Two days ago, Gollancz unveiled Alyssa Winans‘s stunning cover for Aliette de Bodard‘s highly-anticipated new novel, THE RED SCHOLAR’S WAKE!
The latest Xuya masterpiece from the author of THE TEA MASTER AND THE DETECTIVE and SEVEN OF INFINITIES (to name but two), it is due to be published on November 24th, in the UK and Commonwealth. Here’s the synopsis:
Xích 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. Xích 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 Xích 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 Xích Si’s help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xích Si means Rice Fish can offer Xích Si protection, in exchange for Xích Si’s technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.
But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xích 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…
The novel has already racked up a number of great advanced reviews. Here are just a few of them…
‘A fizzingly inventive space opera, quite unlike anything I’ve encountered before, and told with style, grace, and a big dose of heart. SF is lucky to have Aliette de Bodard’ — Alastair Reynolds
‘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
‘An epic tale of piracy and romance in the void of space. A new book from Aliette de Bodard is always a treasure’ — Gareth L. Powell
‘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
‘Confident, sexy, and touching — THE RED SCHOLAR’S WAKE gives a whole new meaning to the phrase “star-crossed lovers”!’ — Max Gladstone
‘A gripping science fiction adventure, full of cool science-fictional ideas, plot twists, and high stakes… Most importantly, this story has heart, with characters you really care about’ — Laura J. Mixon
‘THE RED SCHOLAR’S WAKE takes you on an exhilarating dive into space piracy with passion, politics, dazzling settings, and-even better-a profound core of love transcending hopelessness that rings throughout the story’ — Everina Maxwell
Book reviewers interested in reading the book can request it on NetGalley, or from the publisher directly.
A number of Aliette’s other Xuya books have been published by Subterranean Press in North America, and by JABberwocky in eBook and elsewhere.
