Seven of Infinities is some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read in my life. The words flow like silk across the page, seemingly always to complement each other. Thoughts joined together into paragraphs like a beautiful dance.

I wish I could write like Alliette de Bodard.

The development of Van (main character) is really well done. Her devotion, drive, and insecurities resonate through the book, but don’t detract from the character. Never once did I wish de Bodard would just “get on with it.” I might have wished Van to make more of an external impact, but the change in her internal motivations was compelling just the same.

The character Sunless Woods, a mindship, blew my mind. I want so badly to say the only thing that I felt robbed me of absolute adoration, but it comes in the climax and I might have misunderstood it, so I don’t want to ruin it for you. Don’t let that throw you off or bother you. You’ll enjoy Sunless Woods just as much as I did. Promise.

There is romance, which is flighty, serious, mysterious, heavy, hot, cold, and every other emotion, just like real romances. I don’t want to give away too much, but it’s the best written romance of its kind that I’ve read. I mean…it’s a ship. And it’s written really, really well.

There are two things that detracted from such beautiful writing, and I must describe them so that you know why I gave such a gorgeous piece of writing the slightly downgraded score you see. First, the hero at the end kind of just appeared out of nowhere. I liked the appearance in so far as that goes, but I didn’t really care about that character as a person because I’d never gotten to know her. Had I gotten to know her, and become sympathetic to her, I might have enjoyed her grand entry a little more. As it was, it felt it a little disjointed. Secondly, the title of the book doesn’t resonate with me. I mean, it’s a gorgeous title, flowing like the words in the book, but I don’t know what it means or why it’s the title, and I wish I did.

On the second of those points, I figure I don’t know the cultural background to the title enough to know what it means. I know that’s a failing on my part, but I would have loved for it to have been explained to me a little better so I could have learned.

Speaking of that, I learned half a dozen things that I wanted to go research more. de Bodard does an excellent job of drawing me into the culture she writes about and makes me want to know more about it. Easily 4 of 5 stars.

Aliette de Bodard is one of the more decorated writers of genre fiction today. She has won multiple Nebula and British Science Fiction Association Awards (among others) and has been a finalist for others, including the Hugo Award. The list is quite large. She is expert in both science fiction (The Universe of Xuya) and fantasy (the Dominion of the Fallen). Needless to say, when de Bodard drops a new story - novel or otherwise - into the world, readers are in for a treat.

Her latest, novella "Seven of Infinities", is no exception.

"Seven of Infinities" is a story in the The Universe of Xuya, which I like quite a bit but of which I have not read nearly enough. The stories in that universe are inspired by Vietnamese culture, and sentient spaceships play a prominent role in the narrative. In this latest story, Van is a member of a poetry society and a tutor. She also has a memory implant that, instead of being one of her ancestors, is a construct made up of several different people - which Van created herself when she was younger - and which is, and I can't find a better word for it, scandalous. Sunless Woods (short for The Wild Orchid in Sunless Woods) is one of the sentient mindships that has come to the Scattered Pearls Belt to retire, but has taken an interest in Van. Sunless Woods comes to tell Van that the poetry society is thinking of expelling her because of her pedestrian background. While this exchange is occurring, a visitor has come to see Van's student Uyen, and no sooner does that visitor arrive and head into Uyen's room than she dies. This death causes both Van and Sunless Woods to become involved, as Van is concerned about Uyen as well as the reaction of Uyen's parents to Van being kicked out of the poetry society, and Sunless Woods has, well, an interest in the whole thing because of the secret that she holds and has hidden from Van.

And thus, a multilayered story is kicked off that looks like a simple detective tale, but is really much more than that. Well, it certainly *is* that, at the surface. But it is also a relationship story, a friendship story. Van and Sunless Woods both have devastating secrets that they are keeping from each other, secrets that once they are revealed could either hinder or help their relationship. Sunless Woods is clearly attracted to Van, as the love scenes indicate (is it really so hard to imagine sex between a sentient spaceship and a human being?), but I claim that her secret is just as devastating as the one that Van holds. And while the main story appears to be between Van and Sunless Woods, there is a side story going on between Van and some old close friends of
hers that adds to what is going on here as well.

"Seven of Infinities" starts out slow, but eventually becomes a story that proceeds at a breakneck pace, a story that brings the reader back to the detective story while at the same time not letting that reader forget about all the side issues that make the narrative both complete and satisfying. "Seven of Infinities" is highly recommended, and is a terrific addition to The Universe of Xuya" stories.

I had previously reviewed three novellas in Aliette de Bodard's Xuya Universe, so I added comments on this one to the existing page. All are highly recommended, all exhibit lyrical prose, intriguing characters and plots, and the only reason I haven't rated all of them 5 stars is I wish they were longer. I want more information on each character, and the events and their decisions that got them to the point we see in the novella. Perhaps that will come in time, or she'll highlight another character in the next story. One of these days I'll re-read these, and as many of the shorter stories I can track down. I want to live in Xuya.

This was a very good introduction for me to Aliette de Bodard. A sci-fi mystery, far in a future world. Will definitely read more from her.

Alliette de Bodard's Xuya books just keep getting better and better with every new entry in the series. In this novella, we get a deeper look into the emotional dimensions and personality of the mindships that have played an integral role in the social, cultural, and familial structures that underlie the complex world Bodard has built. . Seven of Infinities is a murder mystery wrapped in a space opera, though the real heart of the story is the complicated and heartfelt romance that develops between a mindship and a human. It's a story that hinges on secrets—why they're kept and what they cost—and how two people (human or otherwise) can allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to reveal themselves for who they really are. For such a slim story, it packs a sizable emotional punch and just makes me impatient for the next one.

Another great novella set in the Xuya Universe, this one featuring a tutor and a mindship, both with secrets to hide, investigating a mysterious death. This slim volume is packed with enough mystery, thrills, and romance to fill a lengthy novel, but Bodard manages it all so well that it's a perfect little jewel of a read.

Received via NetGalley.

I have enjoyed whatever short fiction I’ve come across till date by Aliette de Bodard, so I excited when I got the advance copy of this one. However, this was my first in her Xuya universe and it was such a fascinating dive into this world.

I wasn’t sure how much I would understand being thrown into this universe which already has many published stories set in it, so I decided to read up about the world itself on the author’s website, and I thought it was nice to get that background. But I was very glad that I really didn’t need to know too much of it before getting into this story, because it’s self contained and vague enough to be intriguing as well as rewarding. The writing in this is really beautiful and poetic, captivating me right from the get go. I couldn’t understand how a romance between a human and an AI mind ship would work, but the author makes it absolutely believable as well as emotional, and I was completely enchanted. Add to this a very interesting and mysterious murder plot, a lovely teacher student relationship and some very eccentric past heist crew members, and this becomes a short but very enjoyable story.

I also enjoyed the theme of filial piety, what it means to be dutiful towards the younger ones in your family and how far should one be ready to go for the sake of duty. There are also some interesting conversations about righteousness, doing the correct thing even if it goes against empire’s policy and how it’s possible to be critical of such policy and wanting to be a part of it to make it change for the better.

To conclude, this was a beautifully written murder mystery with a romantic plot, and I thoroughly enjoyed both the elements. You’ll probably love it even more if you’ve read any of the other stories set in the Xuya universe, but it should be equally compelling for anyone like me just treading into this world. My only complaint with works such as this is as usual that it’s short and I wish it was longer and we could see more of the characters. And now I’m just more excited for the author’s next work, which unfortunately doesn’t come out for quite a while.

This is yet another wonderful novella from one of my favorite authors. From fantasy to sci fi to mystery, Aliette de Bodard does an incredible job sucking the reader in no matter the genre. Sprinkling in the romance also doesn’t hurt either and this may have the most unique romance I’ve ever read. Yes the romance is between a human and a ship and I know I know it’s different but let me tell you... it works. I love that the novella is told from both POVs because often times things can get lost if a romance is told from only one perspective, you often feel like you only truly know one character. A wonderful take with the perfect amount of romance, mystery and sci fi!

I've previously read The Tea Master & The Detective by the same author and was very much looking forward to this story which is set in the same universe.

Making complex art appear effortless is the hallmark of a skilled writer, and Aliette de Bodard nails it in this short book. Of course, all successful stories need strong characters & a plot, but there are so many other big ideas woven into this book without detracting from the story itself; this is what was so impressive to me.

I've always been attracted to the world-building and cultural backdrop in The Universe of Xuya's stories, and this book is no exception. While it's interesting to reflect on how much smartphones have changed our lives, it's even more compelling to think of what comes next. In the future, will we even need smartphones or wearables to access the knowledge stored in the cloud? How can we use technology to extend the consciousness of people who are long dead? How deep will emotional bonds go with these consciousnesses? How will a deceased consciousness manifest itself and interact with living creatures? These and many other questions are the sorts of future-facing topics addressed in this story.

The only small gripe I had was that this book didn't quite pick up fast enough for me, but once I was 15% in, there was no looking back. So maybe that makes this a 4.5 review, but I would absolutely skew towards 5 stars.

I certainly look forward to reading future stories in The Universe of Xuya. It's apparent that the many accolades bestowed upon Aliette de Bodard are well-deserved. If you value stories that are truly creative and original, you will almost certainly enjoy this read.

I ended up mainlining most of this in the space of one night, mainly because of the way it drew me in. It’s a murder mystery set in de Bodard’s Xuya universe, with a budding romance between a scholar hiding her past and a mind ship hiding her own. The way the murder mystery ends up unfolding and intersecting with our main characters’ histories is great, and it’s a good, quick-paced, sensual read. Highly recommended.

Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard- A Scattered Pearls mystery- A dead body is found in the home of a semi-wealthy family living in an orbital habitat. Van is a tutor from humble beginnings, who carries a deadly secret and recognizes this body as something from her past. Sunless Worlds is a mind-ship, also with a dark past who comes to her aid, but speaks in half truths and riddles. What they will find is a web of mystery and danger involving more clues, more dead bodies, and mind-shipwrecks. The prose is beautiful and the setting mystical. I found some of this a little slow and confusing, but still it held my attention and was rewarding.

Another mindship novella from the Xuya universe. The previous one - "Tea Master and the Detective" deservedly won a ton of prizes. This is also a mystery, though with a different set of characters, which was disappointing for a minute, but the new mindship is even more fun, then the tea-loving hero of the previous story.
I don't want to retell the plot - this is a novella, not a novel - but it is good, and the prose is usual de Bodard quality, meaning it's beautiful. I would love to read more mindship tales in the future!

Aliette de Bodard once again dazzles us with an intriguing tale told with her usual ethereal poetic prose. This short novel takes place in her Xuya Universe setting but can easily be enjoyed without prior knowledge. A well paced narrative involving two very different scholars with elements of space opera, sci-fi mystery and an unlikely romance. Van is a scholar employed as a tutor for a a very distinguished and wealthy family. Her abilities although real or somewhat of a fraud. While as a student, Van was able forge a memimplant for herself ... she cobbled together fragments of other person's minds unrelated to her ... implants are commonplace but only legal when they come from your ancestors. She would be destroyed if her secret was divulged. Her integrity and devotion to her student, Uyen is beyond reproach. Van has come to the attention of another so-called scholar ... both a member of the same poetry club. Sunless Wood is a mindship ... an actual mind born from a human mother's womb and installed in the heartroom of a ship orbiting in space, who utilizes an Avatar to interact with humanity. She is actually a notorious thief .... retired from a life of high stake heists and interstellar adventure ... and somewhat bored. She finds herself irresistibly drawn to Van's persona of integrity and devotion to morality. On the eve of Van's impending dismissal from the poetry club due to "poor lineage" , Sunless Wood presents her avatar at her abode. At the same time, a mysterious woman is visiting Van's student .... Uyen briefly leaves the room and upon her return finds the woman dead. Sunless Wood is drawn into the murder mystery to aid Van. Their investigation leads from exploration of a dead mindship in space to an abandoned tearoom at home.. As the clues unravel a growing relationship develops between the two scholars .. each acknowledging their own secrets and motivations.
The story is told from both of their perspectives and lends itself to exploration of de Bodard's commentaries on society. The reader cannot help but get caught up in the immersive and elegant prose. Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review.

Let me tell you, from the moment I read the synopsis I knew I was going to be in for a treat. That was definitely an understatement. I'm trying to find the best words to describe it but the only one that comes to mind is the most fitting after all: Poetic.

The novella encompasses all I love about romantic science fiction. Between the technology, that's never completely explained, but still gives a sense of wonder, to the romance between a scholar and of all things a brilliant mindship. Speaking of, Sunless Woods is a gorgeous example of how I love people's imaginations when it comes to A.I in various forms. She's romantic, yet still holds that gorgeously inhuman quality, and it shows through Vân's eyes wonderfully.

The above, and mixed with a murder plot no less, just had every inch of my attention, and the only gripe I have is that it's not longer. So I can sink into a chair for hours and read more of these characters.

This is my first novella from Aliette de Bodard, but I can really say that it definitely wont be the last.

This is the second novella I have read by Aliette de Bodard along with The Tea Master and the Detective. Both are set in a distant future with a Vietnamese setting. I know she’s won/been nominated for a number of awards and they are well deserved. The two I have read have been very well written. I will definitely read more by this author!

Aliette de Bodard's Seven of Infinities is a novella about two scholars. One is a mindship who has retired from a life of daring heists and knife-edge adventure. But the human she cares about, the virtuous woman from a poor family, has secrets too. Most scholars carry the advice and guidance of an ancestor, but Vân's muse is an artificial person, fragments of many people's memories assembled on a single chip. None of the people in Vân's new life know what she built, but her old friends, the friends caught and tried for sedition, might. If, somehow, they're still alive.

Seven of Infinities shares a setting with an earlier de Bodard novella, The Tea Master and the Detective. Both are stories about a human and a ship slowly weaving a friendship as they try to solve a mystery. In this case the ship, The Wild Orchid in Sunless Woods, is a thief--a legendarily competent thief, who struggles at the edge between competence and arrogance. Like many de Bodard romantic leads, she shifts between the shape of a human (here, in projected image, with tiny bot assistants) and something larger, with the beauty of a galaxy or a star.

Sunless Woods has promised that her meticulously planned operations will never involve murder. That's refreshing, in a story that's so aware of the layered harms of power. It's also a style of intensely moral stubbornness that Vân and Sunless Woods have in common. Another stubbornly moral character is Uyên, Vân's student, who plans to excel in the imperial exams and become a magistrate wielding justice. Aliette de Bodard often writes about strong-minded yet vulnerable young people. The shifting balance of authority, obligation, and affection between Uyên and Vân is particularly well drawn, and the climax of the story turns on Uyên's courage.

I would be a happy woman if Ms. Bodard wrote nothing but these elegant Viet space novels for the rest of her life. The world-building is amazing, and while the mystery of the plot is compelling, the real focus of this novel are the lives of the ordinary yet not-so-ordinary citizens.

Seven of Infinities is the latest novella in Aliette de Bodard's Xuya Universe, her distant sci-fi setting for a large amount of short fiction (ranging from short stories to novellas), in which the universe is largely built around the idea that Chinese and Vietnamese got to the stars first (at least in the areas in which the setting largely takes place) and their culture thus laid the foundation for the resultant society. It's a fascinating setting that de Bodard uses in many many different ways - for example her last notable novella in this world (the Nebula winning "The Tea Master and the Detective") was a take on a Sherlock Holmes story....in which the Watson character was a mindship who'd suffered trauma from a disaster in deep spaces (think hyperspace). Each of her stories in this universe is stand alone and no prior knowledge is required to enjoy them, allowing de Bodard to hit a wide range of themes and ideas.



Seven of Infinities is maybe her most ambitious mishmash of story archetypes, being part scifi murder mystery, part F-F romance (between a mindship and a human mind you), and part heist novel all in one. Like Tea Master, the story features a pair of main characters, drawn together by a case, and coming together - unlike that novel however, the story is told from both of their perspectives and their relationship becomes more than platonic (hence the romance). And it for the most part works really well, thanks to the two lead characters' personalities being real winners, as they struggle with conflicts of truth vs. duty, the value of one's heritage, and most of all the difficulty of balancing trust with the need to protect those one might care about or feel duty bound to.









Quick Plot Summary: Vân is a scholar and a tutor with a secret - not only is she from a poor background, but the mem-implant she has in her head - a memory/personality implant from a person's ancestor - is a fake, having been cobbled together by Vân when she was younger from fragments of other personalities, to enable her to pass for a real scholar. Five years after a tragedy took her two friends, she spends her time trying to act like the scholar she isn't, and has found a job acting as the tutor to the daughter of a distinguished family.



The Wild Orchid in Sunless Woods is a mindship and supposedly a celebrated scholar, who knows Vân from their mutual poetry club. In reality, Sunless Woods was once a famed master thief, who has spent the last few years in retirement, with her team of thieves spread apart. Sunless Woods is growing a bit bored, but sees something in Vân, in her honestly and devotion to duty, and decides to visit Vân one day when it seems Vân's status in the poetry club - and thus her career - is in danger.....only to be present when a visitor to Vân's student winds up dead.



Soon, Vân and Sunless Woods are working together to try and figure out what happened, to ensure that no one they care about might be next. But as they track down what appears to be a mysterious treasure hunt, the two find themselves drawn to one another....and forced to risk sharing their secrets to someone else for the very first time.....



Thoughts: So yeah, like i said above the jump, this is sort of a combination between a murder mystery (solving who and why the dead person was killed), a heist novel (with the main duo searching for what the dead woman was looking for) and a romance. That last bit is the biggest part honestly, as it winds up for me at least being the most important driver of conflict of the book. And it works so well because of how great the two lead characters are: Vân is a young woman who has struggled - through shunned-upon means - to establish herself as a scholar and a tutor to a distinguished family, and despite her "dark" (for her) secret, she values duty - to her position, to society, and to those she cares about - above all else. By contrast Sunless Woods might enjoy playing a respectable person in society, but society's rules and obligations are things she disdains, even if she still does respect familial piety and understanding. And yet, for Sunless Woods, Vân's duty and honesty are an attraction - something she can't help but admire and want, even as it conflicts with her own mentality. It results in a really lovely romance, even though one of the two is a person and the other is well, a ship, something that isn't that unusual within this setting (and yes, results in an on page sex scene).



The above all works really well, and is helped along by a plot that is for the most part solidly interesting and intriguing, even if certain parts are predictable (when exactly will certain secrets come out? At the worst possible moment of course!). As usual, the story contains some serious themes as well - the themes of duty towards others and guilt for not helping people who were probably beyond one' help, the idea of one's worth coming from heritage/lineage or from one's own doings, etc. The issue of consent in a relationship of this sort also comes up (given that when Vân is inside Sunless Woods in space, there is a clear unequal power dynamic) and dealt with. These all work mostly well - the only weakness is a third major character, whose importance is seemingly lesser for most of the novella, pops up to major importance in the climactic moment and it feels like her actions come out of nowhere - to form a novella that is really lovely and well worth your time, even if it might not be up to the insanely high standards de Bodard has managed previously.

Who ever knew a spaceship could make me feel so romantic?

Seven of Infinites is at once a murder mystery, a space opera, and a heartwarming romance. Vân is a scholar with a secret--the memory implant in her mind who assists her scholarship isn't sanctioned at all, but rather a creation of her own design. 'The Wild Orchid in Sunless Woods' is a mindship in Vân's poetry club, once a dashing and high-profile thief, now living a semi-retired life in space. The two are drawn together by the mystery of a body discovered in the quarters of Vân's student.

I have limited experience with de Bodard's Xuya Universe besides the remarkable 'Tea Master and the Detective", but I found this novella to be on par with that one, if not exceeding it. The world-building insinuated itself throughout the story in clever details that caught my attention--personal bots worn as jewelry, holographic street food designed for consumption by the walking avatars of ships--all of it was artfully constructed and not overwhelming. Furthermore, Vân and Sunless Woods were compelling protagonists. I was especially enraptured by the artful and alien descriptions of Sunless Woods--at once a vast spaceship and a human-esque avatar--and the way that her years of experience and knowledge guarded a tender, human core. Vân was brave and driven and I sympathized with her plight as a broader meditation on class and the accessibility of scholarship. Their romance was delightful and unique and had me murmuring "awww" quietly to myself in my living room--I'm a sucker for well-writen sapphic love.

As always, I'm struck by de Bodard's ability to weave together Vietnamese culture, social commentary, and well-paced action to create an irresistible story. Seven of Inifinites was an all-around good read.