Aliette de Bodard‘s highly-anticipated new Xuya masterpiece, IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIP is out now! Published by Subterranean Press in North America (cover above), and JABberwocky in the UK (below), here’s the synopsis…

Nightjar, sentient ship and family matriarch, looms large in Khuyên’s past. Disappearances drove teenage Khuyên from it, but death will steer her back.

Now an adult and a magistrate, Khuyên came for her maternal grandmother’s funeral but finds herself unwittingly reliving her past on the decaying Nightjar. Children are still disappearing as her childhood friends once did; and worse, her beloved Cousin Anh vanishes after pleading for her help.

Khuyên sets out to save Anh alongside Thảo, a beautiful and mysterious woman who seems to know more than she should about Khuyên and the ship. But saving Anh requires doing what Khuyên couldn’t do before: face her family, face the ship, face her own hopes and fears for the future—a future that might well include Thảo, but only if Khuyên can stop listening to the critical voice in her head.

A voice that sounds an awful lot like Nightjar’s…

Here are just a couple of early reviews the book has received…

‘For all its brevity, this is a dense and emotionally complex piece, carrying grief and hope, pain and potential, in equal measure. The ashes of the past meeting the chance to build something different for the future. I always enjoy de Bodard’s work, and IN THE SHADOW OF THE SHIPis no exception: a sharp-edged and glittering science-fictional gem.’ — Locus

‘Incredible … This is a world of dizzying tech, gorgeous illusions and twisty political thrills.’ — New York Times

‘Beautifully written and deeply imagined… highly recommended.’ — Kate Elliott