In the Vanishers Palace | 
so-soA sapphic retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a Vietnamese culture in a world plagued with mutant viruses unleashed by the Vanishers.
Disappointing. I spent too much of the time trying to understand what was actually happening while the author concentrated on physical descriptions and emotional states.
pickWhat a gorgeous sapphic Beauty and the Beast retelling with fantasy and sci-fi elements. A scholar sacrificed to a dragon realizes her life isn't over when instead of eating her the dragon tells her she will serve as a tutor to her children. But the palace the dragon lives in is a relic of the Vanishers who ravaged this land and left behind deadly diseases. If she's not careful, the dragons may not be the most terrifying thing she faces.
I finally put together my #bookspinbingo card! I know I checked the size of the squares more than once but still, somehow, when I put ink on it, they turned out to be not all squares. 🤨
pickLow pick—I often struggle to feel connected to the characters in de Bodard‘s books, though this was better on that front than usual. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of a post-alien-colonial Vietnam and the Beauty and the Beast parallel, especially where there was some role reversal. I felt it could have been longer; Yên‘s magic studies and the romance really felt underdeveloped.
A quarter of the way into this book, I just realized it‘s Beauty and the Beast. (I‘m sure I knew that when I put it on hold…) Just in time for #fairytalereadingchallenge, I believe!
pickIt's a Vietnamese-inspired post-apocalyptic f/f retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Oh, and the apocalypse was colonialism.
B&tB isn't my favorite fairy tale, but I recommend this version. The plot does hinge on plagues and disease, though, so you might want to hold off if that's not something you can handle right now.
This was my #BookSpin book this month. Thanks as always, @TheAromaofBooks!
Check out this book bundle on sale now: https://storybundle.com/scifi
I'm kind of a sucker for these bundles, but I already own In the Vanishers' Palace so I'm not sure this one is worth it to me. I'm still half-tempted just for the exclusive Silvia Moreno-Garcia collection.
I'm reading In the Vanishers' Palace now, and really enjoying it. Aliette de Bodard is my favorite new-to-me author this year.
If you want to read, but are having trouble focusing on anything too long, here are some good recommendations for short stories and novellas.
https://bookathonblog.wordpress.com/2020/05/20/dont-feel-like-reading-long-books...
pan1.5/5⭐ The “romance“ started from the moment one character took the other prisoner and NEVER developed on the basis of...well, anything at all, let alone anything a healthy relationship should be based on. In fact, the list of reasons against the two of them getting together grew longer.
As interesting as the role of words in magic was, the worldbuilding was disconnectingly convoluted and failed to ground me in any level of understanding.
pickRating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5 ⭐️s
This review is based on an #ARC given to me for free by the author.
THIS FAIRYTALE RETELLING MAKES ME SO HAPPY! It takes elements from Vietnamese folklore and combines it with a pinch of Lovecraft, then it weaves this gorgeous sapphic love story into that setting, all while raising questions about consent, doing the right thing even if it's the hardest thing, and taking responsibility for one's own mistakes.
pickI love love love this author. This one didn‘t QUITE rise to the level of On a Red Station Drifting, but I loved the world and the mythology. This was my cli-fi choice for #booked2019 (and finishes the quarter!!) and I got it off a list of cli-fo, but I‘m not convinced the dystopia in this case was actually caused by a climate disaster. BUT, I didn‘t have time to finish a replacement :(
pickReally enjoyed this short retelling of Beauty and the Beast. There‘s magic, dragons, extensive discussion of colonialism, consent, and a f/f romance. Plus, it sent me down an internet rabbit hole learning about what Vietnamese pronouns convey, which languages already include gender-neutral pronouns, and how queer folks are adapting their own languages to include them. (Which, I guess, is a tangential high point, but still.) 🌈
Another shorter novella I picked up this weekend. There's just a ton of great books coming out lately.
#fantasy
March was a bit of a slow reading month but I expect it will pick up in April since I'm not working.
I did fail my personal reading challenge though because I had mis-categorized the tagged book as a print one. Whoops. Well, I'll just have to try harder!
pickI didn't totally understand everything re: the world building but man, did I enjoy the ride. f/f Vietnamese SF/F Beauty and the Beast-inspired novella.
so-soIn this Asian society science fiction setting a scholar has to live in a dragon's (she can have human form) palace. I liked another shorter novella, but here the balance between only hinted at backstory and described scenes were off. Also, I thought there should have been either more about the twins living there, or they should have been left out altogether and more focus on the romance.
#SffTbrChallenge Fairytale retelling (Beauty and the Beast)
Started this today finally and I am having issues with it 😕
I want to love it because dragons and f/f relationships, but it's just so oddly written that it feels distant and jumbled.
Every year, I try to get my sister a selection of books she might be interested in. This year, she's getting Max Gladstone's Three Parts Dead and Aliette de Bodard's In the Vanishers' Palace, so far, but I want to get a couple more. Her favourite genres are sci-fi and fantasy, prefers female main characters, lesbian romance a huge plus, dragons adored. Favourite book = On Basilisk Station. Any extra suggestions, Littens?
panI thought I would obviously love this, but in the end I... don't think I get it? I mean, I can describe the world and plot, but it just... slipped by me and I couldn't figure out the significance of things. I wanted so badly to like it that I don't want to rate it as a pan, but... it really did not work for me.
pickGorgeous queer retelling of Beauty and the Beast. 😍
pickAn intense and emotional tale, set in a sci-fi world based on Korean mythology. Yên is a young teacher, given to a dragon by her village in exchange for a healing. Yèn and the dragon find a deep connection, and deep divisions. Sometimes you can best help a person by letting them make their own mistakes.
