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avacadosocks's review
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Torture
Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping
Minor: Murder and War
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A Fire Born in Exile is the latest installment in Aliette de Bodard’s Xuya Universe series, a collection of works of varying lengths set in a Vietnamese-inspired space opera future where sentient mindships and humans live as family. Having previously enjoyed quite a few works from this universe and having seen this novel described as “a sapphic Count of Monte Cristo set in space,” I was very excited to pick this up.
The worldbuilding in this series is consistently excellent, and while the works share a setting they do function as standalones so there is no need to have read prior Xuya installments to enjoy this novel, which may be my favourite in the series thusfar. A Fire Born in Exile combines mastermind scheming, revenge plots, shifting motivations, complicated familial relationships, and a fantastic cast of characters.
Thank you to the author, Independent Publishers Group, JAB Books, and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC for review.
Content warnings: violence, torture (not graphic / off page), war (background context / off page), emotional abuse
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Torture, Violence, and War