My sense is that de Bodard is torn between thinking uneven power dynamics are fascinating/compelling/sexy and wanting to write about good people making each others' lives better in small yet tangible ways. I tend to prefer the stories where she leans into one of these approaches rather than trying to split the difference, but I always enjoy the way she evokes a sense of place.
i think I've tried reading her Paris fallen angels one several times and couldn't get into it. But I loved the sentient spaceships...
That's a really interesting way to talk about this. As you may know, I'm fascinated with many of us being fascinated by "bad" things, whether serial killers, uneven relationships, military regimes, etc etc. And rather than the puritan approach of declaring these things bad or evil, I'm interested as to WHY these things appeal... So yeah, I see that issue!
(Thinking about this, I wonder if you'd thing that These Burning Stars manages to address both these things...i just finished the sequel and am still thinking about the various characters!)
Yes! And from a writerly standpoint I feel like fascination is a really good way to fuel a project, so it's interesting to see the ways people try to combine that force with other kinds of concerns.
(I read the beginning of These Burning Stars but didn't get very far in--I think it was more big sprawling epic than I was in the mood for.)
Just wanted to come back because I'm in the middle of Fire Born of Exile and am loving it! I started it forgetting why it was on my Kindle and about 1/5 in I realized that it was because of your review (when i realized the Count reference :).
I've read a couple of other of her Xuya novellas, and I think that i should read the rest of the universe. I just love the mindships so much! (and while we've had sentient ships since at least The Ship Who Sang, I feel the 2010s were such a great moment for sentient machines!)
Spirit: or, The Princess of Bois Dormant. It's part of her Aleutian series and will be hard to follow out of context, though (I struggled with it even as a Gwyneth Jones completionist)--I'd recommend Divine Endurance if you've never read anything by her.
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ursula
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-23 03:53 pm (UTC)great review!
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-23 05:41 pm (UTC)My sense is that de Bodard is torn between thinking uneven power dynamics are fascinating/compelling/sexy and wanting to write about good people making each others' lives better in small yet tangible ways. I tend to prefer the stories where she leans into one of these approaches rather than trying to split the difference, but I always enjoy the way she evokes a sense of place.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-23 06:13 pm (UTC)That's a really interesting way to talk about this. As you may know, I'm fascinated with many of us being fascinated by "bad" things, whether serial killers, uneven relationships, military regimes, etc etc. And rather than the puritan approach of declaring these things bad or evil, I'm interested as to WHY these things appeal... So yeah, I see that issue!
(Thinking about this, I wonder if you'd thing that These Burning Stars manages to address both these things...i just finished the sequel and am still thinking about the various characters!)
(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-23 06:45 pm (UTC)(I read the beginning of These Burning Stars but didn't get very far in--I think it was more big sprawling epic than I was in the mood for.)
(no subject)
Date: 2025-03-05 11:32 pm (UTC)I've read a couple of other of her Xuya novellas, and I think that i should read the rest of the universe. I just love the mindships so much! (and while we've had sentient ships since at least The Ship Who Sang, I feel the 2010s were such a great moment for sentient machines!)
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Date: 2025-01-23 06:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-01-23 06:54 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2025-01-23 08:54 pm (UTC)