Alastair Reynolds blends science fiction with historical drama in this intriguing novella about a washed-up playwright and his performing troupe as they make their journey by cart across war-torn France. While stopping by the roadside for rest, they encounter a dying soldier who entrusts them with a sealed box containing a "priceless relic" and instructions to deliver it to the Imperator. Before long, curiosity gets the better of the playwright as he secretly opens the box and attempts to use the item contained within for his own benefit. The results of that decision unfold as infighting within the troupe threaten the box's safe delivery.

Cleverly written, the only thing wrong with this brief story is that you'll wish there was more of it.

4 stars

3.5 rounded up

Medieval-based SFF is having a moment in 2025, and this Subterranean Press novella is taking it in an interesting direction - a far future, after some catastrophe, that has fallen back into medieval times while remnants of technology remain. The plot is that a playwright, his theater troop, and his veteran soldier protector stumbled across a dying Imperial solider who gives them a quest: take a strange box to the Imperator without letting anyone know they have it... or opening it. Things start to go awry when whatever is locked in that box starts speaking to the playwright, and begins turning him against the others. The story's perspective is from one of the actors, Rufus, who is recollecting this event much later in his life.

While the setting was extremely interesting, ultimately the novella felt like it was missing something. Maybe it's because our point-of-view character is probably the least interesting person in the story? It felt like a character-heavy book but all of them, including the two the plot really moves around, were a bit flat to me. There is a thread of (something that's a spoiler) in the story that I thought was neat, but I felt it didn't really have a strong theme or point. I did greatly enjoy the reveal of what, exactly, the title means.

Thanks you to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

While this does blend genres, it doesn’t defy them. It feels very certainly like sci-fi but with some early modern apparel. Is it great? No. Is it bad? Nope.

We have a rather straightforward story about a scientific artifact, a playwright, and our narrator in a far future France that is somewhat like an early modern world. The story itself is straightforward. Doesn’t feel like Elfland at all, and I think then the only thing going for it is the premise. Like Elder Race by Tchaikovsky, it’s been done better by betters.

The Dagger in Vichy is a striking novella that takes us through a pseudo-medieval France that is both familiar and alien, as a troupe of actors stumbles upon an a mysterious relic they are charged with brining to the holy Imperator. The relic begins to unravel its own mystery, threatening the bonds of our characters and making them question what they truly hold dear. With simple prose embellished with chilling lines, archaic style, and premonitions of a future past we will live through, Reynolds has made a cunning little book that will delight and intrigue you.

If you want a short read to make you think about fulfillment, future, and the reality of the romantic adventure, I highly recommend this book. It reminds me of Station Eleven in its human approach to the world, with a touch of Between Two Fires’ medieval eldritch horror sensibility.

This book has one of the best parts of a novella to me, which is the wonderment at the end of how much an author has managed to fit into 120 pages. The world building of a post-post-future Earth turned medieval gets metered out to the reader in small detail, off-hand comments, stories, and conversations that allow it to help weave the tale of our narrator rather than overpower it.
There is a great sense of detail wherein not every question or odd word is answered, but with small details and broad strokes, we get a view of this staggering world history like the revealed under sketch of a masterwork painting.

The characters as well manage to pack their own punch in their relationships to each other. The book centers on Rufus, Guillaume, and Bernard doing a unique job of slowly filling in the details of their relationship to each other and the troupe through small words and interactions. The rest of the troupe gets less detailing, but still proves human in the small page time they get. I very much loved the characterization of Rufus, who succeeds, fails, and overall drives the story in the natural way of a young boy coming into his own.

I highly suggest picking this up for an afternoon of adventure through a world beyond ours that reminds us we are human no matter what our world looks like - friends, faults, and all.

The Dagger in Vichy is a sharp, stylish novella and more importantly witty, layered, and utterly compelling. Alastair Reynolds delivers a genre-blending masterstroke, guiding us through the haunting woods of France alongside a traveling troupe of actors. What begins as a historical drama slowly fractures into something stranger—a pocket of time where the echoes of the past bleed into a post-apocalyptic future. Horse-drawn carriages share space with soldiers wielding energy weapons, and the world feels both familiar and alien.

Told through the eyes of a young narrator, the story becomes a meditation on trust, loyalty, and the cost of survival in a world where history is doomed to repeat itself. It’s a dazzling sleight of hand, one that transforms quiet character moments into something mythic. This was my first encounter with Reynolds’ work, and in just a handful of pages, he’s turned me into a lifelong fan.

The Dagger in Vichy is an eerie, imaginative blend of fantasy and science fiction that showcases Alastair Reynolds at his most atmospheric. Set in a distant, decaying future that feels both medieval and otherworldly, the novella follows a troupe of traveling performers caught up in a strange and dangerous mission. When they’re entrusted with a mysterious box destined for the Imperator, tensions build as ancient intelligences and buried secrets begin to surface.

Reynolds weaves golden age adventure with haunting speculative elements, evoking a mood somewhere between Station Eleven and dark fairy tale. The characters—particularly the conflicted Rufus and enigmatic Master Guillaume—are vivid and compelling, and the creeping presence of the deathless Wald and the Empty Knight adds a chilling undercurrent throughout.

It’s a tight, moody story with rich prose and a steadily growing sense of dread. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to fans of thoughtful, genre-blending storytelling. A strong 4 stars.

I enjoyed this and while my first inclination was to note it’s not my usual genre, I realized it actually is. I do enjoy historical fiction, Sci fi, and fantasy but have never quite seen the combination in this book. I wavered between a 3 or 4 start review because it was a bit of a slow start for me but it was a much quicker finish. The genre bending style was interesting and I have the feeling that as I sit with this further, I’ll end up wanting to come back and try different books. A novella was certainly a great intro though and I definitely was surprised by the outcome.

DNF - I struggled with this novel. I don’t typically read books written by men. In this case, I was attracted to the fantasy, but this was truly rooted in history and I felt afloat instead of grounded at the beginning of the book. I had a hard time picturing the characters and where they were. I wasn’t able to continue through.

This reads more like a short story than a full novel— novella, perhaps? I enjoyed the setting, personally, but some readers may not find it in depth enough. I thought the character development was reasonably well done. Dagger in Vichy doesn’t tread too much new or revolutionary ground, but I don’t think it’s trying to. I feel like this could be a longer story, or last third of a story. Overall, this is a short, respectable entry to the genre.

The Dagger in Vichy feels a lot like one of Lois McMaster Bujold's Penric and Desdemona novellas, although the setting is clearly a post-apocalyptic earth and the story is a bit of a riff on Emil St. John Mandel's Station Eleven, but with supernatural elements (or are they forgotten scientific techniques?). An old playwright tells of an episode from his youth with a traveling theater company, when a mysterious entity drives his master to murder and puts the young man in danger from humans and constructs alike while traveling through a devastated and dangerous France. While elements of the story are good, even intriguing, the author uses disability/ableism to effect the murder, and in a hackneyed way. The characters a bit dull and not terribly original or memorable; the setting is perhaps the most interesting thing about the book. It'd be nice if an editor could do something about the ableism before this gets its full release and if the characters were less old chestnuts and more real.

Set in a future France where a theatre troupe travels by wagon, this science fiction book follows them bringing a mysterious box to the Imperator. The book is short and while I wish there was more world-building for this speculative future, I did enjoy the story.

Medieval-horror sci-fi? Say no more!

A theatre troupe is tasked with transporting a terrifying artifact across a medieval dystopian France. Technology is long dead, but hubris is still very much alive. Alastair Reynolds has written a novella that will be especially effective for anyone who shares anxieties about the rise of artificial intelligence and the potential downfall of civilization.

A good measure of my enjoyment is whether I’m motivated to read more from an author, and I can say without hesitation that I am shamefully late to the Reynolds party.

We follow a troupe of actors as they travel via horse drawn wagons to various taverns and towns to put on their shows. In their travels the group happens upon a dying man with a priceless possession in a box, he tasks the troupe with taking it on to the Imperator but warns them to never open the box.

Our narrator Rufus is a young man who holds his master in high regard, the master is an elderly playwright who is struggling to create new works.
From the publisher description: "When Rufus overhears strange conversations between his Master Guillaume and the thing in the box, he must choose between his loyalty to the man who saved him from the noose and fear of the ancient intelligence working in their midst."
This right here is what caught my attention and was the reason I wanted to read - this part did NOT disappoint! I loved this reveal and the backstory of it.

This was a really interesting START to an epic world build. I would have loved for this book to be longer so we could uncover some of the mysteries of the world which seems to be earth but 700+ years into the future where things have reverted back to an almost medieval time.

Mostly, I just wanted MORE from this book. I know it's a novella and maybe I'm realizing that I'm just not into novellas. But this book had POTENTIAL. I enjoyed though, it was a quick easy read. The sci-fi elements blended with a fantasy setting was really fun. I'd love for Alastair Reynolds to come back to this future world again in a more epic size, the troupe of actors were be really interesting characters but I didn't have enough time to develop a love for them here.

Thank you NetGalley and Subterranean Press for this ARC!

My Goodreads review: 4.5. A delightful surprise—I requested this from net galley because of the title, and because I’d liked reynolds earlier works, even though his later books attracted me less. But this is a fabulous novella! A somewhat dark mystery set in a medieval France of the future, slightly reminiscent of Gene Wolfe, which is high praise indeed. I can only wish he’d fleshed this out into a full novel—or returns to this setting in the future.

I saw the description for this story and I knew I had to try it out. I'm not a big scifi fan but if you throw a really cool concept with it then I'll at least take a peak at it. And I'm so glad I did because this was a fun little read!

I haven't read any of Reynolds' other books but I have seen them in my local bookstore so I know he writes a lot of scifi epic style novels so when he blended genres with medieval fantasy I wasn't so sure how I would like it. But he really delivered with this story. I enjoyed the writing and the language; it felt like I was reading a classical medieval folk tale with futuristic weaponry and terms sprinkled throughout. The way he uses casual allusion for the scifi elements made it feel more natural and flowed smoothly so as not to break the immersion in the world.

I liked the characters, I would have liked more from all of them but they serve their purpose in this short story. I would have liked to see more from Bernard and Guy before the tension builds later on; it feels like there could have been more of their relationship before things take a turn.

And with the nature of novellas I'm left wanting so much more. I don't want to spoil anything but there's so many things introduced to us that I'm dying for an expanded series in this world we were presented with.

Thank you NetGalley and Subterranean Press for this ARC, I really enjoyed this one!

A very quick read--almost too quick. I felt that I was unable to connect to a lot of the characters and was not really invested in the plot or main story points. It felt that a lot of situations went in the protagonists character, which is probably a main factor in why the book is so short. It felt a little too convenient for the characters. There was not a lot of major character growth because the solutions to a lot of the problems in the book were all but handed to the characters. If you are looking for a quick book to read at the beach or on a flight, this is pretty good, but otherwise, I would probably pass on this book.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Subterranean Press for early copy for review*

Unfortunately this novella did not have interesting enough characters or plot to satisfy me.

I really loved the idea and premise of this book. The traveling theatre troupe in a future world that feels like medievals times. I think ultimately I wanted to live in this world longer and needed more world building. The characters were hard to connect with, but I still loved the story.

I am not quite sure what to think of this book, it was enjoyable to read but I was confused a lot of the time! I thought it was going to be more of a Sci-Fi twisty-bendy time traveling romp, but instead it was more of a straightforward "adventure" of a traveling group of actors, some intrigue with a head that gives people special writing prowess, and then a murder by dagger in order to save the head and it's special powers. I liked that it was a quick read and atmopspheric, but it was so short that some exposition would have been helpful just to know what was going on!

This is such a fun short read. Fast-paced, plot is fun and great, there’s no confusing areas - loved it!!