It wasn’t until the recent Nebula nominations that I had read Aliette de Bodard, but “Immersion” sucked me right in and I ordered this one right away after finishing the short story. Not surprisingly I had come across this novella before and also avoided it because of the cover art. I feel ashamed to say that given how much I took to this story but it is very true. I think the book itself is very nicely made, however, in spite of the cover image. I would like to see a nice collection of her work in this universe all in one beautiful package though.

I thought the ending worked very well though I could not guess at all what was going to happen. The build up was very tense and I felt like the story could have went in many directions, which is one of its strengths.

I too know that there is a lot I’m missing because of my lack of knowledge about various Asian cultures and customs and the fact that this did not mar my enjoyment of the story is another thing that speaks to her talent.

I just got word from Aliette de Bodard that she has agreed to come back to SF Signal for a second interview. If you have any questions you would like to put in the mix, Paul, please let me know.

I better stop now or I’ll be gushing here like I did in my review.