A Fire Born of Exile is another long novel set in Aliette de Bodard's Universe of Xuya, a collection of various stories set in the same universe. This book reminded me a lot of The Red Scholar's Wake from last year but in the end I think this book is much more approachable to a wider audience.

This book is said to be sapphic the count monte christo in space. I'm not that familiar with the count monte christo so I can't quite judge that but it is a great sapphic story in space. While I'm not usually drawn to revenge stories this one I really felt.

We meet Minh, daughter of the ruling prefect, sneaking out to the festival with her best friend. An unfortunate attempt at kidnapping puts her in the path of Quynh who has some ulterior motives for 'befriending' the young girl.

Like I said, this is a story of revenge, Quynh's story of revenge. So much was taken from her in her previous life, just to make an example. She has decided to take revenge on those that wronged her. And she will do it by any means nessecary.

But this story questions if one must keep going with that revenge. If it is really worth it when other paths open up to you? When perhaps you could have a life again. And is by any means nessecary something one truly wishes to lose their soul over?

I wasn't immediately a fan of Quynh. She's guarded but as she slowly opens up to the possibility of others, of happiness we see her for who she is.

I also loved that we got multiple sides to the story, like Minh who feels incredibly trapped and sees Quynh as her ticket out of under her mothers thumbs. It was interesting to see how others saw her. Because while she doesn't have a great life she also has a lot of priviledge compared to those in the lower parts of the belt. It kept balancing everything out.

I had a lot of fun with this!

All I remembered of Count of Monte Cristo was that he spent a long time in jail, broke out, came back much later for revenge, and had some kind of happy ending. I think I was expecting that whole arc on page, but it started with the “returns for revenge” part. Once things got rolling I was fascinated about what was going to happen next.

The relationships between the different characters were this intricate web of connections, and they were all built so well and believably. Every interaction just seemed like, YES, this is the way the characters would act.

There is a happy ending, like in the original story, which I was glad about. The pivot from crisis to happy end happened quickly, which some readers may not like, but I don’t think that dragging it out would have added to the tale.

I think my favorite part was the bitter, not-mentally-healthy mindship, who had been sabotaged and non-functional for years. When things get all trippy outside the ballroom….whew!
And then among all this story and character excellence, every so often there’s an absolutely gorgeous sentence.

I had an arc from the publisher via netgalley. Opinions are my own.

DNF but technically by force? I got busy with school and couldn't read it fast enough, but from what I did read it was really interesting! There were some confusing parts, but that could just be because I haven't read anything else by this author. One day I would like to come back to it and read more from this universe though, it does seem really interesting and the author writes well!

I struggled to get into this book and ended up DNFing. I felt a little too confused by so many made-up terms being used that had no real explanation of what they were. But I don’t think there was anything wrong with it. I think that was on me. I really enjoy the author’s other work, so I don’t think it was their fault at all. I might give it another try in the future!

As a reader who comes into this expecting Nirvana in Fire and knows nothing about the Xuya universe prior to this, I enjoyed the book alright. It exceeds my expectation in certain aspects and doesn't quite meet it in others, so I'll go through them one by one.

Exceed expectation:
- Worldbuilding: the story has a very complex worldbuilding, with intricate politics, fleshed out technology, and vibrant culture. It's very detailed, which makes it hard to get into in the beginning. But once you are used to the terminology and the aesthetic, it's really enjoyable. Maybe readers who have read other books in the same universe before would likely not have the same problem getting into it as I did.
- Quynh: I enjoy her character the most in this story. She's multi-dimensional and is somehow mysterious
even though we get the story from her POV (alternating with 2 other POVs). For NiF fans, if you come into this expecting Mei Changsu, she's not exactly like him, but she certainly has similar complexity and subtlety in her revenge plan.
- Plot: specifically, in the logical sense. The revenge plot is nicely done, although it will also take a while before you figure out what exactly it going on. It goes a bit slow in the beginning but becomes very compelling towards the end.

Doesn't quite meet expectation:
- Romance: I didn't get the romance. Didn't understand how or why they fell for each other. Didn't quite get a grasp of their dynamics either. This may have to do with how I feel uninterested in Hoa's character overall, too. Not that she's a bad character. I just wasn't invested in her, and therefore I wasn't that invested in the romance.
- Plot: specifically, in the emotional sense. Although there is a lot of feelings in this book - the characters are always describing their feelings in great details, all 3 POVs - it doesn't make me feel much at all. I acknowledge the character's pain, frustration, love, and growth in a very detached way. I feel like it could be due to the worldbuilding, which distracts me when I'm about to get invested into some characters. The prose, in general, also feels a bit stiff. Anyhow, I wanted to feel a lot more from this book and I didn't quite get it.

I have enjoyed everything I have read by Aliette de Bodard, but this is my favorite thus far. Something about the characters grabbed me immediately and held my interest for the entire book. They felt incredibly real and believable and I cared deeply about all of them.

Her writing style is very dense, so her books take me longer to read than most others, but I always enjoy the journey. Sometimes it's nice to be forced to slow down and linger over a story rather than speed through it.

The characters and their motivations are complicated. Revenge and fear and hate and greed and love and justice. They're all very powerful emotions and the book itself feels very powerful. It's a grand struggle and epic battles that play out in subtle manipulations and power plays and scholars crafting the perfect response alluding to classic texts.

I love how expansive and complicated this universe is, with the mindships and bots and the avatars and overlays and perception filters, as well as the Vietnamese names and culture that feels deep and consistent. It feels so vast and so physical, and even though I know it's not real, it feels like it is.

I have read a good handful of Xuya universe novels and novellas now so I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the world, where I was confused occasionally even in the previous novel. It's more sci-fi than I normally read, and I love it. It has such a lovely texture.

I also love how queer relationships are treated as normal and unremarkable, and how many examples of them we have in this book (and her others). There is at least one nonbinary character and it is completely normal. The main relationships are all pairs of women. It's so refreshing and validating.

I have not had such a deeply enjoyable and satisfying reading experience in a while and it felt so good. Wading through the dense language that Aliette de Bodard uses felt rewarding and I was swept away by the strong emotions and convictions of the characters. I am sad to leave this world and eagerly await the next Xuya universe novel.

(It should be noted that I am in the process of moving so the only time I have had to read in the past few weeks is when I wake up in the middle of the night and can't sleep. So I read most of this between the hours of 3 and 6am. And I still adored it and happily spent days wading through its complexity. That's how good it is.)

*Thanks to NetGalley and JAB Books for providing an early copy for review.

A Fire Born of Exile is a standalone novel set in Aliette de Bodard's Xuya Universe. This is a far future setting where a Sino-Vietnamese Empire rules much of space, "mindships" are born from human mothers and maintain familial relationships with their relatives, and "bots" are ubiquitous extensions of regular citizens' senses. This entry focuses on Quynh, a charming, intelligent newcomer to the outlying space station where the book takes place. She inserts herself into the power structure of the station when she saves the children of its ruling officials: the General, providing martial rule, and the Prefect, representative of the Empire's justice system. She's there for revenge against the two corrupt officials, who once upon a time condemned her to death. Quynh's plans will be complicated by the relationships she is forming, both romantic and otherwise.

The plot is relatively straightforward: Quynh wants revenge, and she needs to manipulate the ruling powers of the Empire to bring down two of its favored children. But the character relationships make her goals complex. She cultivates relationships with the officials' children, knowing very well that her expressions of care will just add to the betrayal when her plans come to fruition. And though she tries to keep her romantic relationship out of her revenge plot, her lover turns out to be working for just those officials' children that Quynh is manipulating.

The book is a little slow to start, as De Bodard sets the scene. Even for a reader familiar with the Xuya Universe, it takes some settling in time to assimilate to the bots, overlays, mindship projections, and more. But once the players are established and the ultimate revenge plot is fully unveiled, the reading moves more swiftly. This is definitely a speculative SF book. At the same time, it is a sapphic romance with the HEA required by the genre. A Fire Born in Exile is a book about the corruption of power, the inevitable emptiness of revenge, and (yeah it sounds cheesy) the power of love.

If you're prepared to take your time easing into the world, this would be a great place to start reading Aliette de Bodard.

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

This Sci-fi novel with strong feminist and queer vibes was everything it promised it would be. Fun, with depth and intricate world-building. I loved how the author blended Vietnamese culture into this far future, especially with the way pronouns are handled.
The reason I stopped at the 25% point was entirely the fault of my tired brain, nothing else. I just couldn't keep track of who was who and exactly what was happening, but I know for sure that Sci-fi enthusiasts will have no problem following those endearing characters and their adventures. I loved that Aliette de Bodard included characters deemed older. Not everyone wielding bots has to be 18, you know? Here's to featuring older characters in genre fiction.
I absolutely intend to come back to this book when I have more mental space for it. In the meantime, I'll recommend it to readers who enjoy a relatively (but not too much) fast-paced adventure focused on characters, with detailed and intriguing world-building that makes people question their perceptions.

Thank you Netgalley and Independent Publishers Group, JAB Books for access to this arc.

I’m going to admit that I will think twice about reading another full length novel in the Xuya Universe. It’s magnificently invented, richly described, and it also gives me a headache trying to understand the background parts of it which are not filled in. Each and every book I’ve read set in it drops the reader straight into the action with little worldbuilding to ground us. I feel as if by this point I should be past all that but no, I’m not.

As this is a revenge plot story, I also feel I need to understand and connect with the reason for it. But I never got emotionally involved. Everything felt at arm’s length from me. So many of the things that drove Quynh’s and mindship Guts of Sea’s thirst for revenge happened off page and in the past. Other characters think about these events in brief remembrances or tell them dispassionately and this just didn’t get me invested as much as it should have. Yes, this is a space opera about revenge but it’s still about revenge. I needed blood-pumping emotion but got sketchy clinical details.

There are a ton of characters. Many have interconnecting relationships. Most apparently have extensive past histories. Since I really didn’t come to care about – well, basically any of the characters, I wasn’t on the edge of my seat seeing the revenge plot carried out. Wait, it goes deeper than not caring about them. I actually disliked most of them. The one I didn’t dislike came across as a saintly drip. I know she was supposed to be the “light in the dark” but she came off one note. The children were just plot moppets. The villains were just evil. When they weren’t sulking, the teens were mouthpieces for high flung orations on the future, loyalty, family, personal growth. The main character seeking revenge started strong and mysterious but as she was fleshed out and “redeemed,” she weakened until by the end she seemed as confused about things as I was. Yes, this is a space opera but I need to care about at least some of the people in it.

At last we get to the culmination of the plot. But the denouement of the payoff of revenge dragged on. The characters trying to bring down the baddies kept letting events slip out of their control. They would let the villain monologue or they would appeal to the villain’s better self one last time and – yep, here it is again – get caught, imprisoned, poisoned, taken down, held captive … whatever. Then to rub salt in the wound, the finale fizzled out. I wouldn’t have minded a few explosions or fist fights or something dramatic. And in the end, what do we get? Things swept under the carpet and promises of change that even the characters don’t truly believe in.

As for the romance, it didn’t work for me either. It’s insta-love and the relationship never felt real to me. Instead it’s merely a means to manipulate Hoa’s and Quynh’s actions.

So although I got to be immersed in the intricacies of the social hierarchy of this world (yay, loved this bit!) and read endless details about what characters wore, the tea served, the overlay backgrounds, how well each woman’s top knot was smoothed, and about each character’s bots, I felt emotionally cut off about the reason for the revenge, dissatisfied in the romance, disliked most of the characters, and was disappointed in the satisfaction I should have felt when the book ended. Not a good experience.

I may have slammed the pre-order button the moment Aliette mentioned that this was her take on the Count of Monte Cristo. Unsurprisingly, the blend of the technical engineering of the mindships and the court intrigue of the Xuya universe setting make a perfect blend with the revenge story. We also get to know our characters independently of whose roles they take on as well, Ming getting to spread her wings independently of her controlling mother, and Hoa and Quynh falling for each other is wonderful to watch. Pick this up for a fantastic sci-fi sapphic Vietnamese take on the Count of Monte Cristo, and a damn good ride besides.

A Fire Born of Exile was a great follow up, increasing my love for this story and these characters. Higher stakes had me on the edge of my seat!

This author writes very prettily. If you’re looking for sci-fi towards the literary end of the genre and if you like character driven storytelling any of her books would be a good choice. I do like that things written in her Xuya universe can be read in any old order really. I’ve read about half randomly and they all have worked as stand alone books. It’s a nice change in this genre!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
A Fire Born of Exile is the second in Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya Universe novels. This book stands alone, and there’s enough world building here that I don’t believe you need to read the prior book. And given my critiques of that book, while I did like what it had to offer, I do think that this is the stronger of the two, even if I do still have some critiques.
The plot has a lot going on, making up for the comparably empty/filler prior book. The central themes of revenge and family ties made the story interesting, and I enjoyed following the evolving complex relationships between characters, with all the scheming and plotting.
Quynh is a pretty memorable character, given that the story concerns her path for revenge, as a result of her dark past. She also has vulnerabilities, making her a nuanced character. Both Minh and Hoa kind of pale in comparison to her, but they do have good things to offer the narrative.
Minh is also interesting, given she reckons with her stepmother’s abuse, creating a fresh take on familiar archetype. Hoa is somewhat of a weak link at times, as she doesn’t have as much depth, but she does provide a nice dose of lightness to balance the others out. And while the romance between Quynh and Hoa didn’t blow me away, compared to the rest of the story, it’s still sweet.
These books do keep getting better and better, with the minor quibble for me being that the romance wasn’t as interesting as the rest of it. But I really enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a romantic multicultural sapphic space opera.

PRE-READ THOUGHTS
SCI-FI VIETNAMESE STORY WITH GIRLFRIENDS? Sign me the FUCK up. Except I normally do NOT read sci-fi so I'm excited to find another rare one that I love.

STATS
⛰ Cliffhanger: nope!
⭐️ Rating (?/5): 4.5/5
🔂 Re-Readability: YES

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I'm gonna be 100000000% honest (as usual)..., but my brain is kind of fried from a combination of migraine brain rot, a cold, and the intricacies of this plot and these characters, so my usual review format is shot to hell. BUT! I'm going to do my best to organize my thoughts, so here we go!

THOUGHT DROPS
We adventure with Quỳnh, who is seeking revenge, Minh, who is looking to escape, and Hoà, who may have found something more precious.

"Sometimes we don't get what we deserve. That's not always a bad thing."

• I love that we get a universe that is based on Vietnamese culture, especially one that is so explored and developed. The Xuya universe is not first introduced here but in other works by Aliette de Bodard. This universe having Vietnamese influence (instead of the more common Asian cultures we find in fiction, not that they're any less gorgeous or vibrant) made me more excited to dive in and get to see the world. As someone who came into this blind and dumb to the Xuya universe, it can feel a bit overwhelming to explore, but no less great and exciting. The world-building is wonderful and the characters are rich and complex.

• As I mentioned above, the characters are full. And I would even argue that they're not necessarily likable all the time, which makes them more dynamic and realistic. Maybe my past reviews of other works would lead y'all to believe I'm not a fan of flawed and unlikable characters, but that is FACTUALLY UNTRUE. This is a great example of characters not necessarily fitting my "dream good person character" mold and yet I still loved them and their journey.

• The writing is very well done. I will definitely be excited to look back through de Bodard's catalog of works and look forward to new releases. I definitely have Fireheart Tiger marked for a future TBR read. Her writing is deliberate, well executed, and pretty. Sometimes language that is too floral or "artful" can come across as pretentious or snobby, but de Bodard does a wonderful job of making her language and writing pretty and elegant while still being accessible, if that makes any sense.

• I will include this as a bullet; the queer relationship is great. I get a little extra excited when it's a lesbian relationship because we have so many (fantastic!) works to choose from re: men loving each other. I love finding lesbian relationships that I actually enjoy, so this was icing on the cake for me.

• If you're like me and are not a big sci-fi lover, I suggest giving this one a chance. There are tech and mechanics in this world that are really cool to learn and understand and the world didn't feel out of reach to someone who doesn't frequent this genre. Although I will admit that the concepts might not be incredibly new and original, what I can say is that it was new and original to me as someone who has not explored this genre in length.

OVERALL
I really enjoyed my time with this one, and I think y'all will, too! I gave this a 4.5, rounded down to 4 stars because I can't round up when it's this close to flagging a 5 (idk, maybe I'm psycho like that). This is a read that I will definitely need to revisit and give more time to, and maybe even include the other novellas or Xuya universe works to expand my knowledge and understanding even more.

The political mess was fun to unravel, the characters were great to get to know, and the world was enjoyable to walk through. I'm looking forward to more!

Until next time!

The 3 star rating is a bit disingenuous - this is definitely a high 3 stars, a 3.5 stars, if you will. And I enjoyed it quite a bit, but there were a few things tempering my enjoyment a bit. But we'll get to that.

I had read The Red Scholar's Wake, so I was familiar with the world already, with the most jarring piece of world building being the mind ships. You can tell that Aliette de Bodard has thought a lot about her world and its society, but she throws the reader right into it and doesn't hold your hand. Which is cool! And also more than a bit confusing at times - sometimes, laying out a bit of the history, just laying it out flat, can be appreciated. The society is very obviously deeply and richly imagined, and unlike anything I've encountered before, so it's a credit to say that I would like to explore it more. But de Bodard isn't super interested in things like "answers."

While this book is a standalone, it's hard not to compare it to The Red Scholar's Wake, as they're set in the same world and my feelings on both are actually pretty similar. That is to say, the creativity of the world and the politics of the plot are standouts, but the characters are missing something.

I'm not sure exactly what the characters are missing, but I never got fully invested in them. By all rights, I should have! I can't pinpoint why this is the case, but I felt a detachment to all of the characters. On paper (. . . metaphorically), they all sounded like characters I would connect with or be interested in, but the presentation of them left me pretty emotionally empty, sadly.

I wanted to end on a high note, so I'll say the plot is wonderful. I love a good revenge plot, and the minute details and twists, along with all of the politics of this world, made it a good time. I didn't always love the execution of the plot or perhaps the pacing, but I think there were definitely good bones for this book and I was pretty well-engaged throughout.

Thank you to the publishers, Independent Publishers Group and JAB Books, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Everything about this book is great, but the world building is top notch.
I love these characters! And, the revenge is oh so sweet.
I've been trying to get more into sci-fi, but it's really hit or miss for me. This type of sci-fi is perfect for me.

A Fire Born of Exile by Aliette de Bodard is the second standalone romance novel set in a galactic universe of Vietnamese inspiration. Billed as a “sapphic Count of Monte Cristo/Nirvana in Fire in space,” it is a rich story with incredible technology, bold characters, sentient spaceships, and the hallmark world-building of a Bodard novel. Everything she writes is decadent, with vivid descriptions, imaginative locations, and characters that hook readers.

This space opera delves into the corrupt ruling class of the Scattered Pearls Belt, and the innocents left behind in the wake of a civil war that now makes them cower in fear of being noticed by the militia.

Quynh introduces herself as the Alchemist of Streams and Hills. She’s new to the Belt, and she sweeps across the page like a raging fire: interrupting a kidnapping and stepping in to help a frightened technologist - both seemingly inconsequential encounters that have the power to distract Quynh from her plans of revenge.
Minh is the daughter of the ruling prefect of the Belt, and both she and her friend The Fruit of Heart’s Sorrows have “grown up in a rarefied circle of the wealthy and influential.” She is captivated by Quynh even before the Alchemist saves her from kidnappers. Saving Minh gives Quynh access to the grateful parents, which is exactly what she needs. Fifteen years of rage are close to being fruitful.

Hoà is a lowly technologist whose older sister was murdered for defending a student. Her other sister is deathly ill, and Hoà doesn’t have the skills to fulfill their current contract on her own. She meets Quynh at her older sister’s grave, and receives the help she needs to save her business and her sick sister. As Bodard eloquently puts it, “they were each other’s salvation. One needing to be useful, the other needing help.”

With names like The General Who Pacified the Dragon’s Tail, The Princess Who Drowned the Sword, and Ten Thousand Flags Uprising, mindships named The Fruit of Heart’s Sorrow, Flowers at the Gates of the Lords, and The Moon in Teacups, Bodard’s stylistic grandeur is evident. Lines such as “Quynh was a ghost risen from her grave, eager to feast on the entrails of the living” are powerful as well as beautiful.

Bodard has a way of captivating readers, and I love everything she writes. She’s especially skilled in sapphic romances, where just a look can make the reader swoon. Everything about a character’s attraction is delicate and fragile, the first flickers of fire that will explode into a bonfire.

Bodard spins a sapphic romance like no other, with a story that will hook space opera fans as well as those who enjoy beautiful words. A Fire Born of Exile is an absolute treat, and I hope to see it in audiobook format soon.

3.5 stars
Very cool magic sistem, I did not vibe a lot with the writing style. The character were modestly written, I think a bit more of development would have been great

This book is super confusing 😵‍💫. The first chapter was extremely difficult to get into, with very little explanation to the world building, yet there were so many new names and concepts that it became overwhelming. For an example, it took a second to learn that Hearts Sorrow was … not a human. I don’t even know what it is yet. A ship that talks, maybe? But how can a ship seek a mate? Is she just a hologram, or a full ship? But if she's a full ship, how come she's talking to them? Is it walking or floating? Everything, down to the marketplace has a name, but there's no backstory or explanation to what any of it means. I lost interest.

The author clearly has a vivid imagination, but the world seems a bit too dystopian and harsh for my enjoyment.

Aliette de Bodard at her best! After being underwhelmed (if not disappointed) by The Red Scholar's Wake, the first installment in the Xuya romance series, I didn't have much expectations for A Fire Born of Exile. I'm glad I gave it a chance because I loved it.

The premise is a very compelling one: a sapphic Count of Monte Cristo retelling in space, i.e. revenge! The plot is well placed and we never get bored. We follow 3 different POVs that are all great: Quynh, a disgraced scholar coming back for revenge under a new identity (our Count of Monte Cristo); Minh, a teenager who finds herself tangled in Quynh's revenge; and Hoa, a technologist who also finds herself tangled in Quynh revenge + a romantic relationship with her. Aliette de Bodard adds to these 3 POVs a strong cast of second characters that are all memorable and well written. My only regret is that we don't learn enough about Guts of Sea, the mindship who's Quynh's ally.

Though the book is a stand-alone, it might be a little difficult to follow if you are new to the Universe of Xuya, but it is still more accessible than The Red Scholar's Wake. Even if you don't get all the technologies at the first time, you can still follow the story. I would still recommend reading a few Xuya novellas if you want to grasp the worldbuilding in its entirety.

The romance wasn't the strength of the book but still fit nicely in the revenge story and in the political intrigues, adding depth to the stakes. It never overshadowed the rest of the story and had a good pace. No insta-love here, but more of a slow-burn that progresses at a good pace. Not too fast, not too slow. It lacked a bit of chemistry between the characters that could have improved the romance if it'd been present.

Though not perfect, we have a very good novel that will please both newcomers and seasoned readers of Aliette de Bodard's Universe of Xuya. I strongly recommend it.