remain constant.

Red and Blue from opens in a new windowThis is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

Enemies to lovers? One of our favorite tropes of all time, and the chemistry/tension between Red and Blue is just…electric. Their relationship evolves through the notes they leave for each other on the battlefield, simultaneously mocking and flirty (a surefire way to woo your enemy, right?).

Author Features / Behind the Scenes / On Writing / What's New

Arkady Martine Answers: What’s It Like to Be Married to Another Writer?

February 5, 2021March 20, 2024torforge1 Comment

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Aspiring authors, listen up! Arkady Martine, historian, city planner, and Hugo award-winning author of space operas A Memory Called Empire and its sequel—out next month— opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace, has writing survival tips and the scoop on what it’s like to be married to a fellow writer.

Is it a whirlwind of focus and productivity? Is it all procrastination and crying over word counts!? Find out below, and grab a copy of opens in a new window A Desolation Called Peace!

What’s it like being married to another writer?

Amazing. I recommend it, if you can swing it. Essentially – it’s like being married to anyone who shares your field, with all the delights and problems of working in the same area at the same time. We celebrate each other’s successes and support each other through publishing vicissitudes. Viv – my wife, whose books are currently with Orbit (the most recent is DREADFUL COMPANY, which has got the Paris catacombs and hellphones (think cellphones, but for calling Hell) in) – is my first reader and my physics-and-spaceflight-and-almost-everything-else consultant. But more importantly she’s my storytelling partner: because we’re both writers, we spend a lot of time talking about narrative, writing to each other, for each other. There are a lot of small easter eggs in my work which are for her, like a palimpsest or a secret gift. She makes me a better artist. She challenges me to write more clearly, with greater intensity of voice and character.

Also it’s pretty great to have someone who understands oh hell I’m on deadline, and who runs away with me to hotels for writing vacations. (A writing vacation is when you don’t get to leave the hotel room until you’ve got your words for the day, but someone else brings you food and makes the bed and there’s nothing around to distract you but your partner, who also has to make wordcount. We do this at least twice a year.)

How do you combat writer’s block?

This is a neat little trick to get back into writing a scene if you’ve been paused for a while, or if you can’t figure out how to start after a transition. It goes like this: describe – in detail, with precision – some architecture, someone’s clothing, something in your POV character’s visual field. Keep describing, but root that description in your POV character’s impressions and understanding of what they’re seeing. Keep describing until you figure out why your character would be looking so closely at that thing – and by then, you’re in the scene, you’ve got the voice, and you’ve probably done some accidental thematic and visual work to tie the story together.

This is, in fact, why my work is so goddamn full of descriptions of buildings and clothes and peculiar food items.

You can pull these setting-scaffolds out again in edits if they get redundant, but I usually leave them in – they’re less filigree than you’d think. They become fairly central to characterization – how does this character notice the world they move through?

Pre-Order Your Copy of A Desolation Called Peace:

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Excerpts

Excerpt: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

January 31, 2021March 20, 2024torforge4 Comments

Missed the 2020 Hugo Award-winning A Memory Called Empire when it came out? There’s still time to get in a read before this year’s A Desolation Called Peace! Get started with an exciting sneak peek from Book 1 today!

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opens in a new window“ opens in a new windowA 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

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.

Excerpt

She was lying on the ground, her cheek wet in the spilled water. The air roiled with thick, acrid smoke and shouting in Teixcalaanli. Part of the table—or part of the wall, some heavy immobilizing marble—had come down on her hip and pinned her with a radiating spike of pain when she tried to move. She could only see a partial visual arc—there were chair legs and debris blocking her—but in that arc was fire.

She knew the Teixcalaanli word for “explosion,” a centerpiece of military poetry, usually adorned with adjectives like “shattering” or “fire-flowered,” but now she learned, by extrapolation from the shouting, the one for “bomb.” It was a short word. You could scream it very loudly. She figured it out because it was the word people were screaming when they weren’t screaming “help.”

She couldn’t see Three Seagrass anywhere.

Wetness dripped onto her face, as wet as the spilled water but from the other side. Dripped and collected and spilled over the hollow of her temple and across her cheek and her eye and was red, was blood. Mahit turned her head, arched her neck. The blood flowed downward, toward her mouth, and she clamped her lips shut.

It was coming from Fifteen Engine, collapsed back into his chair, the front of his shirt—the front of his torso—torn open and away, his throat studded with shrapnel. His face was pristine, the eyes open and glassily staring. The bomb must have been close. To his right, from the angle of the pieces she could see.

Yskandr, I’m sorry, she thought. No matter how much she dis-liked Fifteen Engine—and she had been developing a very direct and powerful dislike, just a moment ago—he was someone who had been Yskandr’s. She was Yskandr enough to feel a displaced sort of grief. A missed opportunity. Something she hadn’t safeguarded well enough.

A pair of knees in smoke-scorched cream trousers appeared in front of her nose, and then Three Seagrass was wiping the blood off her face with her palms.

“I would really like you to be alive,” Three Seagrass said. It was hard for Mahit to hear her over the shouting, and even the shouting was being drowned out by a rising electric hum, like the air itself was being ionized.

“You’re in luck,” Mahit said. Her voice worked fine. Her jaw worked fine. There was blood in her mouth now, despite Three Seagrass’s efforts to smear it away.

“Great,” said Three Seagrass. “Fantastic! Reporting your death to the Emperor would be incredibly embarrassing and possi- bly end my career and also I think I’d be upset—are you going to die if I move the piece of the wall that’s fallen on you, I am not an ixplanatl, I don’t understand anything about non-ritual exsanguination except not to pull arrows out of people’s veins and I learned that from a really bad theatrical adaptation of The Secret History of the Emperors—”

“Three Seagrass, you’re hysterical.”

“Yes,” said Three Seagrass, “I know,” and shoved whatever was pinning Mahit to the ground off of her hip. The release of pressure was a new kind of pain. The hum in the air was growing louder, the space between Three Seagrass’s body and her own beginning to shade a delicate and terrifying blue, like twilight approaching. The marble restaurant floor had lit up with a tracery of aware circuits, all blue, all glowing, coloring the air with light. Mahit thought of nuclear core spills, how they flashed blue as they cooked flesh; thought of what she’d read of lightning cascading out of the sky. If it was ionized air they were already dead. She struggled up on her elbows, lunged for Three Seagrass’s arm, and catching it, hauled herself to sitting.

“What’s wrong with the air?”

“A bomb went off,” Three Seagrass said. “The restaurant is on fire, what do you think is wrong with the air?”

“It’s blue!”

“That’s the City noticing—”

A section of the restaurant’s roof shuddered and fell, ear-shatteringly loud. Three Seagrass and Mahit ducked simultaneously, pressed forehead to shoulder.

“We have to get out of here,” Mahit said. “That might not have been the only bomb.” The word was easy to say, round on her lips. She wondered if Yskandr had ever said it.

Three Seagrass pulled her to her feet. “Has this happened to you before?”

“No!” Mahit said. “Never.” The last time there had been a bomb on Lsel was before she was born. The saboteurs— revolutionaries, they’d called themselves, but they’d been saboteurs—had brought the vacuum in when their incendiaries exploded. They’d been spaced, afterward, and the whole line of their imagos cut off: thirteen generations of engineering knowledge lost with the oldest of them. The Station didn’t keep people who were willing to expose innocents to space. If an imago-line could be corrupted like that, it wasn’t worth preserving.

It was different on a planet. The blue air was breathable, even if it tasted like smoke. Three Seagrass had hold of her elbow and they were walking out into Plaza Central Nine, where the sky was still the same impossible color, as if nothing had gone wrong.

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Lists / What's New

The Sequels We’ve All Been Waiting For….

January 14, 2021May 13, 2024Rachel Taylor3 Comments

They’re almost here…the books we’ve all been waiting for. After so many incredible series starters, we’re excited to finally dive into the next books of some of our most popular SFF series. Check out which books are hitting shelves near you in 2021 here.

opens in a new windowInto the Light by David Weber and Chris Kennedy ( opens in a new windowOut of the Dark series, coming 1/12/21)

The Shongairi conquered Earth. In mere minutes, half the human race died, and our cities lay in shattered ruins. But the Shongairi didn’t expect the survivors’ tenacity. And, crucially, they didn’t know that Earth harbored two species of intelligent, tool-using bipeds. One of them was us. The other, long-lived and lethal, was hiding in the mountains of eastern Europe, the subject of fantasy and legend. When they emerged and made alliance with humankind, the invading aliens didn’t stand a chance.

opens in a new windowVengewar by Kevin J. Anderson ( opens in a new windowWake the Dragon series, coming 1/19/21)

The Three Kingdoms are shattering under pressure from an inexperienced new King who is being led by an ambitious regent to ignore the threat of the Wreths, in favor of a Vengewar with Ishara. His brother and uncle can see only the danger of the Older Race. In Ishara, the queen lies in a coma, while an ambitious priest seizes power. But he has neither the training nor the talent to rule a nation— or even a city. Ishara is in deadly peril, and the Wreths have not even appeared on their continent.

opens in a new windowDealbreaker by L. X. Beckett ( opens in a new windowThe Bounceback series, coming 1/26/21)

Rubi Whiting has done the impossible. She has proved that humanity deserves a seat at the galactic table. Well, at least a shot at a seat. Having convinced the galactic governing body that mankind deserves a chance at fixing their own problems, Rubi has done her part to launch the planet into a new golden age of scientific discovery and technological revolution. However, there are still those in the galactic community that think that humanity is too poisonous, too greedy, to be allowed in, and they will stop at nothing to sabotage a species determined to pull itself up.

opens in a new windowEngines of Oblivion by Karen Osborne ( opens in a new windowThe Memory War series, coming 2/9/21)

Natalie Chan gained her corporate citizenship, but barely survived the battle for Tribulation. Now corporate has big plans for Natalie. Horrible plans. Locked away in Natalie’s missing memory is salvation for the last of an alien civilization and the humans they tried to exterminate. The corporation wants total control of both—or their deletion.

opens in a new windowSilence of the Soleri by Michael Johnston ( opens in a new windowThe Amber Throne series, coming 2/16/21)

Solus celebrates the Opening of the Mundus, a two-day holiday for the dead, but the city of the Soleri is hardly in need of diversion. A legion of traitors, led by a former captain of the Soleri military, rallies at the capital’s ancient walls. And inside those fortifications, trapped by circumstance, a second army fights for its very existence.

opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine ( opens in a new windowTeixcalaan series, coming 3/2/21)

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Justice in Revenge by Ryan Van Loan ( opens in a new windowThe Fall of the Gods series, coming 7/13/21)

Ryan Van Loan’s The Justice in Revenge, book two of The Fall of the Gods, turns from pirates to politics as Buc learns to navigate society and finds that having power doesn’t mean it’s easy to use it…

Buc and Eld are the first private detectives in the Servenzan Empire. Teenage Buc is a former streetrat, a smartass, sarcastic super-genius. Eld, her patient partner in crime-solving, is a calming influence…who is nonetheless capable of deadly violence. For the right price, these heroes for hire solve mysteries, fight crime, and battle monsters.

opens in a new window The Exiled Fleet by J. S. Dewes ( opens in a new windowThe Divide Series, coming 8/17/21)

The Sentinels narrowly escaped the collapsing edge of the Divide. They have mustered a few other surviving Sentinels, but with no engines they have no way to leave the edge of the universe before they starve. Adequin Rake has gathered a team to find the materials they’ll need to get everyone out. To do that they’re going to need new allies and evade a ruthless enemy.

Some of them will not survive.

opens in a new window opens in a new windowThe Devil You Know by Kit Rocha ( opens in a new windowMercenary Librarians series, coming 8/31/21)

Maya has had a price on her head from the day she escaped the TechCorps. Genetically engineered for genius and trained for revolution, there’s only one thing she can’t do—forget. Gray has finally broken free of the Protectorate, but he can’t escape the time bomb in his head. His body is rejecting his modifications, and his months are numbered. When Maya’s team uncovers an operation trading in genetically enhanced children, she’ll do anything to stop them. Even risk falling back into the hands of the TechCorps. And Gray has found a purpose for his final days: keeping Maya safe.

opens in a new windowWanderers of a Mortal Kind by Kel Kade ( opens in a new windowThe Shroud of Prophecy series, coming 11/9/21)

No more heroes. The wealthy and powerful. The kings and queens. They all abandoned the world to fate when the chosen one died. All except a small group of broken people. Through dogged determination and maybe a bit of stupid bravery, Aaslo and his friends fought on. They continued the fight even when far greater heroes had given up. Now, Aaslo must turn the tides. In a world swifly falling to chaos, Aaslo is determined to win this war…at any cost. He’s made a deal with fickle fae, setting him and his friends on a collosion course with the gods themselves.

Author Features / Behind the Scenes / On Writing / What's New

The Poetry of A Memory Called Empire

January 7, 2021March 20, 2024torforge1 Comment

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“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

Have you read the lush, tense, dizzying and dazzling sci-fi masterpiece that is A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine yet? And if have, you were probably pretty impressed by all the detail of the Teixcalaanli culture—particularly all the poetry.

As you prepare for the sequel, A Desolation Called Peace (hitting shelves 3/2/21), check out Arkady as she talks integrating poetry and space opera in A Memory Called Empire, paperback out now:

By Arkady Martine

I’m not myself exactly a poet. I’ve written and published poetry – occasionally I’ve written and published good poetry – but I don’t have the control of the art form that a serious poet does, the understanding of why a poem lands or doesn’t land. What I do have is a decent ear for sentence rhythm, and a fair grasp of symbolic and allusive language, which is all you need to write poetry to stick in a book. Recently Rebecca F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War, introduced me to the Chinese poet Wen Yiduo via a Twitter thread: she quoted something he wrote in 1926, saying that “formal technique aids, not hinders, artistic expression and that poetry only attains perfection when the poet learns to ‘dance in fetters’”. The formal structure of poetry, with its rules and confinements and focusing power, is incredibly powerful, and I’ve used that concept of formal structure in A Memory Called Empire to show poetic skill.

Teixcalaanli literature – which is in many ways based on Middle Byzantine literature – is a literature that centers poetic forms. In part this is because their literature is one which is performed out loud in political settings, so oratorical verse, with rhythm and meter, is a valued skillset amongst the intelligentsia. (The poetry contests in A Memory Called Empire are a little bit like rap battles with politics in. Think of the Cabinet Battle songs in Hamilton and you’ve got the idea pretty much solid.) Most of Teixcalaanli classics are epic poems – and a lot of Teixcalaanli culture is expressed in verse and song. I think I wrote three full poems and many partial ones for the book, including a two versions of the same protest song, a political intervention in the form of a three-line epigram, and a public safety message that used to be part of an epic about city-building.

Absolutely none of that poetry was actually in meter.

First of all, the book is written in English, and the poems – if they were real – would be in Teixcalaanli. Writing in English meter wouldn’t match up with what the Teixcalaanli meter would be – and also I’m terrible at metered poetry. I can fake being a genius political poet in free verse. But if you want a sonnet from me, you’ll get a doggerel sonnet. (In correct meter. But the most twee correct meter you have ever encountered.) The choice to gesture at poetry instead of trying to achieve the heights of the form let me not get trapped in having to be really, really good. It’s a shortcut. But I wanted readers to think that Teixcalaanli poets were incredible, whether or not that particular reader liked English poetry – so I didn’t want to trip them up with English poetry poorly done, or which might ring false or silly and throw them out of the story.

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Arkady Martine, opens in a new windowA Desolation Called Peace

Charlie Jane Anders, opens in a new windowEven Greater Mistakes and Annalee Newitz, opens in a new windowThe Future of Another Timeline

A. K. Larkwood, opens in a new windowThe Unspoken Name

Sarah Gailey, opens in a new windowThe Echo Wife and Charlie Jane Anders, opens in a new windowEven Greater Mistakes

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March 1

March 16

March 23

April 13

April 20

April 27

May 4

May 11

May 25

June 1

June 8

BASIC RULES FOR TEIXCALAANLI NAMES

Numbers in general:

Numbers in specific:

Numbers in the Teixcalaanli writing system:

Nouns in general:

Some symbolism for nouns, of what could be a very long list:

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