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A review by lostinagoodbook
In the Vanishers' Palace by Aliette de Bodard
2.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an un-biased review.
In the Vanisher’s Palace is imaginative. It is vivid and colorful. The book draws on Vietnamese language, culture and style. The author is herself a Franco-Vietnamese woman who has a strong rating on Goodreads. All that being true, I’m not sure why I had a difficult time with this book. I have a couple of theories.
Number 1 – the source material. It is a loose re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I love Belle as much as the next girl, but I think we’re all adult enough to admit that story is problematic at best. A young woman of promise is abducted and falls in love with her captor. Ms. de Bodard does a good job of trying to ameliorate these issues that are hard boiled into the plot. Her Beauty and Beast (in this case a dragon/woman hybrid) have an immediate attraction. This lays to rest ideas of Stockholm syndrome, but in the process some of the tension is lost. In fact, the characters become romantically involved very early in the book. Then there is the dragon sex. Maybe some readers will like it, it’s just not my jam. I like the dragons though! The castle is also mind bending and a real plus!
Number 2 – I had trouble understanding what was going on sometimes. I’ve encountered this with some other fantasy books. The reader is thrust into a situation where the learning curve is high, and there is not enough opportunity to familiarize yourself with what is going on. In this case, there was a history of “Vanisher’s” who at some point left the planet after first abusing the population and ruining the environment. But you’re never quite sure what was going on with them, how are they connected to the current cast of characters, and what exactly went on here. I need to have a more concrete understanding of a book by at least 50% and in this case I didn’t.
I think this book could be appreciated by other readers. I am not the right person for this one. My thinking is a little too linear I think to appreciate what the author was going for.
Song for this book: The Light Before We Land by The Delgados
In the Vanisher’s Palace is imaginative. It is vivid and colorful. The book draws on Vietnamese language, culture and style. The author is herself a Franco-Vietnamese woman who has a strong rating on Goodreads. All that being true, I’m not sure why I had a difficult time with this book. I have a couple of theories.
Number 1 – the source material. It is a loose re-telling of Beauty and the Beast. I love Belle as much as the next girl, but I think we’re all adult enough to admit that story is problematic at best. A young woman of promise is abducted and falls in love with her captor. Ms. de Bodard does a good job of trying to ameliorate these issues that are hard boiled into the plot. Her Beauty and Beast (in this case a dragon/woman hybrid) have an immediate attraction. This lays to rest ideas of Stockholm syndrome, but in the process some of the tension is lost. In fact, the characters become romantically involved very early in the book. Then there is the dragon sex. Maybe some readers will like it, it’s just not my jam. I like the dragons though! The castle is also mind bending and a real plus!
Number 2 – I had trouble understanding what was going on sometimes. I’ve encountered this with some other fantasy books. The reader is thrust into a situation where the learning curve is high, and there is not enough opportunity to familiarize yourself with what is going on. In this case, there was a history of “Vanisher’s” who at some point left the planet after first abusing the population and ruining the environment. But you’re never quite sure what was going on with them, how are they connected to the current cast of characters, and what exactly went on here. I need to have a more concrete understanding of a book by at least 50% and in this case I didn’t.
I think this book could be appreciated by other readers. I am not the right person for this one. My thinking is a little too linear I think to appreciate what the author was going for.
Song for this book: The Light Before We Land by The Delgados