We’re very happy to report that Aliette de Bodard‘s IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE has been nominated for a Lammy Award! Nominated in the LGBTQ SF/F/Horror category, the awards will be announced on June 3rd in New York. The novel is published via the JABberwocky eBook Program. Here’s the synopsis…
A dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast from the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series.
When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn’s amusement. But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer. In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies — and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn’s dark, unspeakable secrets…
Here are some of the great reviews the novel has received so far…
‘This intriguing, Sapphic, Vietnamese take on Beauty and the Beast is recommended for fans of De Bodard’s previous works or readers who enjoy diverse, lushly described fantasy.’ — Library Journal
‘Another stellar offering by Bodard. Her signature intensity is on display in this tale of people (and dragons) struggling to survive in the ruins of an alien conquest. Emotionally complex relationships interweave with richly drawn and deftly nuanced world-building.’ — Kate Elliott, Author of the Court of Fives series
‘A transformative experience. With dragons.’ — Fran Wilde, Hugo and Nebula nominated author of The Bone Universe and The Gemworld series
‘… beautifully written. Aliette de Bodard’s prose is always on point. If you want evidence, just read one of her short stories… de Bodard never fails to create breathtaking and complex worlds… I loved IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE, and I know I’ll be recommending it going forward.’ — The Illustrated Page
JABberwocky also published the UK edition of Aliette’s critically-acclaimed THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE novella — it’s published in the US by Subterranean Press. The Dominion of the Fallen series is published in the UK by Gollancz and Roc Books in North America.
