On the Horizon – a fire born of exile (Aliette de Bodard)

Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this sci-fi novel eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

Title: a fire born of exile
Author: Aliette de Bodard
Publisher: Independent Publishers Group / JAB Books
Publication Date: Available Now!! (paperback / e-book)
ISBN: 978-1473223431
Source: NetGalley

I really love the Xuya universe and so I was excited to get a copy of this full-length novel.  Just note that this is part of the Xuya romance books and not a murder mystery story.  This was an enjoyable revenge story.  It got compared to The Count of Monte Cristo, a personal favorite, but I don’t agree with that comparison at all.

In the beginning there is Minh, the daughter of the ruling prefect.  Her life has been planned out for her and she wants more.  So she sneaks out of her compound with her best friend Heart’s Sorrow, a mindship, to attend a local festival.  Things go wrong and she is saved by a scholar, Quynh.  Quynh is out for revenge and everyone is a pawn to be used.  That is until she meets Hoa, a technologist, who distracts her from her purpose.  All three woman are tangled up in the revenge plot.

I have to admit that I apparently do not like the Xuya romances.  I did not truly believe in the relationship of Hoa and Quynh.  Their connection never felt real to me and additionally how the conflicts arose in their relationship came from each choosing to not ask questions about problematic things.  The two “teens” Minh and Heart’s Sorrow had both angst and no real agency.

That said, I love the mindships (Arrrr!) and I like revenge plots so I enjoy watching how the plot resolved.  I also always enjoy reading more about how the scholars’ lives work and about the space culture.  Even though I didn’t love the three main characters, I really enjoyed a lot of the side characters and wish I could have seen a lot more of them.  Actually, I would have preferred a book about Quynh’s early survival, repairing a mindship, and becoming a scholar rather than how this book told her past.

I have to admit that the two romance-focused Xuya books have been the least favorites in this universe.  Personal tastes aside, I was glad to read this Xuya book.  There are two more books out by this author in 2024.  Arrrr!

Goodreads website has this to say about the novel:

The Scattered Pearls Belt is a string of habitats under tight military rule . . . where the powerful have become all too comfortable in their positions, and their corruption. But change is coming, with the arrival of Quynh: the mysterious and enigmatic Alchemist of Streams and Hills.

To Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect of the Belt , Quynh represents a chance for escape. To Hot, a destitute engineer, Quynh has a mysterious link to her own past . . . and holds a deeper, more sensual appeal. But Quynh has her own secret history, and a plan for the ruling class of the Belt. A plan that will tear open old wounds, shake the heavens, and may well consume her.

A beautiful exploration of the power of love, of revenge, and of the wounds of the past, this fast-paced, heart-warming space opera is set against a backdrop of corruption, power and political scheming in the far reaches of the award-winning Xuya universe.

To visit the author’s website go to:
Aliette de Bodard – Author

To buy the novel go to:
a fire born of exile – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:
Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author
Xuya Universe – Sci-Fi
the tea master and the detective (eArc)
on a red station, drifting
the citadel of weeping pearls
seven of infinities (eArc)
the red scholar’s wake (Abandoned Ship – eArc)

Dragons and Blades – Fantasy
of charms, ghosts, and grievances (eArc)

Misc.
fireheart tiger (Fantasy Romance eArc)
in the vanisher’s palace (Sci-Fi/Fantasy eArc)