"In the Vanisher's Palace" by Aliette de Bodard (BR)

[Melanie, the neutral party]

This is the A8 buddy read for February, but anyone can join in.
Remember to use spoiler tags.

[Melanie, the neutral party]

Chapters 1-4
First Impressions:
This echoes of a classic sort of ancient Chinese village setting, with a weird as of yet unexplained, (view spoiler)[former advanced society that left behind their influence and tech in a seemingly careless way (hide spoiler)].

The book blurb describes it as a Beauty and the Beast retelling:
(I honestly only familiar with the Disney cartoon version of this tale)
-similarities: (view spoiler)[young girl kidnapped into a magical palace with magical, unseen servants by a "beast" with a dour attitude and a little bit of a sex appeal. A parent of much affection is left behind. (hide spoiler)]
-differences: (view spoiler)[the "beast" has kids, the "Bell" character doesn't start with so much hate towards her captor. [TBH the MC has the kind of obsessive crush that I find tedious and is one of the things I don't like about many YA books. I do appreciate how the Dragon has already commented on the power imbalance as a reason why a physical relationship would be inappropriate] (hide spoiler)]

Questions to consider as I read on:
-The Vanishers: (view spoiler)[was that the name of their "Race" or is that the name they were all given when they left? And what are they- shapeshifters, magicians, an alien race? They "hatch" at birth, but that's not much of a clue. (hide spoiler)]
-The Plagues: (view spoiler)[Are they a permanent world feature or will there be a "cure" by the end of the book? Why do people have to be sacrificed and purified? Is it a left-behind piece of tech or an actual sentient plague? (hide spoiler)]
-More Beauty and the Beast: (view spoiler)[Will the story continue to mimic the plot arc with Yen returning home, choosing to come back, and somehow cure Vu Con? (hide spoiler)]

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm afraid I will be bowing out of this, but I'll try to read another de Bodard instead!

[Rachel]

I’ll be starting the audio soon

[Nicol]

I finished it just a couple of days ago, I'm interested in seeing what everyone things once they are done!

[Emmett]

I am about halfway through this so far- Loving the names and little references to Vietnam, not particularly loving the heavy romantic overtones.

In terms of the VN stuff, it's the little things! There is a bowl of fruit at one point in which there are mangoes, bananas, etc... as well as "breast milk fruit", which believe it or not- is a real fruit! Quả vú sữa in Vietnamese. It's pretty tasty.

There also seems to be the concept of yin/yang energies in bodies. Not particularly a spoiler, but not sure if everyone will be interested= (view spoiler)[Âm & Dương. I found this interesting as the way that I know those words are from Âm lịch & Dương lịch. Âm lịch is the calendar used for Tết or what would be known in the West as "Chinese New Year", whereas Tết Dương would be the regular January 1 new year. Tết âm is next week here in Vietnam 🙂 (hide spoiler)]

[Silvana]

I am interested with this novella though I don't remember why I have a copy - maybe a freebie from Tor?

Looking forward to see everyone's responses first.

[Emmett]

Thoughts upon finishing reading: I was very excited for this. I very much did not like this. Other than the VN names and the shout-out to breast milk fruit (yay!), I struggled with it. I think I actually would've given it just a flat 1 rather than my generous 1.5 rounded up, were it not Vietnamese-inspired.

I did a little rewrite of it in my review, for those of you who finished reading and want to see who did it better:
A better version? You decide.
*Please do not be offended if this was your favorite book ever. May you love it eternally and scorn me for my review.

[Nicol]

I too struggled with it for the same reasons, and I debated giving it a much lower rating; after a week of letting it marinate I’ve lowered it. In the end I guess I enjoyed the other aspects of the story and just ignored that other part. But I totally understand and can agree with the low rating. I haven’t read anything else by the author but I’m hoping this isn’t a trend.

[Leticia]

I read this some weeks ago. My review:
(view spoiler)[.
I often struggle when a story is mainly focused on the characters and their relationships, but in this case the resolution was masterfully done and the character's arc of Vu Côn and all other characters was deeply tied with their situation and setting, in a way that this Novella's theme development is complete on its own.
I would nevertheless want to read more about this post-Vanisher's World past or future so that I could better grasp it's puzzling nature.
(hide spoiler)]

[Nicol]

Leticia wrote: "I read this some weeks ago. My review:
.
I often struggle when a story is mainly focused on the characters and their relationships, but in this case the resolution was masterfully done and the cha..."

I agree I want more of the world, I was disappointed it was a standalone. What saved this for me was the world building and the writing.

[Nicol]

lori wrote: "(No spoilers here that you won't find in the publisher's description, which I should definitely have read more closely.)

Haha, I should've hated this soooo much. Somehow, I missed the romance bit ..."

I knew it was a beauty and beast retelling but for some reason I also didn't realize it was romance, I don't mind romance though in general; in fact if I am going to read romance I rather it be in a fantasy or sci-fi setting - I just didn't feel it in this, if that makes sense. But I did love the writing and the world building, and I am happy I read it. I just wasn't a fan of the as Emmett put it (view spoiler)[ Super.Boring.Dragon.Sex (hide spoiler)]

side note: I was over here in Dr Who mode trying to hide the spoiler with a "spoilerS" tag instead of spoiler 😂😂😂

[Emmett]

lori wrote: "Emmett wrote: "Thoughts upon finishing reading: I was very excited for this. I very much did not like this. Other than the VN names and the shout-out to breast milk fruit (yay!), I struggled with i..."

4 smiles to match the 4 hearts you gave the original- I'll take it!

I actually found out about this novel after I heard about her forthcoming one: Fireheart Tiger. I was thinking to give it a go, despite being a romance... but after reading this, I am not so sure.

Also, for those who finished reading, did you not feel that (view spoiler)[the concepts were just a little too murky? I know it is a novella and the focus here was the relationships, but the whole world felt undercooked to me. We got absolute pages of words shimmering in the air, but almost no explanation about the Vanishers. I think my rating would have been higher if the story was more focused on who/what they were and why the world was destroyed, etc. (hide spoiler)]

[Emmett]

Nicol wrote: "Haha, I should've hated this soooo much. Somehow, I missed the..."

😆😆 I clearly 100% forgot it was a retelling of Beauty & the Beast, but I also wasn't expecting that.

I definitely had different ideas from the synopsis, but going back and reading it now- fits perfectly.

[Rachel]

I started listening today - I haven’t read any of her dominion of the fallen books so this is an interesting new world to me.

[Rachel]

Not sure why I thought this was part of that world but I realize now it’s not.

[Midiain]

Well, this was disappointing. Her Obsidian and Blood trilogy is so good that I still wish she'd write more in that world. The Tea Master and the Detective is one of my favorite short stories. This book, unfortunately, didn't work for me at all.

(view spoiler)[I appreciated that there were some cultural elements but I had hoped for something more steeped in Vietnamese mythology since it's so rare to find a book set in any Southeast Asian mythology.

Vu Côn was so very reserved that I don't feel like we got to know her well enough to understand or be emotionally engaged with her. The most interesting characters were the twins and we barely got to know them at all. I would rather have read about the Vanishers and how the world ended up in that condition. Yên didn't make the slightest bit of sense to me. She was all over the place with her thoughts and reactions without much of any kind of progression between them. Because of that I found her to be quite unlikeable. Maybe if this had been a full length novel so there was space for to explore the characters and their world in a deeper way I would've liked the story better.

It was frustrating because I did like what world-building there was and the set up was intriguing. The prose was beautiful in a melancholy way. I just couldn't emotionally engage with the characters so it all felt flat and distant.

I don't even want to talk about the cold, soggy, clammy serpent sex. I have no issue with shape shifters as romantic or sexual partners so long as they're in their human form during the act. This was not romantic it was... thanks, I hate it. (hide spoiler)]

[Emmett]

lori wrote: "Emmett wrote: "Also, for those who finished reading, did you not feel that the concepts were just a little too murky?..."

Hm, I think I know what you're getting at. [spoilers removed] And there we..."

I am right there with you on the sky thing! Thinking back to it, I pretty much imagined the palace as just a white void and the village as always being nighttime. Kinda weird, now that I think about it. But yeah- I just did not particularly appreciate the lack of detail for some things and over-description of others...

I would try reading this author again, but would certainly be a bit wary

[Rachel]

About half way though. I did not expect it to be quite so romance heavy. I have previously read two other novellas and neither of them had any that I recall. However Beauty and the Beast was my preferred Disney type movie and the world is still very interesting.

[Sha]

Starting

[Stephanie]

Bummed that this didn't work for me. (view spoiler)[ I think it would have been better as a full novel. I was interested in the world but didn't feel that we got enough of it. I also thought the relationships between characters felt undeveloped, so I was not invested in them.

I also have issues with romances that have huge age-differences/power differentials like this, so the fact that it felt so rushed did not help the matter.

It's sad because I loved the representation and the Vietnamese elements. (hide spoiler)]

I've read other work by this author that I enjoyed more. I think I might try her sci-fi instead.

[DivaDiane]

I just started today, listening to the audio book via Scribd, and I seem to be in the minority here, because, so far, I like it! I'm about a third in, so it might take me a couple days more to finish but not more. More then.

[Rachel]

I sadly have to agree with the many of the comments - we didn't really get enough of the world. And I somehow didn't ever get Yen as a character. Loved the world, loved Vu Cons dragon, interested in the way magic words work, all of it but - the end just seemed to drag on with nonsense from Yen and maybe we could have replaced that with more substance about the world! I didn't even mind the romance but the WAY it played out didn't feel right (too rushed maybe?)
Hate to say it but I'm left disappointed. I really enjoyed Tea Master for example.

[Mareike]

A bit late, but I find myself agreeing with a lot of what has vmbern said. I enjoyes tue writing and the worldbuilding was interesting, but de Bodard could have done a lot more with it.
The romance was....tricky and could/should also have been developed more. As it was, everything happened a bit too quickly for me.

[Megan]

It took me a couple false starts, but I finally fell into the groove and read this. (view spoiler)[My reaction is entirely personal: it turns out I'm not ready to read fictional treatments of mysterious diseases and illnesses right now--I wish I read this before 2020!!--so I could feel myself holding back from getting emotionally invested, and my lukewarm feelings stem from that.

I loved some of the imagery: the magic words, the way the palace was described. I now know the word "vertiginous." :) I also really liked how complicated the relationships were, and how this was a Beauty & the Beast retelling that wanted its characters to think about consent and power in explicit ways.

I also really liked the tiny worldbuilding detail of the novels Liên was reading: "a treasure trove of mystery books in the library, about a magistrate investigating increasingly bizarre crimes in the provinces of a fictional country that had broken free of Vanisher rule. They dated from the breaking of the world, and were infused with an odd, drunken enthusiasm, the writer heady on the promise of freedom from Vanishers: odd, disjointed readings about a future that hadn't come to pass." I love when worldbuilding includes pop culture, even in passing. It feels so imaginative and expansive to me, knowing that the characters are interacting with their world in imaginative and expansive ways. (hide spoiler)]

[DivaDiane]

So, I finished this. Sadly, I didn't love it. I'm with Emmet in my feelings about (view spoiler)[Super.Boring.Dragon.Sex (hide spoiler)] .

Emmett wrote: "I know it is a novella and the focus here was the relationships"

But what was the focus? Yes, there was some about "consent and power" as Megan said, which was thankfully, addressed in the end, but otherwise? Why was Yen so attracted in the first place? What was it? It wasn't the slimy, scaly dragony bits, but we were never given even the slightest inkling of what it was. Also, why was Vu Con attracted to Yen? And this is where I think the retelling of Beauty and the Beast fails. Or did I miss something? (I may have, because I upped the tempo to x1.8 just to get through it) There was no curse or compelling reason for Vu Con to want/need Yen to fall in love with her. And that is what makes the Beauty and the Beast story OK, if you ask me, and not just a Stockholm Syndrome story that turned out alright.

I would've loved more info about the Vanishers and what happened and why the world was like it was. I loved the inclusion of Vietnamese culture. I loved the magic library and the twins were definitely the best characters.

I liked that this novella wasn't as brutal and grim as her Dominion of the Fallen books (those are TOUGH), but I had a really hard time with all the drama/lust/longing and pearl clutching.

[Meredith]

My ambivalence about this is so great that I made it over halfway through but let my audiobook checkout expire because I couldn't get motivated to keep listening. I have enjoyed de Bodard's Xuya series works that I've read. I'll have to get back to this. I like a lot of the world-building even if the main relationship is not doing anything for me.

[Sha]

//slinks in late and sheepishly presents book review for your consideration

[Stephanie]

Sha wrote: "//slinks in late and sheepishly presents book review for your consideration"

Thanks for sharing! A great review and I completely agree.

I enjoyed other works I've read by this author better than this one, like Lullaby for a Lost World and The House of Shattered Wings, but I also thought they were darker. (Which is not bad, just different)

[Sha]

I liked lullaby for a lost world! I did wish it was longer, but it was deliciously creepy. I completely forgot it was by Aliette de Bodard though whoops.

It does sound like I need to read more things by her but the whole Universe of Xuya thing looks so confusing? I have no idea where to even start. Some of the concepts really intrigue me though.

Thank you for liking the review. :3 I'm glad whenever people think my brainvomit makes sense.

[DivaDiane]

Great review, Sha! I thought your brain vomit made perfect sense.