I crave a good sci-fi palace intrigue. A Memory Called Empire is probably the best I've read so far; I also recently enjoyed Memory (Vorkosigan Saga). I suppose Gideon the Ninth counts, though it's so many other things simultaneously. Basically anything with a mystery that needs unraveling and myriad entrenched powers with their own declared and undeclared interests.
Fantasy would do, too.
Have already read:
– Song of Ice and Fire
– Winter's Orbit, Everina Maxwell (solid)
– The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (unfortunately didn't care for the sex)
– The Goblin Emperor (didn't care for it; the hurdles were a little too easy to overcome)
– Behind the Throne, KB Wagers (pretty bad, no real surprises)
– Priory of the Orange Tree (DNF)
Any tips?
by kvothesduet
4 Comments
I think based on your reviews of the other books you might enjoy Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee it has a lot of mind bending scifi with ruthless political and military intrigue. And maybe city of stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett, it also explores themes of fantasy and very deep mystery ( I personally loved the Ninefox Gambit :p )
a few great fits are the *machineries of empire* series by yoon ha lee with its coups and competing power blocs, ann leckie’s *ancillary justice* for imperial politics and identity puzzles, and seth dickinson’s *the traitor baru cormorant* which is probably the closest match to *a memory called empire* in terms of ruthless political maneuvering. robert jackson bennett’s *city of stairs* brings espionage, dead gods, and layered agendas, while nghi vo’s *the empress of salt and fortune* packs a surprising amount of court plotting into a short book. paolo bacigalupi’s work has fewer palaces and more corporate-state elites scheming, but the tension fits your niche. for fantasy with deeper court politics than *the goblin emperor*, try lois mcmaster bujold’s *the curse of chalion*, and if you want more in the vorkosigan vein, later entries like *the vor game* and *brothers in arms* keep delivering intricate political puzzles.
*The Snow Queen* and *The Summer Queen* by Joan D. Vinge
> The imperious Winter colonists have ruled the planet Tiamat for 150 years, deriving wealth from the slaughter of the sea mers. But soon the galactic stargate will close, isolating Tiamat, and the 150-year reign of the Summer primitives will begin. Their only chance at surviving the change is if Arienrhod, the ageless, corrupt Snow Queen, can destroy destiny with an act of genocide. Arienrhod is not without competition as Moon, a young Summer-tribe sibyl, and the nemesis of the Snow Queen, battles to break a conspiracy that spans space. Interstellar politics, a millennia-long secret conspiracy, and a civilization whose hidden machineries might still control the fate of worlds all form the background to this spectacular hard science fiction novel from Joan D. Vinge.
John Scalzi’s *Interdependency* series is court politics and internecine battles in an outer-space sci-fi setting. Most of its main characters are bad-ass women.
The first book is **The Collapsing Empire**.
Be aware it contains considerable expletive language.