I loved this! What an intriguing book about identity and politics with a space opera backdrop. I'm truly such a sucker for sci-fi worldbuilding and intricate writing.

The Teixcalaan empire's naming convention took a little while to get used to, but the narration gives us organic reminders of side characters, motivations, plot threads and various other details. The author's pacing and 'fish out of water' main character were excellent at developing the plot at a manageable pace. I didn't feel overwhelmed by the constant new information that Mahit had to absorb, but the book still nails that feeling of being a minority in a huge city of an empire and having to readjust your worldview.

Mahit has all these detailed spiralling thoughts that branch off into every possible outcome. This was super relatable for me, but it also let me think through and understand all the plot implications without getting confused. She also has a lovely dry sense of humour.

Also, the romance! It wasn't a focus so don't go into this expecting a love story. But there were lots of subtle hints building up to a certain scene (I have many highlights in my ebook...). Looking forward to seeing both of these characters in the sequel.

The plot was fascinating, literally all I've felt like doing these past few days is reading this book. It wasn't predictable either, I had a nice feeling of 'going with the flow' and not needing to guess the ending while reading this. And what an ending! It sets up the sequel perfectly. It reminded me a bit of The Expanse actually, but I expect these characters will be solving this problem a little differently.

10.02.2021: Just re-read it in anticipation of the sequel, so here's some more things I love about this book in no particular order:

• Worldbuilding that has excellent attention to detail, but is written in a way that isn't overwhelming right from the start.
• How poetry plays such a big role in Teixcalaanli culture - the worldbuilding makes it all feel so natural. We're given examples of the poetry, how it's written and how the characters analyse them.
• This book has probably one of my favourite preludes ever.
• The Overly Polite Political Manoeuvrings are even more fun when re-reading, because now I can pick out the double meanings and hints of the other characters, not just Mahit.
• The in-universe articles, transcripts, messages, etc at the start of each chapter. A great way to "flavour" the book whilst also illustrate the differences and similarities between Teixcalaan and Lsel. The ones about Teixcalaanli food made me want to try making the dishes.
• Despite this being a leisurely re-read, I still flew through it. It's just so compelling in every way - the plot, the worldbuilding, the characters, the atmosphere...perfect!