Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight

A stunning and vibrant collection from a rising star of the genre. This collection of fourteen tales showcase the range and talent that garnered Aliette de Bodard multiple awards, from Nebulas to the Locus Award. From a dark Gothic Paris devastated by a magical war, where Fallen angels, dragons and magicians intrigue in the drawing rooms of ruined mansions; to the Vietnamese-tinged space opera universe of Xuya, where sentient spaceships become the heart and living memory of families and scholar-officials travel from planets to space stations. In the Nebula award and Locus award winning "e;Immersion"e;, two women on a colonised space station grapple with loss of identity and culture. In the Hugo finalist "e;Children of Thorns, Children of Water"e;, a shapeshifting dragon on an infiltration mission to a ruined mansion must rescue his partner from creepy, child-like creatures. And in "e;A Salvaging of Ghosts,"e; a diver-scavenger cast off into deep spaces faces a dying midship and the ghost of her daughter. Unique to this collection is a new novella, "e;Of Birthdays, and Fungus, and Kindness"e;, set in Bodard's alternative dark Paris. Praise for Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight:"e;This stunning collection showcases de Bodard's lush worldbuilding, meticulous research, and emotional prose."e; Library Journal (starred review)"e;De Bodard (The House of Shattered Wings, 2015) proves, again and again, that space opera can be intensely personal against its galactic backdrop . The collection covers the consequences of war, survival in colonial culture, motherhood, mindships and space-travel, and aspects of grief."e; Booklist