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laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I absolutely *love* the Xuya Universe books, a set of stories in a future world of space stations and ships - some of whom are sentient - and an empire whose culture is Vietnamese-inspired. I've read several of these stories now, and find the world-building absolutely top notch; the exploration of mindships in familial lines and the relationships between ships, their human relatives, and the ancestors who live on as projections within memory implants is utterly fascinating.
In this novella, the Empire is under threat by the Nam Federation. The Nam Federation appears to have hijacked some of the mindships and turned their allegiance. The empire is in need of an advantage, and so is desperate to find the Citadel, a station that disappeared decades previously (along with eldest princess Ngoc Minh). This is one of the stories I've enjoyed most so far that are set in this universe - a nice mix of time travel, mystery, family dynamics, and intergalactic politics.
Content warnings: death, grief, (the immanent possibility of) war
In this novella, the Empire is under threat by the Nam Federation. The Nam Federation appears to have hijacked some of the mindships and turned their allegiance. The empire is in need of an advantage, and so is desperate to find the Citadel, a station that disappeared decades previously (along with eldest princess Ngoc Minh). This is one of the stories I've enjoyed most so far that are set in this universe - a nice mix of time travel, mystery, family dynamics, and intergalactic politics.
Content warnings: death, grief, (the immanent possibility of) war
karinlib's review
4.0
I was a little confused at first, because of the Vietnamese names, but after a bit, I really enjoyed the writing style, and look forward to reading more.
practisingmothman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
kaitalytic's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
tzurky's review
3.0
Probably 3.5 stars but I was feeling ungenerous
I absolutely adored The Tea Master and the Detective, but this novella (?) was less convincing. It simply introduces too many extremely diverse characters with depth and very individual motivations and it simply does not leave itself enough room to more than hint at those motivations, much less to weave them into the narrative so that they can be addressed in the narrative climax. It felt like she was setting up the chess board for a complex high level game, only to finish in three moves. I’m not even entirely sure why this story had to be so short - it’s not warranted by the complexity of the plotting. Most plot threads were simply left hanging. I get the sense that that and the seeming underuse of the characters was intentional, but it just doesn’t make for very satisfying reading, especially for a fan of Sanderson (who needs 100 pages to accomplish what others may sketch in two, but if there’s one thing you can’t fault him for, it’s underutilizing a character - he milks their personalities and motivations for all they’re worth).
Obviously the world-building is both intellectually impressive and vibrant and lively. The whole Xuya concept is amazing and the doesn’t fudge the execution. The plot is gripping, the characters draw you in and each has their moving moments. But it could have done so much more with these riches. To name just one instance, the relationship between the two princesses was barely fleshed out enough to telegraph the emotional shifts. It was almost all tell and no show.
I absolutely adored The Tea Master and the Detective, but this novella (?) was less convincing. It simply introduces too many extremely diverse characters with depth and very individual motivations and it simply does not leave itself enough room to more than hint at those motivations, much less to weave them into the narrative so that they can be addressed in the narrative climax. It felt like she was setting up the chess board for a complex high level game, only to finish in three moves. I’m not even entirely sure why this story had to be so short - it’s not warranted by the complexity of the plotting. Most plot threads were simply left hanging. I get the sense that that and the seeming underuse of the characters was intentional, but it just doesn’t make for very satisfying reading, especially for a fan of Sanderson (who needs 100 pages to accomplish what others may sketch in two, but if there’s one thing you can’t fault him for, it’s underutilizing a character - he milks their personalities and motivations for all they’re worth).
Obviously the world-building is both intellectually impressive and vibrant and lively. The whole Xuya concept is amazing and the doesn’t fudge the execution. The plot is gripping, the characters draw you in and each has their moving moments. But it could have done so much more with these riches. To name just one instance, the relationship between the two princesses was barely fleshed out enough to telegraph the emotional shifts. It was almost all tell and no show.
berlinbibliophile's review
3.0
A wonderful universe, but I wish I had gotten to know the characters a little better. They were all very focused on the central mystery, which was interesting, but I wish they had had a little more room to breathe and unfold their personalities in the pages of this book. I'm definitely going to keep reading though.
micksland's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Nominee: 2015 Locus Award for Best Novella
While I enjoyed this novella, I didn’t like it as much as the prequel “On a Red Station, Drifting”. The story is about a space station that goes missing, and a series of families are torn apart by the event. The novella explores parent-child relationships and grief in the face of the missing citizens’ unknown fates.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and the worldbuilding is excellent. However, the plot is very complex and in my opinion moves much too quickly for the novella format. Several plot threads ended abruptly because there just wasn’t space to explore them. Finally, the ending was extremely abrupt, and I found it to be somewhat unsatisfying. I’ll definitely read other stories in this universe, and I hope the author eventually chooses to explore some of her excellent ideas in a longer work.
Nominee: 2015 Locus Award for Best Novella
While I enjoyed this novella, I didn’t like it as much as the prequel “On a Red Station, Drifting”. The story is about a space station that goes missing, and a series of families are torn apart by the event. The novella explores parent-child relationships and grief in the face of the missing citizens’ unknown fates.
The writing is absolutely gorgeous and the worldbuilding is excellent. However, the plot is very complex and in my opinion moves much too quickly for the novella format. Several plot threads ended abruptly because there just wasn’t space to explore them. Finally, the ending was extremely abrupt, and I found it to be somewhat unsatisfying. I’ll definitely read other stories in this universe, and I hope the author eventually chooses to explore some of her excellent ideas in a longer work.
sillypunk's review
5.0
These are all so wonderful: https://blogendorff.com/2019/05/27/book-review-citadel-of-weeping-pearls/