This is just a very quick post to draw your attention to The Guardian‘s Booksblog post from Monday 15th April. It is a list of “The Best Young Novelists – from SF’s universe“, and includes the nigh-unstoppable Aliette de Bodard!
Aliette has been racking up a string of prestigious award nominations (crossing fingers for eventual wins, of course), and this is a great extra bit of exposure for one of our major young talents. The Guardian has included her in a list of such luminaries as Lauren Beukes, China Mieville and Joe Abercrombie.
Congratulations, Aliette!
Aliette’s latest big release in the UK is the omnibus edition of her Obsidian and Blood trilogy (published by Angry Robot)…
SERVANT OF THE UNDERWORLD — Year One-Knife, Tenochtitlan the capital of the Aztecs. The end of the world is kept at bay only by the magic of human sacrifice. A priestess disappears from an empty room drenched in blood. Acatl, high priest, must find her, or break the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead.
HARBINGER OF THE STORM — The year is Two House and the Mexica Empire teeters on the brink of destruction, lying vulnerable to the flesh-eating star-demons and to the return of their creator, a malevolent goddess only held in check by the Protector God s power. The council is convening to choose a new emperor, but when a councilman is found dead, only Acatl, High Priest of the Dead, can solve the mystery.
MASTER OF THE HOUSE OF DARTS — The year is Three Rabbit, and the storm is coming… The coronation war for the new Emperor has just ended in a failure, the armies retreating with a mere forty prisoners of war not near enough sacrifices to ensure the favor of the gods. When one of those prisoners of war dies of a magical illness, Acatl, High Priest for the Dead, is summoned to investigate.
“It’s an irresistible question, because truly comprehending what goes on in someone else’s mind is impossible, intangible, and all the more fascinating for it. Truth is, I don’t always know where my own ideas come from. They seldom arrive fully formed, but tend to develop in a tree-like fashion, usually in need of considered pruning. But what makes us want to write in the first place?”
Chris Schuler
Here’s a fascinating interview with 
“A reader recently emailed me, mentioning how intrigued he was at finding a fantasy series in which gunpowder and eighteenth century weaponry can be found alongside dragons and daemons. I really appreciated that comment! Because in writing this series I wanted to evoke an Age of Reason not unlike our own and confront the enlightened thinkers and scientists with the raw forces of an ancient and powerful magic that they can neither explain away nor begin to understand.” 