Seven of Infinities
About this ebook
On a string of orbitals called the Scattered Pearls Belt lives Sunless Woods—sentient spaceship, master of disguise, and master thief who chafes against the obscurity that comes with her retirement. There, too, lives Vân, a poor scholar with little confidence but plenty of heart, and whose income comes from tutoring a wealthy student.
Their lives are turned upside down when Vân finds a corpse in her student's quarters and Sunless Woods, intrigued by Vân's sense of justice, offers her help. Scholar and spaceship must chase the mystery around the empire's forgotten edge: from rundown teahouses to ascetic havens, and even in the wreck of a spaceship—and all the while, they begin to fall for each other in earnest. But the secrets they’ve kept from each other are large and devastating—will they and their love survive the revelations?
REVIEWS
“With this lush, immersive sci-fi tale, de Bodard (The House of Sundering Flames) delves into a world as gritty as it is ethereal... [R]eaders will be swept away by the vivid prose, intrigue, and romance of this intricate tale. This fascinating, unusual story is sure to entrance.” -Publishers Weekly
“Seven of Infinities is a novella concerned with forgiveness, deserved or not, about cages, self-made or otherwise. It concerns itself with growth, with grace, with ruthlessness and its costs and consequences. It’s a tightly written jewel of a story, intense and full of feeling, and I recommend it highly.” -Liz Bourke, Locus
“A magnificent sf mystery, nuanced, intense, and romantic, with a complex, clever plot nested inside de Bodard’s rich, evocative, and vivid Xuya universe.” -Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun and Cold Magic
Other stories in the Xuya Universe (stories can each be read independently)
1. On a Red Station, Drifting
2. The Citadel of Weeping Pearls
3. Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight
4. The Tea Master and the Detective
5. Seven of Infinities
Ratings and reviews
About the author
Aliette de Bodard lives and works in Paris, where she has a day job as a System Architect. She studied Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, but moonlights as a writer of speculative fiction. Aliette has won three Nebula Awards, a Locus Award, a British Fantasy Award and four British Science Fiction Association Awards, and was a double Hugo finalist for 2019 (Best Series and Best Novella). Her most recent book is Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders, (JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.) a fantasy of manners and murders set in an alternate 19th Century Vietnamese court. She is the author of the Dominion of the Fallen trilogy, set in a turn-of-the-century Paris devastated by a magical war–which comprises The House of Shattered Wings (Roc/Gollancz, 2015 British Science Fiction Association Award, Locus Award finalist), and The House of Binding Thorns (Ace/Gollancz, 2017 European Science Fiction Society Achievement Award, Locus award finalist), and The House of Sundering Flames. She also wrote Fireheart Tiger (Tor.com), a sapphic romantic fantasy set in a Vietnamese-esque court. Her short story collection Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight is out from Subterranean Press. Her space opera books also include The Tea Master and the Detective (2018 Nebula Award winner, 2018 British Fantasy Award winner, 2019 Hugo Award finalist), a murder mystery set on a space station in a Vietnamese Galactic empire, inspired by the characters of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. Visit her website www.aliettedebodard.com for free fiction (including further short stories set in the same universe as this one), Vietnamese and French recipes and more.
