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A review by ravensandpages
Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ARC received in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan!
Alright, I've got quite a bit to say about this one, so buckle up and settle in. This novella is the second in a series of married disaster detectives set in Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen universe, which I have not read but will probably get around to after reading these. Asmodeus is the goddamn worst and I love him so, so much. This second mystery interrupts an otherwise pleasant day of Thuan and Asmodeus babysitting his cousin's children when they stumble upon a gruesome scene: the ghost of a starved child inside a desecrated shrine who happens to be the only witness to an official's murder. The culprit will stop at nothing to silence her, and Thuan is forced to navigate solving the crime alongside a very, very long argument with his husband after he takes on feeding the ghost with his life force without consulting Thuan.
The second book improved on some things that I thought detracted from the first; it did a better job of introducing characters and concepts that might have been unfamiliar, but I'd hesitate to say it stands on its own even inside its own series. As much as I adored them, I was very confused on who Ai Nhi and Camille were to Thuan and Asmodeus, as I thought they were part of Thuan's cousin's children until I saw them referred to as their parental figures. I don't remember them being mentioned in the first book at all, but perhaps they're in the original series and I'm just not aware, so feel free to ignore me if you're a Dominion of the Fallen veteran and know what's going on. I also read the finished copy in order to evade some of the typos and errors in the ARC, but still saw some things like phrases being repeated very close together that took me out of the story. In some ways, it felt like the writing process itself had been rushed, and at times I felt the prose lost Thuan's voice.
All that aside, however, I did enjoy the mystery and I greatly enjoy Thuan and Asmodeus as characters. I also adored the introduction of Diem Chau and her ganging up on Thuan with Asmodeus... true queer culture right there. I also ate up every crumb of Thuan and Asmodeus fighting. If you love mess, look no further. I also enjoyed the themes surrounding the actual murder and [redacted culprit] getting what [redacted pronoun] deserved. I don't think I can give this higher than a 3.5, but I would still recommend if you're a fan of gays, ghosts, or fantasy. I think as long as you're willing to put some unaddressed aspects of the worldbuilding aside, this series can absolutely be read and enjoyed without reading the original trilogy. I know I did, and I'd love to see more of them.
Alright, I've got quite a bit to say about this one, so buckle up and settle in. This novella is the second in a series of married disaster detectives set in Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen universe, which I have not read but will probably get around to after reading these. Asmodeus is the goddamn worst and I love him so, so much. This second mystery interrupts an otherwise pleasant day of Thuan and Asmodeus babysitting his cousin's children when they stumble upon a gruesome scene: the ghost of a starved child inside a desecrated shrine who happens to be the only witness to an official's murder. The culprit will stop at nothing to silence her, and Thuan is forced to navigate solving the crime alongside a very, very long argument with his husband after he takes on feeding the ghost with his life force without consulting Thuan.
The second book improved on some things that I thought detracted from the first; it did a better job of introducing characters and concepts that might have been unfamiliar, but I'd hesitate to say it stands on its own even inside its own series. As much as I adored them, I was very confused on who Ai Nhi and Camille were to Thuan and Asmodeus, as I thought they were part of Thuan's cousin's children until I saw them referred to as their parental figures. I don't remember them being mentioned in the first book at all, but perhaps they're in the original series and I'm just not aware, so feel free to ignore me if you're a Dominion of the Fallen veteran and know what's going on. I also read the finished copy in order to evade some of the typos and errors in the ARC, but still saw some things like phrases being repeated very close together that took me out of the story. In some ways, it felt like the writing process itself had been rushed, and at times I felt the prose lost Thuan's voice.
All that aside, however, I did enjoy the mystery and I greatly enjoy Thuan and Asmodeus as characters. I also adored the introduction of Diem Chau and her ganging up on Thuan with Asmodeus... true queer culture right there. I also ate up every crumb of Thuan and Asmodeus fighting. If you love mess, look no further. I also enjoyed the themes surrounding the actual murder and [redacted culprit] getting what [redacted pronoun] deserved. I don't think I can give this higher than a 3.5, but I would still recommend if you're a fan of gays, ghosts, or fantasy. I think as long as you're willing to put some unaddressed aspects of the worldbuilding aside, this series can absolutely be read and enjoyed without reading the original trilogy. I know I did, and I'd love to see more of them.
❧ 3.5 ★