Navigational Entanglements

Starred review from April 15, 2024
This magnificent space opera from Nebula Award winner de Bodard (A Fire Born of Exile) is simultaneously electric and heartwarming, full of breathless queer romance, shifting clan politics, and many cups of tea. Young misfits from each of the four navigator clans are sent on a near-impossible mission: find and “deal with” a Tangler. Hard to detect and harder to kill, these long, spindly beasts live in the Hollows, a void where ships travel faster than light. Following an accident, however, one Tangler has escaped this zone and is on the loose in occupied space. With their clans’ reputations on the line, the four envoys—Nhi from the Rooster clan, Hạc Cúc from the Snakes, Lành from the Oxes, and Bảo Duy from the Rats­­—must overcome their dislike for one another and find the courage and means to do the right thing. Nhi is a shy “book nerd” obsessed with secrets and prone to sensory overload, while Hạc Cúc is prickly and quick to violence, convinced that she will never live up to her mentor. The two have an instant connection, but both struggle to create lasting relationships. De Bodard loads the narrative with unexpected twists and intricate interpersonal relationships. Fans and new readers alike will devour this.

May 1, 2024

One of the monsters that roam the spaceways has escaped from that space beyond the stars. Vi�-t Nhi is assigned to the investigatory mission, along with representatives from the other mercantile clans. But the mission's leader is an incompetent jerk, the obviously flawed representatives already hate each other, and it's clear to the observant but secretive loner Nhi that the mission is intended to fail. When it succeeds anyway, Nhi and her frenemy Ha-c C�c manage to work together long enough to learn who is really responsible for a murder plot on a massive scale--and whether it will be worth the price they will both pay to even attempt to stop it. Fans of de Bodard's Hugo Award-winning "Xuya Universe" series will find similarities in this standalone novel, and for those curious about Xuya and looking for a way in, this book includes many of the elements that make that series so compelling, but in a shorter, self-contained work. VERDICT Readers of SF mysteries inflected with sapphic romance and political or corporate shenanigans, such as Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow and Station Eternity by Mur Lafferty, will become entangled in the latest from de Bodard (Fireheart Tiger).--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 16, 2024
A ship's navigator has let a Tangler--a creature of the void which feeds on thought--loose somewhere near a habitat, which could be an epic disaster. Since only navigators have the tools to deal with Tanglers, the empire demands envoys from each clan join in the hunt. Việt Nhi is the Rooster's choice, and when the imperial representative is poisoned, she steps up, despite not being good with people, and convinces her squabbling teammates to work together to finish their mission. Their mission, it turns out, isn't what it seems--and their success or failure will have far-reaching consequences for their future. De Bodard's deft world-building skills are evident in this terrific combination of wuxia-inspired thriller and romance, as the juniors navigate an almost-impossible task, and Nhi finds herself entangled in the beginnings of a relationship with Hac C�c, the Snake junior. The romance is whirlwind but perfectly paced, and the build-up from simple monster hunt to something much more consequential packs a significant punch into a very slim volume.

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July 1, 2024
A group of novice navigators is assigned to recover a dangerous monster in deep space. Việt Nhi is a junior member of the Rooster clan, one of the four opposed navigator clans that shepherd ships through the Hollows--a largely unexplained shortcut in space for faster travel. Nhi was already having a hard time with people and politics before a tangler--one of the enormous deadly tendriled monsters that reside in the Hollows--is set loose. That's when she meets Hạc C�c, of the Snake clan, as well as an apprentice from each of the two other clans: The four of them have been given the job of capturing the tangler. On assignment, the misfit navigators butt heads, play political chess with etiquette--deploying honorifics as slander--and challenge the aloof imperial envoy while trying to figure out who released the tangler. Nhi is a work in progress, but she acts as the glue for this group and this story, a flawed person who's willing to put her life at risk to do what's right, refusing to stand by. Xianxia-style Chinese fantasy meets a novel of manners and romance in the vein of Pride and Prejudice as the book follows Nhi and Hạc C�c, who will have to get past their misconceptions about each other and embrace their feelings. This tight book, best enjoyed in a single day, is only a bite-sized story within an imagined universe that could easily exist beyond the central mystery. The story could have benefited from more space to breathe. A quirky Sapphic space opera that deserved more pages.

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