A review by anna_hepworth
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is an immense, richly detailed setting, with details that are so far into future science that they are magic with pretty labels, and it was an absolute delight to read. Multiple viewpoint characters, across a range of class levels in a highly hierarchical empire, each with a unique inner voice that made reading them so easy to distinguish. 

And while it is, to some extent, a story of political intrigue and space based war, those are the edges of the story, the big picture backdrop to an intensely personal set of stories about family, love, and loss.