With an empire still finding its feet after the shocking transfer of power at the end of A Memory Called Empire, the Teixcalaanli fleet is not quite sure how to handle a deadly and unknown alien threat where the ships seem to arrive out of nowhere and leave no survivors in their wake. Fleet leader Nine Hibiscus makes the controversial decision to seek first-contact assistance from the Information Ministry (instead of her own military intelligence sources). Now Three Seagrass and Lsel ambassador Mahit Dzmare (you knew they'd be involved somehow) are tasked with negotiating with a hostile new alien species that doesn't use any known method of communication.
Martine has done a wonderful job of once again showing the delicacy of diplomacy within a culture, between two cultures that already have a history, and in a first-contact situation. While the mental gymnastics of the military and political worlds are certainly intriguing, my favorite character was 11-year-old emperor-to-be Eight Antidote, who becomes a spy and learns his own way through the adult world around him. This was fantastic, and I'm not surprised that it won the Hugo. Can't wait to see what Martine writes next!
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