Quiz A Desolation Called Peace Arkady Martine

A Desolation Called Peace: 20-Question Quiz

This quiz spans the entirety of A Desolation Called Peace, from the epigraphs to the postlude. For more context, see the book summary and ending explained. After completing, check the questions and answers page for deeper discussion.

Section 1: Plot and Sequence (8 Questions)

  1. In the prelude, what does the alien collective (the We) call humans?

    • A) Clever flesh
    • B) Talking animals
    • C) Clever meat
    • D) Barbarian minds

  2. After a scout returns chased by an alien ship, who orders a pilot killed to prevent the spread of a corrosive substance?

    • A) Sixteen Moonrise
    • B) Nine Hibiscus
    • C) Twenty Cicada
    • D) Mahit Dzmare

  3. Short answer: What Lsel technology does Mahit use that contains two versions of Yskandr Aghavn? ________

  4. What does Yaotlek Nine Hibiscus request from the Information Ministry to help with the alien situation?

    • A) A military strategist
    • B) A first-contact specialist or linguist
    • C) Additional Shard fighters
    • D) A diplomatic treaty

  5. Short answer: After the massacre on Peloa-2, what resource did the aliens steal from the colony? ________

  6. What does Eight Antidote learn from Emperor Nineteen Adze that he was cloned to be?

    • A) The new Minister of War
    • B) The host for the imago of Yskandr Aghavn
    • C) A Shard pilot
    • D) A diplomat for the Third Palm

  7. Short answer: Who ingests the alien fungus on Peloa-2 in an attempt to communicate with the hive mind? ________

  8. In Chapter Nineteen, which ship does Nine Hibiscus order a precision strike on to stop the attack?

    • A) Weight for the Wheel
    • B) Parabolic Compression
    • C) Knifepoint
    • D) Jasmine Throat

Section 2: Character Motivation (5 Questions)

  1. Why does Three Seagrass impulsively assign herself as Envoy-at-Large?

    • A) To gain political power
    • B) To reunite with Mahit and escape the City
    • C) To spy on Nine Hibiscus
    • D) To study alien biology

  2. Short answer: What does Darj Tarats hope to achieve by using Yskandr as bait? ________

  3. Why does Mahit Dzmare agree to become Lsel's spy in the war, prolonging the conflict?

    • A) To protect her family on the Station
    • B) She wants to weaken both Teixcalaan and the aliens
    • C) To fulfill a promise to Yskandr
    • D) She fears Councilor Amnardbat

  4. Short answer: What motivates Eight Antidote to risk everything to stop the planet-killing order? ________

  5. Why does Nine Hibiscus keep the discovery of the alien home base from Fleet Captain Sixteen Moonrise?

    • A) She wants to plan a diplomatic visit first
    • B) She distrusts Sixteen Moonrise and wants to control the strike
    • C) She is waiting for the Emperor's orders
    • D) She hopes the aliens will surrender

Section 3: Theme and Symbol (4 Questions)

  1. The epigraph “they make a desert, they call it peace” is from which author?

    • A) Gonzalo Lamana
    • B) Tacitus
    • C) Calgacus
    • D) Ciquinchara

  2. Short answer: What does the alien fungus thematically represent in the novel? ________

  3. The homeostat-cult beliefs followed by Twenty Cicada emphasize which theme?

    • A) Religious sacrifice
    • B) Balance and systemic harmony
    • C) Imperial conquest
    • D) Personal ambition

  4. Short answer: What does the imago technology symbolize in the context of Teixcalaanli imperialism? ________

Section 4: Synthesis (3 Questions)

  1. Short answer: How does the novel critique the concept of “peace” as presented by the Teixcalaan Empire? ________

  2. In the postlude, Twenty Cicada argues that language is not transparent but can allow what?

    • A) Certain knowledge
    • B) Perfect communication
    • C) Knowing or connection
    • D) Domination

  3. Short answer: What does the We’s inability to understand individual human consciousness suggest about the fundamental challenge of first contact? ________

Answer Key

1. C – Clever meat. The prelude introduces the We, which refers to humans as “clever meat,” reflecting its non-linguistic, pattern-based perception.

2. B – Nine Hibiscus. In Chapter One, Yaotlek Nine Hibiscus orders the pilot killed to prevent the corrosive alien substance from spreading.

3. The imago-machine (or imago technology). Mahit carries both the original imago of Yskandr and the version she inherited, effectively two versions of his memories.

4. B – A first-contact specialist or linguist. Nine Hibiscus and Twenty Cicada determine they need someone from the Information Ministry to decode alien communication.

5. Cloudhook-glass. On Peloa-2, the aliens eviscerated the colonists and stole the colony’s stockpile of cloudhook-glass (from Chapter Five).

6. B – The host for the imago of Yskandr Aghavn. Nineteen Adze reveals that Eight Antidote was cloned to receive Yskandr’s consciousness, though she ultimately let him be himself.

7. Twenty Cicada. In Chapter Eighteen, Twenty Cicada announces he will eat the fungus to merge with the alien hive mind and negotiate peace.

8. B – Parabolic Compression. Nine Hibiscus authorizes a precision strike on Sixteen Moonrise’s ship, the Parabolic Compression, to stop the genocidal attack.

9. B – To reunite with Mahit and escape the City. Chapter Three shows Three Seagrass seizing the assignment to both see Mahit again and flee the political pressures of Teixcalaan.

10. To draw Teixcalaan into a destructive war. Councilor Tarats used Yskandr to bait the Empire, hoping war would break Teixcalaan’s power (from Chapter Four).

11. B – She wants to weaken both Teixcalaan and the aliens. Mahit agrees to prolong the war as Lsel’s spy, balancing Stationer interests against both empires.

12. He believes genocide is morally wrong and he cannot accept his Empire becoming that. Eight Antidote actively undermines the nuclear strike order, later saying he is not sorry.

13. B – She distrusts Sixteen Moonrise and wants to control the strike. Nine Hibiscus withholds the intelligence to prevent Sixteen Moonrise from acting unilaterally (Chapter Twelve).

14. B – Tacitus. The epigraph is a famous line from Tacitus’s account of the Roman conquest, echoing the critique of peace as violence.

15. Collectivity, hive mind, or connection across species. The fungus allows shared consciousness, mirroring the We’s nature and offering a bridge.

16. B – Balance and systemic harmony. Twenty Cicada’s homeostat-cult focuses on maintaining balance, which influences his approach to the alien conflict.

17. Memory, identity, and the cost of assimilation or imperial co-option. Imago lines represent continuity but also the erasure of individual self.

18. It shows that Teixcalaan’s “peace” is often a violent cauterization—destroying enemies to impose order, as seen in Nineteen Adze’s justification of genocide.

19. C – Knowing or connection. In the postlude, Twenty Cicada/Swarm suggests language, though imperfect, can sometimes enable understanding between different minds.

20. The gap between collective and individual cognition makes communication profoundly difficult; the We cannot grasp singular personhood, leading to deadly misunderstandings.