We are very happy to report that Tor.com has acquired Aliette de Bodard‘s new novella, FIREHEART TIGER! Described as ‘The Goblin Emperor meets Howl’s Moving Castle in a precolonial Vietnamese-esque world’, it is due to be published in February 2021. Here’s the synopsis…

Thanh is royalty in a beleaguered nation of scattered provinces pressured on all sides. The daughter of ancestors armed with swords and courage, she was fostered in a foreign capital to seal an alliance, and returned — to her powerful mother’s disappointment — quiet and thoughtful instead of brash and confident.

Propped up by the guns and silver of Ephteria, a far more powerful empire, her country is losing the game of power. In Eldris, an Ephterian princess, Thanh finds both romance and intoxicating risk. Eldris may desire her, but she doesn’t respect what Thanh holds dear.

Giang, Thanh’s humble handmaiden, who appeared to her the night of a terrible fire and who has deep secrets of her own, might be the one who holds the key to love, freedom, and true power.

Here’s what Aliette had to say about the upcoming novella…

FIREHEART TIGER is one of those pieces very dear to my heart, a story of a fire and how it resonates, a story of coming free from the long, long shadows of the past. I’m delighted it’s found a home with Tordotcom Publishing, who have been doing stellar work with powerful and wonderful novellas.

Aliette is the multi-award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series (published by Gollancz in the UK; Roc Books and JABberwocky in North America), the Xuya Universe series (published by Subterranean Press and JABberwocky), and more.