First, I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book in return for an honest review.
The book tells the story of Xích Si, a scavenger, and Rice Fish, a pirate sentient ship. The story takes place in the Xuya universe, and benefits from the unique worldbuilding that the author contributed in her prior related work.
I must confess that I could not finish this book, and only read about a quarter before calling it quits. If you think that disqualifies my review - please stop reading here. I still think I've a valid opinion, also having read much of the author's other work.
What I liked about the book, other than the aforementioned Xuya universe itself, is the boldness in describing sentience and emotions in ships, the rather interesting backstory of the characters, and the premise, which, if it were explored further, would have kept me going with the book until its conclusion.
So what made me stop reading it? The romance. I actually like romantic books, and read my fair share, but this one is just badly written. So this is what you get when you combine, on the one hand, a complex sci fi setting, with a badly written Danielle Steele romance (I'm commenting based on hearsay alone here). The relationship between the two protagonists just lacks credibility - from a starting point of coercion it moves to sexual fantasies and obsession (within 2 pages!), the reasons for the emotional attachment are never explored in any satisfying way, and the back and forth ("she loves me", "she loves me not") are more reminiscent of a bad episode of Dawson's Creek vs a well written book.
As an aside, sentient ships were done far far better by Peter Hamilton, and even better by Iain Banks. This book is a shadow of that, as it lacks the intellectual complexity, the emotional depth, and the multi-dimensional interplay of characters and plot that those two authors excelled at.

The Red Scholar’s Wake
This was an action packed story of Space Pirates and empires with plenty of political intrigue to keep the reader interested.
I haven’t read any of this author’s previous books so wasn’t sure what to expect. The persona of the mind ship reminded me of Anne McCaffery’s brain ship novels of the early 1990s but taken to a whole new level. I loved the world building and the two main characters and the writing kept me gripped throughout.
The book fits into the space opera genre with space pirates and competing empires battling for supremacy but the Red Scholar’s Wake goes much deeper into the emotions of its characters than some other examples of this genre. There is the romance between Rice Fish and Xion Si but also the love and desperation that a parent feels when they are parted from their child and the estrangement that can occur between parent and child as the child grows up. The action, the politics and the characters’ inner feelings are well balanced together to provide a satisfying story on many levels.
I will certainly go and seek out some of Aliette de Bodard’s previous work. Thank you to Net Galley and Orion Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Red Scholar's Wake strikes a brilliant balance between epic action and quiet, gently written chronicles of Rice Fish and Xich Si's inner worlds. This was the first Aliette de Bodard I had read (somehow!), and the writing style was wonderful - very lyrical and beautiful - although sometimes it felt quite slow-paced for me.
I have conflicting feelings about the romance at the heart of the book - I did enjoy it, and the slow development of feelings felt very real. However, I wasn't always sure what drew the two characters together - it felt sometimes a bit "insta-love".
I was faintly reminded of Ancillary Justice (which is a very positive thing!). I adored the world building, and will definitely be seeking out more titles in the Xuya universe.

There seems to be lot of emphasis on this book having lesbians in which is true but the books could have non binary jellyfish as the main characters and because it is so well written and so well told I would still love it, the reader will find themselves subsumed into this deeply entertaining and enjoyable story

A lesbian space pirate murder mystery/dynastic struggle would be plenty for most books to be going on with, but here it's to some extent a subplot, with the primary focus on romance. Romance making several knowing nods to the world of fanfic, at that – to the extent of literally having a 'there was only one bed' scene, albeit one where the hostess points out that, being the avatar of a spaceship, she doesn't exactly need a bed, as she is already the whole room and the vastly powerful vessel in which it sits. Obviously this raises issues of power and consent, compounded by the fact that the human party, Xich Si, has recently been captured by the ship Rice Fish's pirate banner, and initially I was unconvinced by how punctilious Rice Fish was about this, given she's the de facto boss of a pirate faction who do murdering and slavery and such. Yes, there are indications that the two official empires between whom the pirates have carved out an uneasy niche for themselves are really no better; yes, Rice Fish and her recently deceased wife, the Red Scholar of the title, have been trying to shape the pirate fleet into something kinder and closer to the pirates-as-utopia-of-liberty model beloved of some modern interpretations, very much against the inclinations of other elements who see being a pirate as more about, you know, piracy. All the same, it felt like a circle which might be beyond squaring. But the book and the leads keep determinedly wrestling with it, and each other, and by the end reach accommodations that sit right (well, except for maybe feeling a little optimistic about people, but these days I could say that about everything up to and including Crossed, and after all, this is far future alternate universe science fiction, so it can be allowed the odd crazy speculation like humans who act sensibly in positions of power). And de Bodard's Xuya stories have always done well at weaving a heady enough mood that it can draw the intoxicated reader past little obstacles like my early scepticism. I was slightly worried that a setting I'd only previously encountered in short stories and the sort of brief novels now widely (and to me annoyingly) described as novellas might feel off-balance at 300+ pages, just as that one longer Murderbot book felt like its rhythm was out, but no: the spell still holds. Much of it down to her wonderful way with words and images, especially the poetry of presentation and the glimpses of things vast and other made possible by the ubiquitous augmented reality overlays. As de Bodard puts it herself, describing a recital the characters hear at a teahouse, "It was strangely compelling – as the poet talked of ships tearing at each other in the night, and the cold light of stars running like tears on their hull, and blood binding them all together, she couldn't help but shiver."

(Netgalley ARC)

It is an example of how good Aliette de Bodard is that this story of space pirates and sentient ships is a wonderful balance between the lyrical and the brutal- emotions both picked apart, very delicately, and also stretched to breaking point in a way that ends up messily but also satisfyingly blowing up all over the place.

Another entry in the Xuya universe, this story examines lots of different kinds of love, from familial to platonic to romantic, and the ways in which it can very truly mess you up. Rice Fish, the mindship forming half of the central relationship of the story, is learning to live with the grief of losing her wife and the ways in which that wife failed her. Xich Si, the scavenger and bot expert Rice Fish's crew picked up, is struggling with the weight of her love for her daughter in a system that seems determined to crush them both.

It's a rich, visually dense story with a satisfying exploration of different relationships that never comes off as anything less than honest and incisive. I highly reccommend it.

Five Reasons to Read This Book:

One. Lesbian space pirates. This alone should be enough to convince you to read this book and, if it’s not, I have to ask what the matter is. I mean, they’re not just pirates, they’re space pirates. And they’re not just space pirates, they’re lesbian space pirates. What else could you possibly ask for in a book!

Two. If you are asking for more, my second point relates to Aliette de Bodard’s writing. Her style is so distinctive—you always know when you’re reading one of her books. It’s hard to describe just what about it makes it so, but I think it’s how it feels mostly. There’s a kind of headiness to it, a lushness, that makes you sink into the story completely. And, of course, it’s always incredibly romantic.

Three. I don’t know about you, but I find fraught familial relationships one of the most compelling sorts of relationships in literature. If that’s what you’re looking for, then Rice Fish’s relationship with her son Hổ will be right up your alley. It’s a relationship I can’t wait to see how it develops in future books (there are future books right? Right??), along with Xích Si and her daughter.

Four. If you’re not one for hard sci-fi, for world destroying battles and all that, then this is the book for you. As with all of de Bodard’s works, the focus is on the intimate and personal aspects. At the centre of this one is Rice Fish and Xích Si’s relationship with each other, and the aforementioned relationships with their children. Alongside that, it’s about the creation of a safe harbour for people who exist on the edges of, or outside of, society, a kind of idealism borne out of love.

Five. If you haven’t read any of de Bodard’s science fiction works, where ships are alive and sentient, have avatars and fall in love, then you are seriously missing out. It’s a little more on the science fantasy side of things, but genuinely it’s one of the most creative science fiction worlds I’ve come across. One you do not want to miss out on.

I've read a couple of the previous stories set in this author's Xuya universe (we're talking mindships and Vietnamese family dynamics in a space setting dominated by empires) and enjoyed them, so was pleased to get my hands on an advance copy of a novel in that setting. It lived up to expectations but didn't blow my socks off, if I'm perfectly honest, so I'm still left looking for a story in this setting which will grab the elusive 5 star review!

The basic premise of <I>The Red Scholar's Wake</i> is that it's a book about piracy on the edge of those empires, a world peopled by both pirates and scavengers and full of all the kinds of activities you'd associate with both. We first meet one of our protagonists, the scavenger Xich Si, as she's just been captured by pirates and is expecting only bad things to happen to her - this point of view is well-supported by the recent death of her friend at the hands of said pirates, to be perfectly honest. Instead, she's offered a marriage of convenience by the mindship whose wife commanded a segment of the pirate fleet before she was murdered. Rice Fish, the ship in question, needs someone she can trust to help her investigate and Xich Si fits the bill.

Cue a lot of politicking and threats to everyone's safety from both inside and outside the pirate fleet. Cue also a romance developing between Xich Si and Rice Fish, which was probably partly the reason I dropped a star as it didn't 100% convince me as it developed. I loved the political infighting, there was some really nice characterisation across the board and the world in which these stories are set remains both interesting and engaging but the romance... not quite fully-cooked in my opinion. Given the amount of chewing over the morality of piracy and the impact of it on everyone else, Xich Si seeming to forget both her ambivalence and (more importantly) the recent horrible death of her friend at the hands of these same folks, seemed a bit much to swallow.

<I>I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.</i>

The Red Scolar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard

Thank you Netgallery and Orion Publishing Group/Gollancz for an ARC for an unbiased review.

Did someone say space pirates? Hold on, it gets better. Did someone say queer Space pirates?
I'm in!
Ah, but did it deliver?

Yes. If like me you love space opera style stories, this totally delivers. Add in the queer element and it made a solid storyline even better.

So what made it so good?
Firstly, I love how the whole character of Rice Fish is based off Ching Shih/Zheng Yi Sao (also confirmed by the author via a tweet) as this just makes it all the more rewarding.

We have sentient ships, romance, bad ass women, pirates, and space all rolled into one storyline that didn't miss a beat. Okay, perhaps initially it took me a little time just to be clear who was who, but once I had that sorted out, it truly didn't miss a beat.
I think the most unexpected development was the children. Not only as they were polar opposites, but also then how they played into the story, and on how choices were made. They enhanced the whole thing for me, as they allowed us to glimpse into other aspects of thoughts and feelings for the main protagonists.

The descriptions throughout were full of imagery that brought the whole thing alive. It enriched the story beautifully. The overall themes were consistent and apt. It was thrilling, emotive, angsty at times, and let us not forget the romance element that weaved through it all.

Would I recommend this book? Absolutely. Would I gift this book? Absolutely.
Queer, space opera piracy at its finest!

5/5 stars 🌟