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A review by kentcryptid
The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard
4.0
The Citadel... is a novella full of interesting concepts, but a little light on character development.
I loved how many mind-expanding ideas were crammed into its space-faring empire setting. A character travels in time but finds herself trapped in a ghost-like state. The preserved personalities of dead emperors whisper to their descendants. A woman with a spaceship for a daughter struggles to manage her mixed feelings about her offspring. And war is looming.
In brief, there's a ton going on here. There are also four POV characters, which is a lot for a short book. I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them, but I did genuinely love the world building, so I'll be giving the other stories set in this universe a try.
I loved how many mind-expanding ideas were crammed into its space-faring empire setting. A character travels in time but finds herself trapped in a ghost-like state. The preserved personalities of dead emperors whisper to their descendants. A woman with a spaceship for a daughter struggles to manage her mixed feelings about her offspring. And war is looming.
In brief, there's a ton going on here. There are also four POV characters, which is a lot for a short book. I didn't feel like I really got to know any of them, but I did genuinely love the world building, so I'll be giving the other stories set in this universe a try.