★★★★☆ A dense book

Of Wars, Memories, and Starlight

Aliette de Bodard

When I call Aliette de Bodard's Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight "dense", what I mean is that there is a lot of stuff packed into a small space. I picked it up because de Bodard's Xuya Universe is a finalist for the 2024 Best Series Hugo, and this collection of stories seemed the easiest way to ease into Xuya. De Bodard is one of those authors who makes her readers work. The detail of the world-building recalls Tolkien, but Tolkien's Middle-Earth was built of elements familiar (to me) from European folklore. De Bodard's heritage is Vietnamese, with which I (like, I suspect, most English-speaking readers) am unfamiliar. Furthermore, it is science fiction, meaning that even Vietnamese culture will only get you so far.

I suggest having a look through de Bodard's Universe of Xuya page before reading the stories. It helped me a lot. The Story Notes at the end of the book begin with a one-paragraph introduction to Xuya, which is also helpful.

There are 14 stories here. Ten of them are Xuya stories. Two take place in de Bodard's "Alternate Paris", and two are standalone. All the stories, however, are united by a feeling of conflict. De Bodard begins her Introduction with the words, "I grew up in the wake of a war." From there she describes the experience of a Vietnamese child growing up in Paris, and how the books she found to read failed to represent her and her world.

As I have already said, it is not an easy read. Both intellectually and emotionally, these stories are tough going. I, however, am glad of this introduction to Xuya, and plan to read more.

Of Wars, Memories, and Starlight on Amazon

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