If A Memory Called Empire is about the borders that people throw up to separate themselves from each other, then A Desolation Called Peace is about borders that are impossible to even articulate (because there exists no common language), but whose resolution turns into an existential question
even within its dystopic setting of growing authoritarianism and absurdities about the idea of ownership or domination of nature, Munteanu imbues her novel with a transcendent optimism that an ecological core will abide the sins of humankind
Jade War’s story is multi-layered and satisfying, its characters rooted in a nuanced system of values which makes their actions in turn relatable, intriguing, and occasionally abhorrent without ever feeling out of place.
