In the Vanishers Palace, Aliette de Bodard
In the Vanishers Palace, Aliette de Bodard
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In the Vanishers' Palace

Author: Aliette de Bodard

Narrator: Nancy Wu

Unabridged: 6 hr 44 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/02/2019

Categories: Fiction, Fantasy, Dragons


Synopsis

From the award-winning author of the Dominion of the Fallen series comes a dark retelling of Beauty and the Beast.

In a ruined, devastated world, where the earth is poisoned and beings of nightmares roam the land . . .

A woman, betrayed, terrified, sold into indenture to pay her village's debts and struggling to survive in a spirit world.

A dragon, among the last of her kind, cold and aloof but desperately trying to make a difference.

When failed scholar Yên is sold to Vu Côn, one of the last dragons walking the earth, she expects to be tortured or killed for Vu Côn's amusement.

But Vu Côn, it turns out, has a use for Yên: she needs a scholar to tutor her two unruly children. She takes Yên back to her home, a vast, vertiginous palace-prison where every door can lead to death. Vu Côn seems stern and unbending, but as the days pass Yên comes to see her kinder and caring side. She finds herself dangerously attracted to the dragon who is her master and jailer. In the end, Yên will have to decide where her own happiness lies—and whether it will survive the revelation of Vu Côn's dark, unspeakable secrets . . .

Contains mature themes.

About Aliette de Bodard

Aliette de Bodard lives and works in Paris. She is the author of the critically acclaimed Xuya universe series, as well as numerous short stories which have garnered her three Nebula Awards, a Locus Award, and five British Science Fiction Association Awards.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Lois on July 30, 2019

This story was pitched to my interest by a comparison to the fairy tale Beauty & the Beast, and yeah, those bones are under there, but the referent to which I was put most disturbingly in mind was Cordwainer Smith's classic short story "A Planet Named Shayol". Incomprehensible magical-technological......more

Goodreads review by Mel (Epic Reading) on April 22, 2019

The issue with speculative fiction (a genre that is essentially science fiction and fantasy together) is that it can be very confusing. I love the idea of really unique stories being told; but when you take out a base premise that is easily understood by your reader then you need to provide some tet......more

Goodreads review by Silvia on February 18, 2020

2.5 stars This book was eye-opening for me because I've had multiple realizations while listening to it, first and foremost the realization that not caring about a book is a much worse feeling than not liking it. This book was... objectively fine. It had things I like in theory but didn't care for her......more

Goodreads review by Genevieve on October 16, 2018

Loved it. A beautiful read - rich, detailed, enjoyable, meaningful.......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on October 14, 2018

In the Vanishers' Palace is the third Beauty and the Beast retelling I've read recently (I can't help it, it's my favourite fairytale so I can never resist retellings!) and I think it was the most unique of the three. Aliette de Bodard has created a really interesting world based on Vietnamese mytho......more