Ahoy there me mateys!  I received this fantasy/sci-fi eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  So here be me honest musings . . .

in the vanishers' palace (Aliette de Bodard)

Title: in the vanishers' palace

Author: Aliette de Bodard

Publisher: JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

Publication Date: TODAY!! (paperback/e-book)

ISBN: 978-1625673985

Source: NetGalley

I have read some of the author's short stories and enjoy her writing style.  This is a beauty and the beast retelling based on Vietnamese myths and culture.  The story is an interesting blend of fantasy and sci-fi.  The tale takes place in a world destroyed by an alien race called the Vanishers.  The Vanishers used Earth as a plaything and left chaos behind.  Humans are barely surviving in the barren wasteland.  Disease, starvation, and lack of resources are the norm.  In order to have a place in society, members must have viable skills to keep their place.  Life is harsh and unfair.

 Yên lives in one such settlement.  She is a failed scholar and barely adequate healer's apprentice.  Her position in the village is due to her mother's skill as a healer.  But one day, a prominent leader's daughter is diagnosed with a fatal disease.  Should she die, both Yên and her mother's places are forfeit.  So Yên's mother makes a magical bargain with a dragon for the girl's life.  Only the price of the healing turns out to be Yên's servitude to the dragon.  Yên is taken to the Vanishers' palace to be a teacher to the dragon's two children.  Only Yên is drawn to the dragon.  What will become of her?

I have to say that this was just an okay read for me.  I had a hard time getting drawn into the story.  I liked many of the individual elements but the story didn't end up being an cohesive whole.  I loved the "word" magic.  I loved the f/f relationship.  I loved Yên's mother.  I enjoyed the blend of sci-fi and fantasy elements.  I liked that Yên stood up for herself and demanded to be allowed to make her own choices.  And yet the excitement was lacking. 

Part of that may have been the dragon's aloof nature.  Part of that was the many descriptions of the odd architecture and nature of the palace itself.  I didn't really even feel the fairy tale retelling vibe.  But overall, I am not sure what the disconnect was.  I just did not love this story like others by the author.  This story does seem to be loved by many of the crew.  So while this story was not mesmerizing, I am glad to have read it.  And I still will be readin' more of the author's work.  

So lastly . . .

Thank you JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.!

Goodreads has this to say about the novel:

From the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series comes a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

In a ruined, devastated world, where the earth is poisoned and beings of nightmares roam the land...

A woman, betrayed, terrified, sold into indenture to pay her village's debts and struggling to survive in a spirit world.

A dragon, among the last of her kind, cold and aloof but desperately trying to make a difference.

When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn's amusement.

But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer. In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies—and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn’s dark, unspeakable secrets... 

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Previous Log Entries for this Author

the tea master and the detective (On the Horizon - Fantasy eArc)

I loved this book. It's set in a dark and gritty post-apocalyptic alternate Earth where an alien(?) race, the Vanishers, ravaged the land and left behind all sorts of terrible viruses which devastate the surviving humans. Humanity clings to survival, but communities don't have the resources to support people they deem insufficiently useful. Amidst all this, failed scholar Yên is traded to the dragon Vu Côn in exchange for Vu Côn's healing services.

This is a unique and beautifully written retelling of Beauty and the Beast. The original tale has some problematic elements, as there's a strong undercurrent of Stockholm Syndrome and it's easy to fall into a pattern of justifying abusive behavior as a sign of "love." Aliette de Bodard handles all of this extremely well, as Yên wrestles with deciding what she wants and bristles at how Vu Côn doesn't allow her to make many choices. Meanwhile, Vu Côn is well aware of how power inequality makes the issue of consent very tricky and wrestles with the issue of setting appropriate boundaries.

All in all, this is an imaginative and carefully thought out tale and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I struggled with reading the story and I wanted so badly to love this since it is a retelling of beauty and the beast in a vietnamese setting but while I loved the beautifully written lyrical prose, it fell short.

2.5 ⭐

4.75 Stars

Imagine a post-apocalyptic Vietnamese f/f retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" with a dragon-lady Beast and you'd find yourself in the world of In the Vanisher's Palace. Yên, a young woman who has failed her university entrance exams, lives in a world ravaged by cruel colonizers called the Vanishers, who broke and despoiled the Earth and then abandoned it. Poisons and viruses sweep the Earth. Healers, who use what weak magic they possess, try in vain to heal. Yên's mother, Kim Ngoc, desperately tries to save a young woman, Oanh, by summoning a dragon healer from the spirit realm. The dragon, Vu Côn, takes the form of a cold and proud woman. She heals Oanh but claims Yên as her price for being summoned. Yên is drawn with her into the spirit world of the Vanisher's Palace, meeting Vu Côn's children Thông (genderless) and Liên (female), and rather than being devoured, as she had expected to be, finds herself a governess to these two strange children. Increasingly attracted to one another, Vu Côn and Yên struggle with the boundaries of their relationship. Among the interesting subjects tackled in this novella is the issue of consent. As Vu Côn points out to her children, can a slave or servant ever truly grant consent? Even if freed, is sex given out of gratitude or obligation or out of genuine affection? Though a romantic relationship evolves between these two women, Vu Côn's secrets threaten to sabotage Yên's trust. Additionally, Vu Côn's high-handed decision-making infuriates Yên, who is evidently clever enough to be tutoring Vu Côn's children but not enough so to be informed of major choices being made about her own life, family, and health. Yên is not without her own flaws, however, and is too bound by her own prejudices. Both will have to change in order to achieve the sense of equality needed in a true relationship.

This is another fascinating Aliette de Bodard story, with strong female characters and interesting perspectives on consent, colonialism, and racism. I just wish we had had a bit more background on the Vanishers.


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book from the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Welcome to a broken post-apocalyptic world ravaged by the shape-shifting mythical and mysterious race of Vanishers. A superior race of immoral creatures who have departed but left in their wake a world racked with viruses, illness and mutation. Their devastation has effected all life forms. The dire consequences unfold in a third world type of small village with Oanh, the daughter of the village's Head Elder, lies afflicted on her death bed. The village Healer is summoned in the hope of a cure. Tagging along is the Healer's daughter, Yen … a teacher and failed scholar who apparently has little "value" to the village. In a desperate measure the healer summons with magic the Dragon, Vu Con. Although the magic of the Dragon saves Oanh, a price needs to be exacted. In exchange for Vu Con's aid a villager must be surrendered. Having no value to the village the Head Elder decrees that Yen will go.
De Bodard weaves a tapestry of lyrical prose into an enchanting tale …. reminiscent of the French fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast". Yen finds herself imprisoned in the Vanisher's Palace … whose architecture is unworldly and any attempt to visualize results in a vertiginous mind muttering experience … Yen finds it impossible to traverse the bizarrely constructed corridors.
She anticipates either torture or death at the hands of the shape-shifing Vu Con. But instead, is charged with the education of the Dragon's two children … Thong and Lien. She remains distraught and fearful for her future.
Thanks to Netgalley and Jabberwocky for providing this excellent Advance electronic E-Book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully crafted and incredibly entertaining, 'In the Vanishers' Palace' is a dark f/f retelling of the classic 'Beauty and the Beast' tale with inspiration taken from Vietnamese folklore and myths.
One of my favourite aspects of 'In the Vanishers' Palace' was the development between Yên and Vu Côn, both in the relationship between them and as characters in their own rights. I (and I'm sure many others) get hooked by the mention of enemies to lovers, and this did not disappoint. In the beginning, Vu Côn effectively kidnaps Yên in repayment for healing a villager, but the reader can still sense at least some attraction between the characters. This could have easily become a very dubious situation but de Bodard handled it very well and developed their relationship a romantic one, while also developing their characters as individuals (and side characters such as Liên and Thông, which I was happy to see).
The writing and world-building were both very impressive, my only issue was that it feels as though readers are thrown into the novel with little explanation about the Vanishers, which some may find off-putting. In the beginning it occasionally felt like I had missed out on a prologue chapter or accidentally skim read a few pages, but I got used to it and this had little effect on my enjoyment of the novel.
I will definitely be recommending 'In the Vanishers' Palace' to my friends because 1. f/f retellings are a win and 2. dragons. Need I say more?
While this is my first time reading a novel by Aliette de Bodard, I can already say with certainty that it will not be my last.

IN THE VANISHERS' PALACE is a gorgeous f/f retelling of Beauty and the Beast, based on (#ownvoices) Vietnamese culture/mythology. If that doesn't make you want to read this novel, I don't know what will.

Loved:
- I loved how the author incorporated filial piety into the Beauty and the Beast story. It worked perfectly.
- I appreciated the twist on the "forbidden rooms" element—that got a chuckle out of me.
- I found the backstory about the Vanishers to be fascinating, and I loved how creatively that backstory was woven into the fate of the main character.
- The dragon is a mother, raising two kids. The kids were among my favorite characters, and their interactions were an absolute delight.
- Some characters used gender-neutral pronouns.

Didn't love:
- I couldn't get into the writing style. Some parts were written beautifully and flowed well, but I found other parts to be too choppy or too long-winded. The unusual placement of certain commas, semicolons, etc. also threw me off. I realize this is subjective and that plenty of readers love the writing, so it's more a case of "just not for me."
- The first chapter was a little confusing; it felt as though I'd jumped into a Chapter Two or Chapter Five or something and missed the real beginning of the story.
- Yên kissed Vu Côn while Yên was still under Vu Côn's power (and effectively being held captive). I'm all for f/f kissing, but not when the power dynamics are so imbalanced. Later, Vu Côn freed Yên, but they kissed again only seconds after that—which still means all of Yên's feelings developed when she was under Vu Côn's control. I wish these two characters had gotten to know each other better on equal terms before all of this kissing. Otherwise, I have to wonder how much is Stockholm syndrome, and/or Vu Côn taking advantage, etc. I doubt that was the author's intention, but just looking at what's on the page, it can certainly been interpreted that way.

Overall, I am so glad to have found this book. Usually I can find a f/f book, or a book with a majority POC cast, but I can rarely find a book that includes both. Seeing that sort of representation is a breath of fresh air, especially when it's written from a respectful and knowledgeable perspective. Plus, the story is just really cool!

ARC provided from JABberwocky Literary Agency via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

In the Vanishers' Palace is the newest novella from SF/F author Aliette de Bodard (who I've previously reviewed on this blog here and here). The author described it as "dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast where they are both women & the Beast is a dragon, inspired by Vietnamese myths" and to some extent, that's a pretty accurate summation of what you're getting here. But that's an oversimplification that doesn't do justice to the story. What this story definitely is though is an utterly charming and wonderful novella that I quite wholly recommend.

Quick Plot Summary: Yên and her mother are outcasts in her village because of their lack of "use" in this postapocalyptic world - broken after the deadly Vanishers left the planet they devastated behind. But when her mother is required to heal the daughter of the village leader of a Vanisher disease, she is forced to use her magic to summon a Dragon....and the price of said healing is Yên herself.

Yên is thus taken back by the Dragon, Vu Côn, to her Palace - a structure of bizarre geometries left behind by the Vanishers. Yên knows she should be frightened of the Dragon...but instead finds herself more and more attracted to Vu Côn, and the attraction might be mutual. But as Yên tutors the dragon's two strange children, she finds herself missing her former home as well, and finds herself torn in two between her attraction to the deadly dragon and the few friends and family she left behind....

Thoughts: I really loved In the Vanishers' Place, and I really needed it given how things are going right now. I really can't use any word to describe it other than "lovely" - de Bodard creates a world very different from nearly anything else I've read (other than her own work - her style and Vietnamese influences are clear), and doesn't hold hands for a reader who will be unfamiliar with the concepts and mythology being referenced in the worldbuilding - and it all works incredibly well. Her descriptions of this world, of the Vanishers' place, are fascinating and man would I love to see this story fully illustrated.

But its the characters who make this story, and the love that blossoms between all of them. And I'm not just talking about the principal romance between Yên and Vu Côn - which is extremely well done of course, feeling real and beautiful. But this book also features the love formed between a parent and her children - whether that is a parent and her biological daughter - Yên and her mother - a parent and her adopted children - Vu Côn and the twins - or between a teacher and her students (multiple groupings). It's as much a story about people discovering what they mean to each other, forming bonds, and learning what responsibilities and obligations those bonds entail as anything, and the result is just.....well, lovely.

This Review also appears at my blog here: http://garik16.blogspot.com/2018/10/scififantasy-novella-review-in.html

NOTE: I RECEIVED A FREE ARC OF THIS NOVELLA IN RETURN FOR A FAIR AND HONEST REVIEW.

Aliette de Bodard is an author whose works, I’m sorry to say, have long languished in my TBR stack. But after reading her upcoming novella IN THE VANISHER’S PALACE, it’s become clear that I need to make a more concerted effort to put her books on the top of the pile. Ms. de Bodard has a way with words that captures your heart, even within the confines of a short work of prose.

IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE is a fusion of Beauty and the Beast with Vietnamese folklore and a dash of speculative sci-fi for good measure. We meet Yên, daughter of a village healer with no particular aptitude for anything. She’s frequently ridiculed by the village elders and has no future. All of that changes when her mother summons a dragon to heal the daughter of the head of the village. Yên’s mother plans to offer herself in servitude to pay the dragon, but at the last moment, Yên takes her mother’s place. She is whisked away by the dragon, Lady Vu Côn, to a mysterious palace that defies the rules of reality.

The novella’s greatest strength is its evocative, considered use of words, particularly in the first half of the story. Every choice of phrase paints a picture, from the ever-shifting forms of the dragon to the equally shifting tensions between Vu Côn and Yên. I particularly loved the author’s attention to the details of linguistics, finding ways to convey a sense of the exact weight of words that exist outside the English language. It is an impressive feat that aids in the expression of how important certain ideals are to the characters and their culture, as well as highlighting the changing dynamics between characters.

As mentioned above, this is a fantasy tale with a dash of science-fiction. The particulars of the world are far less important than the characters who inhabited them, yet I still bumped slightly on a few of the futuristic elements. My interest was in Vu Côn and Yên, a testament to the arresting way these two leads are written. At the same time, I found myself less engaged when the narrative turned its focus to the dilemma facing the world they lived in. This dilemma is the MacGuffin that complicates the women’s relationship, but made the tale less dreamy and more concrete during the last third of the story. While this may have been the author’s intent, it nevertheless made this story fall just short of perfection for me.

IN THE VANISHERS’ PALACE is an excellent retelling of a classic fairytale, beautifully reimagined. It walks the line of creating a completely original narrative, while still hitting the familiar beats we know of love. If you are looking for an afternoon read set in a strange and unconventional world, I highly recommend this novella.

Parece que Aliette le va cogiendo el gusto a reescribir historias mundialmente conocidas pero añadiendo detalles de su propia cosecha. Después de cambiar la historia de Sherlock y Watson, ahora le toca el turno a un cuento infantil, La bella y la bestia.
Un autor que revisita un relato ya conocido forzosamente ha de sumar nuevos elementos a la ecuación para hacerla interesante y De Bodard lo consigue con dragones, razas invasoras y medicina, de una forma muy atractiva y que se lee en un suspiro.
Sus raíces vietnamitas vuelven a hacerse patentes en el uso de distintos pronombres para reflejar la escala de respeto debida a los superiores y vemos cómo evoluciona la narración a través del propio cambio de estos pronombres. Esto es solo un ejemplo de la estupenda prosa de Aliette, que para mí alcanza su punto álgido en la descripción de la biblioteca cuando la descubre Yen (que representa el papel de Bella). Admito que no soy imparcial ni con la obra de Aliette ni con el hecho de describir una biblioteca, pero esas frases son capaces de llevarme a otro mundo y hacerme desear poder visitar ese templo del saber.
También me encanta el tratamiento de la medicina, combinado acupuntura, saber tradicional y la más moderna tecnología de la que se puede disponer para combatir el desequilibrio de los humores que provoca enfermedades. Ser capaz de combinar la sabiduría antigua con los virus modificados genéticamente no debe haber sido fácil pero Aliette ha conseguido que esta mezcla aparentemente indisoluble fluya como un solo líquido perfectamente combinado.
In the Vanisher's Palace también refleja el poder corruptor del poder, sobre todo cuando se ejerce sin tener en cuenta el bien común, solo el propio. Es un estado que se retroalimenta, de forma que cada decisión egoísta da pie a una nueva elección que nos precipita por el mal camino. ¿Qué se puede hacer para evitar esta espiral descendente? La autora nos ofrece una solución aparentemente insensible, pero que acaba resultando acertada.
Leer In the Vanisher's Palace ha resultado un placer, que no por esperado deja de ser agradable. Necesitamos más Aliette de Bodard en nuestras vidas.

In The Vanishers' Palace is the first book by Aliette de Bodard that I've read, and boy is it a good one. It's an f/f, dark fantasy inspired by Beauty and the Beast and Vietnamese mythology, with dragons. If the whole premise doesn't get you, I don't know what will. (Perhaps an AO3 tags style description of the book by the author herself?)

The thing I most loved about this book was the relationship between Yên and Vu Côn. It starts off cold and unfriendly, given that Vu Côn effectively kidnaps Yên in "payment" for healing a member of the village. But there is still attraction there, and Aliette de Bodard develops it really well into something more romantic. And manages to have both Yên and Vu Côn develop as characters individually as well. (As do Liên and Thông, which was good to see, as they were more side characters.)

The writing and worldbuilding was also really good. The reader is somewhat thrown straight into the world with not that much explanation at times (especially with regard to the Vanishers), so I found that a bit difficult from time to time. Not so much that my enjoyment of the book was impacted at all, but still noticeably.

So, in summary, you should definitely mark this book to read. Because who doesn't love fairytale reimaginings, especially when they're sapphic. Aliette de Bodard is definitely an author I'll be coming back to.

3.5 stars

A f/f Vietnamese retelling of Beauty and the Beast set in a dystopian world recovering from colonizing assholes?

I wanted so, so much to love this. It has everything I love: f/f, Vietnamese setting written by a Vietnamese author, fairy tale retelling, a whole host of LGBT characters.

And yet while I loved the beautiful, lyrical prose, it fell short for me. Like Bodard's previous novella, The Tea Master and the Detective, I enjoyed the overall story but the nuance flew right over my head. And that's okay.

I know that this will resonate for many others, however: for an audience who has grown up under colonizers who came and and took everything and left—taking all of the resources, polluting the earth and the people and leaving nothing but devastation, ruin and their own destructive views of what constitutes worth in a person.

It's for people who have lost everything except for hope, and then realize that they can come together to dismantle the colonizing structures and heal at last.

It's for people who are rebuilding and becoming stronger than ever—even if they transform in the process—in the choices that they can now make for themselves.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

Thank you to SFWA for the arc of this book, this was a re telling of beauty and the beast, Vietnamese style.
I really enjoyed it, it was different and very hard to put down.

Aliette de Bodard writes distinct stories. ItVP retells Beauty and the Beast tale. In this case, both of them are women. The narration feels dark and creepy and it slowly builds the romance.

The author celebrates Vietnam's heritage and culture by introducing it into the story. The prose and descriptions are top-notch. No issues here.

On the downside, I struggled with the relationships couldn't relate in any way with the main character. While Yên has good moments I found her bland. The dragon, Vu Côn, is much more interesting, but her affection for Yên appears out of nowhere, and for little reason.

While I didn't really enjoy this story, I admire de Bodard's writing skills.

From the first word on, this novel grips and kept me involved. A retelling of a classic that fashions its own story on the bones of its forebears, yet works in its own creative and entertaining direction.

Another example of pristine science fiction from this publisher.

A beautiful fusion of a magical-cum-futuristic dystopia and Eastern and Vietnamese mythology, this short novel was awhirl with gorgeous imagery and descriptions and a very haunting sense of something gone very awry.
The protagy, a girl of no magical talent, ends up being sold as payment for a dragon summons. The dragon cures a sick villager and takes her as payment. She is both awestruck and angry and somewhat attracted to this dragon, and the dragon in turn feels similar. Its gorgeous, and filled with a lurid and evocative descriptions of the malleable appearance of the dragon and her children.
It's doubly wonderful to have a lgbt couple and love interest.
It was a little short, and I would have liked more information about what and how the world ended up the way it did, it felt like the second book of a series in that sense, and I also felt the relationship between the two was also a little fast.
All in all, an excellent book, and recommended.

In the Vanisher's Palace by Aliette de Bodard. A new and unique take on the old tale of Beauty and the Beast. Set in a fantasy world with dragons and sci-fi place of severe gene modding and broken rules of the universe, a dragon playing the part of the Beast who takes their due after healing the mother because nothing in this universe is free.