This is the first of Aliette de Bodard's works that I have read, drawn in by the beautiful cover. Each story is poignant and heart-rending, In general I do not care for stories that make me feel sad but these stories draw me in and I find myself wishing for more.

I'd read a work or two of Aliette de Bodard before Of Wars, and Memories, and Stralight, but this stunning collection has made me an unabashed fan. Each story is an exquisite work of art, exploring identity, love, loss, pain, violence, and family.

Received via NetGalley.

Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard, a fun read. This author always delivers and this book of short stories is no exception. Incorporates short stories from several of her universes and does so well.

I came to de Bodard through her Dominion of the Fallen series (fallen angels and magical post war Paris, gothic as hell, please someone who has rights bring book three Stateside), and branched out to her short stories and her recent novellas (Tea Master and the Detective, aka lesbian Sherlock where Watson is a sentient ship in a Xuya-esque culture, and In the Vanishers’ Palace, aka Beauty and the Beast but with a dragon lady Beast, adoptive parenthood, and a lesbian main character). So to see Subterranean getting a collection of her short stories published was already a treat. But to read a bunch of stories that I hadn’t read of hers already, and stories that deal with and meaningfully center diaspora, parenthood, pregnancy, alongside a Great Bake Off-esque competition in the Dominion setting (and another centering on a lesbian couple in the same Dominion setting), and a Xuya story that also centered a future version of the Mayan setting she explored in earlier novels was just an amazing treat.

Get this when it comes out; you won’t be disappointed.

Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight by Aliette de Bodard- An excellent exotic collection of space fantasy that is like a soft petal opening to a razor’s embrace. Strong intense characters, betrayed allegiances, lost dark souls haunt these striking and poignant pages. These fourteen stories include a new novella, Of Birthdays, and Fungus, and Kindness, and award winning Immersion. If you are not familiar with this author, from page one you will begin a journey of sublime discovery that is rich and rewarding. Enough said: Highly Recommended!

Four stars for the first story in the collection. If you like de Bodard you'll no doubt like this collection. I find her Xuya stories more interesting and engaging than her modern Aztec stories. For instance, the first entry in the collection has a lesbian character from Xuya and a pregnant woman from the Aztec empire come into contact, and while many authors are going out of their way to create gay characters that are just characters labeled gas, this one is meaningful because the Xuya culture places great emphasis on having children to honor you after you're dead. The Aztec character brings her own twist and this story alone is worth the price of admission.

The standalone Aztec stories, written around the concept of the Aztec empire surviving to modern times, don't reach this level or meaning. I think they were meant to be fun "what if" scenarios but more has to happen in a story than just moving characters through a world based on a cool idea.