I have a thing for gay sentient spaceships that starts with Ancillary Justice and is beautifully perpetuated in Red Scholar's Wake. I love space opera's with a human (or AI) core, bringing conflicts and concepts of massive scale home to roost with gorgeous medications on love and family. It is nice to know the context from other books in the Xuya universe but I like that this can stand alone. I would have loved so see Xich Si and Red Fish's relationship develop a little more slowly, but otherwise thought this was a fabulous little novella.

Another masterpiece by Aliette de Bodard. I have always said that one of the great voices of modern scifi is the one behind the Xuya universe stories. Bodard will be one of the few voices who will be remembered in the future when we look past the greatest authors of our time. The Red Scholar's Wake is awe inspiring, masterfully written and hugely entertaining and pageturner.

I love Aliette de Bodard's books, but they are probably the most intellectually challenging books I read on a regular basis. Especially the mindship books. I think on the one hand there's the Vietnamese-inspired names and foods and customs which are so different than what I'm used to (a *good* thing! Reading is for expanding one's horizons!) and on the other hand there's the whole human-falls-in-love-with-a-sentient-spaceship oh and also there is the physical plane and then there are overlays and avatars and bots that have physical form but can also be used a lot like coding but you can (I think) think the commands at them and have the information appear directly in your brain rather than having to rely on a pesky computer, oh and you can simultaneously have conversations out loud and other conversations virtually in your head -- and my brain refuses to make sense of it all. I don't regularly read a lot of sci-fi, so there's that. I generally spend the first third of these books trying to wrap my head around how it all works and the next two thirds slowly sinking into the story and becoming immersed in it while the details stop being so confusing and fade to the background. And falling in love with the story and characters and romance

Aliette de Bodard's writing is poetic and evocative and also understated, with a tendency to leave things unsaid for the reader to infer. This, too, takes a bit to get used to, but I really love it. I don't especially like having everything spoon-fed to me all the time, and while I read and love a lot of 'easier' fantasy and romance, I appreciate having to really engage my brain to pick up on most of what's happening. (I'm sure I don't pick up on all of it.)

Some of the descriptions, especially of Rice Fish's avatar, with her hair flowing into the floor of the ship and patterned with stars and nebulae, were so satisfying and just gorgeous. I had trouble with a mental picture of the characters (other than Rice Fish), but I think that's just me -- I rarely get a clear mental picture of characters in the books I read. I did get a clear picture of the Pirate Citadel - enough that I felt like I was there, walking beside Xích Si and experiencing it with her.

This is first and foremost a romance, one between a human who has been beaten down for years living on the edge of getting by as a scavenger, and a sentient spaceship who is also an influential leader of a pirate faction in a society she helped to build and carries deep emotional wounds left by her murdered wife, however unintentionally.

Xích Si, the scavenger, has been captured by pirates at the opening of the book and is forced to leave everything she knows - including her young daughter - behind. She understandably is scared and angry and fears the worst. Rice Fish, the mindship she is travelling on and head of the pirate faction who captured her, shocks her by proposing marriage -- a 'business arrangement only.' Together they face a rebellious son, an endangered daughter, authorities determined to erase the scourge of pirates, treachery from within, and questions of the future of the entire pirate alliance. Not to mention their own bruised and bleeding hearts.

They make mistakes, they hurt one another, and -- they learn. They learn to love, they learn to trust, they learn to hope and dream again and how to heal themselves. And the journey of how they get to that point is beautiful.

I would like to add that I have seen some criticism of ace rep in this book and I strongly disagree. I would not categorize Rice Fish's murdered wife as ace, no matter that she did not want the physical aspect of the relationship that Rice Fish did. It's not that simple. It was mentioned several times that she took her lovers outside of the marriage partnership ("Huan, for her part, had collected flings the way scholars collected books and vids", "I watched Ma collect her friends and lovers and never get the intimacy she craved") -- she just did not want such a relationship with Rice Fish. I don't know whether it was that she simply was not attracted to Rice Fish that way or whether she truly believed that any physical / romantic relationship between them would sully the partnership and what they were trying to build. But I think criticizing it for "bad ace rep" misses the point and is not fair. (Disclaimer: I am ace and I wanted to address this criticism because I have seen it more than once.)

The scenes with Xích Si's daughter, and some with Rice Fish's son, tug at the heartstrings. Alliette de Bodard knows how to use a few brushstrokes to create poignant, touching family scenes. I appreciate them more, I think, since having a child myself. It's clear that she gets what it's like, having to guide a child and be strong for them but also show yourself to be vulnerable, and eventually to let them go.

Even though this is a romance, it's very politics-heavy. The different factions within the pirate fleet, the warring empires, the scavengers and wealthier scholars and beaurocrats... There is a lot of information to unpack and a lot of things that aren't quite said out loud that are perhaps easy to miss. At first, it is very hard to grasp what is going on, which actually makes a lot of sense, as Xích Si is also unfamiliar with how the pirate fleet functions and also struggles to grasp it all. She learns and becomes more comfortable with it as the reader does, which makes it easy to identify with her.

Despite the heaviness of the themes (indentured servants are discussed quite a bit from several perspectives, as well as raiding and capturing merchants to hold for ransom, as well as emotional trauma and pain) and the dense, somewhat obscure way the text is written, and the sci-fi aspects, this also has quite a bit of adventure and mystery. I spent the last 40% or so on the edge of my seat wondering how it would all go down. I came away knowing that I absolutely loved and will recommend it, while at the same time I will need to read an easier book next just to give my brain a break.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Gollancz, and JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. for providing an advance copy for review.

While an innovative take on the forced-marriage-to-romance trope, The Red Scholar's Wake nevertheless fell flat for me.

Xích Si is a scavenger. Captured by pirates, she's presented with a choice: marry the nominal head of the Red Banner faction or be subject to whatever the pirate world would do to her. But the head of the Red Banner is not what you might expect: she's an artificial intelligence named Rice Fish who was consort to the recently decreased pirate leader Red Scholar. Rice Fish suspects Red Scholar was murdered, and Xích Si's impressive bots lead Rice Fish to believe she may be able to find the source of Red Scholar's death. But the political situation is complex, and marriage is the safest way to guarantee Xích Si the autonomy and access to do her detective work.

It's a heck of a set-up, especially with an interesting galactic background. I also loved how the book doesn't spend time convincing us that a human-AI romantic or political partnership is isn't weird to the characters— it's a great example of what's strange to us as humans in the 21st century isn't an irrefutable truth.

Nevertheless, I didn't enjoy the book as much as I expected. The lack of character development made this feel more like a novella, and I think it could have worked well in that form. I also disliked the insta-love/lust between Rice Fish and Xích Si. While I didn't struggle with Rice Fish being an AI, the progression of their relationship, clearly the core of the story, just wasn't compelling.

Are you interested in space operas? Romances with yearning because not only can they not be together they can't imagine the other would want to be with them? What if they were a lady pirate commander and her prisoner-turned-wife, who the pirate commander married for politics after her previous pirate wife was killed in battle? What if they were all Vietnamese space pirates specifically? What if the lady pirate commander was, in fact, a living spaceship?

The Red Scholar's Wake is all of these things and more. It's a beautiful story about found family, and trying to learn each other despite your flaws, and about undoing the damage your past has left with you. I loved pretty much everything about it; this is going to be a regular comfort reread for me, I think.

Tech scavenger Xích Si is captured by pirates of the Red Banner, and their leader, Rice Fish, surprisingly offers Xích Si marriage. Both would benefit from the deal: Xích Si needs protection and Rice Fish needs a technical expert to investigate the death of her first wife, the Red Scholar. That should have been all to the arrangement, but feelings develop as the war against piracy continues and their own investigation reveals more than they bargained for. Their business arrangement has evolved into something much more personal.

The Red Scholar's Wake is a romance within the Xuya universe, gleefully described as pirate lesbians in space. The Xuya universe involves interstellar Vietnamese empires, mindships that use small bots to manifest a physical avatar, augmented reality overlays, and the classical trappings of space opera. Each book is more or less independent of the others, so it's not necessary to have read all the others before this one. Is it fun to do so? Absolutely, and you won't regret it.

Here, Xích Si is reluctant to believe that Rice Fish could possibly want her around in a positive way, or that she won't be abused by pirates. There are different banners, and Rice Fish doesn't thrive with unchecked violence. The death of her wife, the Red Scholar, leaves the Red banner in a tailspin. The mindship and the scavenger aren't exactly enemies at first, but they're not friends at the start, either. We slowly develop trust over time, as well as the glimmers of attraction. It's fun to see the enemies-to-lovers trope play out as well as the investigation into the Red Scholar's death. In addition to the power plays of pirates vs the establishment, our heroines learn to let go of their prior fears and see that a relationship is worth fighting for. And fight it is, as anything on the edge of space will be messy and complicated. Love isn't everything, but it does push people where they otherwise won't want to go. I enjoyed this book, both from the romance aspect and the space opera aspect.

This was fun!

I didn’t care for all the characters; sometimes the rythm and character growth where not my cup of tea, and the way the plot was handled made me frown. But also it was silly in a good way, the instalove was comforting, I love the way Bodard worked with language, and overall I had a very good time.

Perfect cozy reading for autumn.

After all, space pirates tend to be a cool place to start with.

The Red Scholar’s Wake was my first book from Aliette de Bodard but will absolutely not be my last! The Red Scholar’s Wake follows Xich Si and Rich Fish, a scavenger and pirate respectively. Rich Fish is a sentient spaceship that finds Xich Si after the death of her first wife. Since Xich Si has the technical skills to uncover the truth of her wife’s death, Rice Fish and Xich Si are wed. A marriage in name only, nothing more. But as the stakes rise and betrayal becomes evident, the two are thrust together and forced to examine what they truly mean to each other.

The Red Scholar’s Wake is a stunning space opera filled with LGBTQ+ rep, pirate politics, and Vietnamese-esque science fiction. The relationship between Rice Fish and Xich Si is soft and pining, filled with yearning. I loved watching this evolve and deepen as their adventure unravels. I also enjoyed the side characters such as ships like Crow’s Words and the inclusion of Xich Si’s young daughter Khanh. Aliette de Bodard weaves in themes of grief, love, and what it means to truly create a safe haven. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series! I would recommend this for fans of Everina Maxwell, Tamsyn Muir, and Xiran Jay Zhao. Thank you so much to Aliette de Bodard, JABerwocky Literary Agency, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The setting of the Xuya universe is a rich one and it gives another great story that can stand along for new readers. Space pirates, betrayals, and a marriage of convenience that might become much more. Xích Si has been captured by pirates and there is a death penalty for anyone being a pirate or even being related to a pirate, so she knows she is dead to her family on her station. When the AI* ship Rice Fish offers her a marriage contract, she agrees knowing it will protect her. Rice Fish was recently widowed when her wife was killed during a battle but the circumstances look like it could have been a betrayal from one of the affiliated pirated bands. Now to solve the mystery of the murder and keep the various pirate groups banded together against the two warring empires, Rice Fish must take a new spouse to use their skills to solve everything.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through Netgalley
*I should say not an AI ship but a brain ship

I love Aliette de Bodard style of writing and love all her series, my fav the Fallen. This is a well plotted novel that I enjoyed even if it's not a favorite.
The Xuya Universe is intriguing, a universe full of great characters and with a Vietnamese lifestyle very detailed.
I always end up craving some of the teas they drink and I'm not much of a tea drinker
The story starts in a very exciting way introducing us to XI Sich and Rice Fish, the main characters. Both interesting character, Xi Sich more shy while Rice Fish is a very seductive avatar.
It drags a bit as politics takes the front seat but it never stopped being entertaining.
The romance was a bit too fast but I rooted for the characters.
Aliette de Bodard never disappoints and this well plotted and fascinating novel is another example of her excellent storytelling and fascinating world building.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Thank you Netgalley, Independent Publishers and JABberwocky for access to this arc.

I was delighted to see a new Xuya Universe offering from you and even happier to be approved for the arc. I enjoyed it but I have a few issues. I love that this is an inclusive science fiction story with strong female characters who are actually in charge. But there’s a lot of politics and after a fast, wrenching start, the novel slows a lot to lay out all the groundwork and relationships. This is not the first story I’ve read set in this Universe and while I know that there’s a lot to it, I think that by this point, I shouldn’t still feel as if I’m floundering around trying to get my feet under me.

So yes, it was delightful to be back in this Vietnamese based space opera world again. I noticed the careful attention paid to the familial relationships, the descriptions of the robes worn, the fact that tea and refreshments are always offered to visitors, and explanations of which words are chosen to be used in certain situations. Reading about how the avatars of the mindships look was fascinating. They have nebulas and stars in and on them, meld into the body of their ships, and their emotions can cause ripples and rocking of their ship bodies. The oily feel and taste that Xich Si experiences while touching Rice Fish’s avatar and the slight exhaust smell seems like it would be less appealing.

But yeah, the politics slowed things down a great deal for about the first third of the story. As I mentioned earlier, I still feel slightly adrift – no pun intended – in this world trying to understand it. It takes a lot of attention and slows down my reading even more. At some point I hope I’ll move past this but for now, I still feel that there’s an instruction manual I should have read.

The romance is definitely a slow burn type. The “do you love me” questions aren’t the only thing keeping Rice Fish and Xich Si on different pages. They debate and argue over the differences and similarities between the pirate society and the Imperial one in which Xich Si has scrabbled all her life to survive in. In fundamental ways these are both different and also the same. Neither one is All Good or All Bad. The resolution calls on both to examine what is most important to them. Xich Si also has to decide if she can gather the courage to “go big or go home.” Since emotions often aren’t blazing and worn on the sleeve here, the characters might seem to be a bit flat but careful attention to how Rice Fish’s sensors pick up on bodily changes and the way personal bots react will show a different tale. The stakes are high and often Rice Fish and Xich Si can’t afford to risk showing emotions that could betray them.

The story ends with a HFN, which I think is reasonable, with a growing relationship and positive future. I would have liked to have seen more actual pirating and gotten more comfortable with the details of this world. However there are massive changes afoot there and I do want to see what will happen in the sequel. B

The writing is lyrical. The character in a terrible fix. That much the opening makes clear but if you are not already familiar with this space based, Asian history-based, complex cultural hierarchy on a pirate ship in alliance with other pirate fleets (to use an English-language approximate synonym for ‘banner’) you will feel lost for a page or two.

Fortunately, this author quickly brings the wider, stranger universe down to a more easily contextualized contest of wills. If one will belongs to a human tinkerer and the other to a mostly projected ship’s avatar, well, that’s just the way things work here.

The fusing of Asian and North American speculative fiction styles and directions/influences/objectives is not always an easy one but here it works. This is space opera in the truest sense of both space and opera: a 3D backdrop encompassing galaxies to stage a libretto roiling with human passion and pain. In the hands of this adept novelist the vast blend includes deep insight into the core of a very human protagonist.

I was entranced from the earliest pages but given my lack of familiarity with Vietnamese culture and history, there are undoubtedly layers and subtleties that I missed. This is a book I would like to come back to with more cultural knowledge to enhance my experience.

Highly recommended.

Aliette de Bodard takes us back into the world of Xuya for the lovely tale of two widowed mothers trying to make the best of their respective situations, even if that means working together as wives. One a semi-mechanical dread pirate, one a poor and desperate scavenger, both must decide what they're willing to do to preserve what matters to them. Another (meditative, bittersweet) banger from the queen of lesbians, spaceships, and lesbian spaceships!

The Red Scholar's Wake by Aliette de Bodard. I always find myself enjoying de Bodards works and this one was no exception. Pirates, explosions, AI OH MY. What more could you ask for in Space Opera?

Thank you, Independent Publishers Group, JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc., and NetGalley!

4.5 out of 5 stars. Instalove is a trope that I struggle with, and while this book was no exception, the pining and the struggles that came along with it were addressed, and addressed fairly well. Xich Si's struggles with piracy are not forgotten throughout the book, and Rice Fish's desires were addressed and respected-- she is an autonomous being, which Xich Si respects, and others in Rice Fish's life have not.

I also appreciated the difficult family situations each brought to the table-- and I can't wait to read more!

Sapphic space pirates!?!? SAY LESS! I enjoyed this book though it isn’t my favorite de Bodard I definitely enjoyed the ride. I wish more authors would lean into the weird and wonderful creative opportunities that is sci fi. The world created is just so vibrant and just like I said creative and it’s probably the most unique sci fi universe I’ve read in a while.

The issue I did have was with the characters who I just really couldn’t connect with no matter how hard I tried and the romance also just didn’t hit the mark for me which really sucks because then setting and plot were great. I will still keep reading novels by this author thought!

I've just finished THE RED SCHOLAR'S WAKE and all I can say is wonderful, clever, brilliantly written, and chock full of the emotional twists and turns I've come to expect from Aliette de Bodard. Perhaps one day a print edition will become available and I will shove it at my customers, especially those looking for sapphic space operas with complex relationships between sentient ships and space pirates,--oh and an aching beautiful romance. In the mean time I will wait for my Illumicrate edition so I may reread.

All you had to tell me to get me intrigued is sentient ship romance and space pirates. So The Red Scholar's Wake is a book I had high expectations for from the beginning. While the pirate action is less in that many high stakes raids (think less high seas pirating and pludering) and more how do we regulate our pirate nations and loyalty. Like I feel like if you enjoyed the later "Pirates of the Caribbean" stories where you get to see more of how pirates organize themselves then this is for you.

Those were always my favorite elements - plus all the scheming and betrayals - so The Red Scholar's Wake was perfect. Now moving onto the sentient ship aspect, which is an aspect that will always result in me adding it to my TBR, I loved it so much! It's not what I was expecting - there is a physical body within the ship - but I loved this idea of being aware of the ship and being able to change, anticipate, and monitor.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was one of my most anticipated books and when I got a chance to read an advanced copy, I could not believe my luck.

Although RiceFish is a mindship, she is portrayed as being more of an organic entity, in the way she acts, having emotions , pain and wounds. It makes her relatable but confusing at times.

Her relationship with Xich Si felt very hurried and forced at the start.

RiceFish was hung up on the red scholar for most of the book that made it a bit annoying, but also served to give a glimpse into her mindset starting a relationship with Xich Si. It is very easy to relate to her, and you root for their love to blossom.


The plot was very predictable and haphazard at times.

I adored this book - inventive, exciting, and surprisingly very sexy! I do wish it was longer so that the characters, romance, and overall plot had more room to breathe. Overall, this is one you simply cannot miss!