A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine

Last year, I rediscovered science fiction. This is not a new phase in my life; it's fairly consistent, comes and goes in waves, and usually coincides with periods of extreme stress and uncertainty. So it comes as no surprise to me that science fiction, yet again, became the crutch that helped me bring some semblance of reason back to an increasingly disorienting time.

But when I say crutch, do I mean escapism? In so far as we all read to escape, science fiction is escapism, certainly, more so than most genres. But it's also a fiction of ideas. Arguably, that's why I read the genre. There's a peculiar pleasure in seeing science fiction authors take things like robots and telepathy in a matter of fact way. It's more than escapism: it's a bunch of characters who take pleasure in reality, who still find it in themselves to be surprised.

Arkady Martine's book was a surprise, especially considering that it's not saying much that's entirely new in the genre. There's an old empire, and a revered emperor who is dying. There's a political game underway, and a war for the throne. There's also an outsider figure, a diplomat, who in the grand tradition of anthropological science fiction, probably understands this culture better than the culture itself. The clash between tradition and change is one of the eternal pillars of the genre, and Martine's book is a study of that old Lewis Carroll quote: in order to stay the same, you have to keep moving. There's a lot of stuff about implanted memories and personas, ghost like entities who show you the way in navigating an alien culture, but ultimately, the core of Martine's novel is the uneasy tension between an attraction towards a foreign culture, even as that culture is insensitive to yours. Martine's protagonist constantly surprises herself with the realization that in spite of all the cultural snobbery and the xenophobia, she cannot bring herself to fall out of love with this empire she has been sent to.

The novel is about making the most of an uncertain situation while holding on to everything that motivates you. If that is escapism, then escapism probably isn't a bad thing.