Quick-take: Decent Sci-Fi.

Dan's Review

Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass return for more adventures. Like before, while Mahit is a leading character, Three Seagrass is far more interesting. It seems the author recognized this and gave Three Seagrass (always use the full name with the Teixcalaanli) a much more prominent role than just Mahit's sidekick.
She is effectively a co-protagonist in this novel.

Book 2 starts roughly a month after book 1 ends. It proceeds to immediately tie up some loose ends that I felt should've been cleaned up at the end of book 1. However, I was not that concerned about it. The big points were covered, and I knew I was picking up book 2. This time around we got to visit some of Lsel Station, Mahit's home world. We learned a bit more of the imago machines. I take issue with the story surrounding these machines.
How can a device so powerful be such common knowledge that popular stories are produced and consumed about them, yet the device is a highly protected secret outside their civilization?
I am only willing to accept it since Lsel is a remote location and small population (around 30k).

A new species with powerful fighting power is introduced, and it is up to Mahit and Three Seagrass's language and diplomacy skills to keep peace. We also follow around
Eight Antidote, the child heir to the empire. He is a very clever and strong-willed 11 year old. I was worried about having an annoying Wesley Crusher type character in this book.
Thankfully, that did not happen. Eight Antidote had an important role, but it was believable in a way that could be executed by an 11 year old, if you are willing to turn your head sideways a bit (e.g. how can he just walk around the capital city unnoticed and unguarded?).

I came to this series hoping to have this question answered: How did A Desolation Called Peace (this book I am reviewing here) beat Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, my favorite sci-fi novel, for the 2022 Hugo Award? As great as Project Hail Mary is, A Desolation Called Peace must be stupendous, right? When I saw book 1 also won the Hugo, I knew I had to pick up the duology.

Verdict: This book is good. It deserves some kind of award. Just not at the expense of Project Hail Mary's awards. Books that I enjoy typically aren't the same as the professional critics. My strategy of shopping book award lists has always been, "A safe choice when I am undecided." I will continue using it that way.

Score: 5/5. If Dr. AnnaLinden Weller (aka Arkady Martine) writes a standalone, I will pick it up.