Over at the Kirkus  blog, Ana and Thea from the Book Smugglers kindly review On a Red Station, Drifting. Aka wow.

This is an extremely political story in every sense of the word: on a macro scale of fighting for one’s beliefs in impossible situations and within the microcosm of the domestic, the individual—this dichotomy not really a dichotomy at all, as the micro and macro often intertwine in an inextricable tangle.

This is a beautifully realized story and the characters, plot, theme and writing are expertly crafted. My one regret is that I did not read it before we sent out our Hugo Award Nominations.

So, it’s occurred to me I didn’t actually provide this for my latest release–accordingly, there you go, author’s notes for On a Red Station, Drifting.

I started writing On a Red Station, Drifting after one too many readings of the Chinese classic  Dream of Red Mansions, and musing on old literature.

It’s no secret that “classical literature”, at least the brand taught in French schools, is overwhelmingly male and concerned with “male” affairs: wars, violence, fatherhood, father/son relationships… I found the same preoccupation prevalent in SFF, to a point where it became unsettling–it’s a subject covered by Ursula Le Guin in her Language of the Night  and by Joanna Russ in many of her writings. One of the things that drove this home for me was seeing the statistics compiled by Martin Lewis for the Clarke Award (among the highlights: around 90% of the books had at least a male protagonist, a good quarter featured no women main characters at all, and a good 81% of the books had the protagonist kill someone, while only under half the protagonists were in a stable happy relationship).

Continue reading →

A reminder that pre-orders are open for my limited-edition hardback Xuya novella “On a Red Station, Drifting”, and that you save £3 off the cover price of £10 if you preorder–see here for details, including a sampler scene from the book!
(and if you’re still hesitating, there’s a more detailed review over here by @requireshate)

So… remember the Vietnamese-space-station Xuya novella? Pre-orders are now open; and you’ll save £3 from the cover price of £10 if you preorder via the Immersion Press website!

ETA: the ebook is now available here: amazon.com|amazon.co.uk|amazon.fr|smashwords

Here’s a little snippet from the book to whet your appetite (more info here):

Linh arrived on Prosper Station blown by the winds of war, amidst a ship full of refugees who huddled together, speaking earfully of the invading armies: the war between the rebel lords and the Empire had escalated, and their war-kites had laid waste to entire planets.

Continue reading →

Haven’t been posting here because it’s been a rather hectic week, but basically have been plugging away in the trenches. Had an awesome writing weekend in Brittany with Tricia Sullivan and Rochita Loenen-Ruiz during which much world domination was plotted (and much sun enjoyed).

Other than that, the novella has backcover copy!

On a Red Station, Drifting

For generations Prosper Station has thrived under the guidance of its Honoured Ancestress: born of a human womb, the station’s artificial intelligence has offered guidance and protection to its human relatives.

But war has come to the Dai Viet Empire. Prosper’s brightest minds have been called away to defend the Emperor; and a flood of disorientated refugees strain the station’s resources. As deprivations cause the station’s ordinary life to unravel, uncovering old grudges and tearing apart the decimated family, Station Mistress Quyen and the Honoured Ancestress struggle to keep their relatives united and safe. What Quyen does not know is that the Honoured Ancestress herself is faltering, her mind eaten away by a disease that seems to have no cure; and that the future of the station itself might hang in the balance…

It’s forthcoming from Immersion Press sometime before the end of the year, as a limited edition hardback. It’s a bit of a bridge work between the Xuya works (“Ship’s Brother”, “Shipbirth”, “The Shipmaker” etc.) and the space station continuity featured in the two Clarkesworld stories “Scattered Along the River of Heaven” and “Immersion”–aka the three space stations, Prosper(ity), Felicity and Longevity. Yes, the Three Blessings, why do you ask?). Basically, it’s set on a station which has a ruling Mind, and was heavily inspired by too many readings of Dreams of Red Mansions (hence the title) even though I’m sure the resultant story doesn’t actually have much in common with the Chinese classic… Expect, er, space station design, virtual environments, poetry and lots and lots of strong women. And possibly some food porn and some fish sauce porn…