This incredible opening to the duology recalls the best of John le Carre, Iain M. Banks´s Culture novels and Ann Leckie´s Imperial Radch trilogy. In a war of lies she seeks the truth . . . Ambassador Mahit Dzmare travels to the Teixcalaanli Empire´s interstellar capital, eager to take up her new post. Yet when she arrives, she discovers her predecessor was murdered. But no one will admit his death wasn´t accidental - and she might be next. Now Mahit must navigate the capital´s enticing yet deadly halls of power, to discover dangerous truths. And while she hunts for the killer, Mahit must somehow prevent the rapacious Empire from annexing her home: a small, fiercely independent mining station. As she sinks deeper into an alien culture that is all too seductive, Mahit engages in intrigues of her own. For she´s hiding an extraordinary technological secret, one which might destroy her station and its way of life. Or it might save them from annihilation. A Memory Called Empire is followed by A Desolation Called Peace in the Teixcalaan duology. ´A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All-round brilliant space opera, I absolutely loved it´ Ann Leckie