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Seven of Infinities by Aliette de Bodard

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pshotts's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

laurareads87's review

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adventurous mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This is the third story I've read in the Universe of Xuya, a large collection of relatively stand-alone short stories and novellas set in a world where, in the author's words, "Asia became dominant, and where the space age has Confucian galactic empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration: scholars administrate planets, and sentient spaceships are part of familial lineages." I have enjoyed them all.

"Seven of Infinities" follows Vân, a tutor with a secret that would cost her her job, and The Wild Orchid In The Sunless Woods, a mindship who isn't who she appears to be. When Uyên, the young woman Vân tutors, receives a mysterious visitor who promptly dies on her floor, the characters must investigate to find out who might be targetting one or more of them and why.

I really like the Xuya universe as a setting. I liked the character development in this story, which felt thorough despite the novella's short length. What didn't work for me was the romance, which felt very abrupt.

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