Deftly interweaving expansive space opera with intimate romance, de Bodard's startlingly accomplished science fiction epic sees an intergalactic arranged marriage become something much more sensual in the face of conflict and intrigue.
Shortlisted for The Arthur C. Clarke Award 2023
Xich Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xich Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates' enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xich Si and herself.
Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xich Si's help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xich Si means Rice Fish can offer Xich Si protection, in exchange for Xich Si's technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.
But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xich Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together...
An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance, from an exceptional SF author.
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781399601382
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 540 g
Dimensions: 236 x 164 x 32 mm
A "read-in-one-sitting" novel with a beautifully-realized setting amid a complex examination of power and consequences, all intertwined with an intense and gripping romance. - Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun, Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun
De Bodard's novel, with its rich overlay of Vietnamese culture, is a sumptuous, romantic experience - The Financial Times
A 'read-in-one-sitting' novel with a beautifully-realized setting amid a complex examination of power and consequences, all intertwined with an intense and gripping romance. - Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun
Thrillingly exciting and achingly romantic, The Red Scholar's Wake is rich with political intrigue and piratical adventure. It took my breath away! - Stephanie Burgis, author of Snowspelled and Scales and Sensibility
Space battles! Arranged marriage! Politics and pirates! Aliette de Bodard has a knack for concocting the most glittery and delicious candy-shell of space opera, and then filling it with a bittersweet romance between two fractured people trying to hold on to their ideals. Every new book of hers instantly becomes my favourite book of hers, and this was no exception - Freya Marske, author of international bestseller A Marvellous Light
The Red Scholar's Wake is a quiet, intimate novel, its focus on the personal as driving force for the plot. It's a book about love, over and above everything else: familial love, romantic love, and love for a community that doesn't always love you back. And alongside that love, it's also a book about hope. - Reads Rainbow
I've been really excited for this book for a couple of months now and I'm glad I got the chance to read it, because it's a fun read, with romance, pirates, politics and even some emotional moments too.... More
English is not my native language so, please, excuse any errors that may have escaped my proofreading.
I received this as an advance reader copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions my...
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