American-born Aliette de Bodard is half-French, half-Vietnamese and all writer. Her splendid On A Red Station, Drifting takes traditional Vietnamese ancestor-worship to a new high in a far-future, new-old, Dai Viet empire.
De Bodard’s writing, like the brocaded subject itself can be a little stilted at times, but when the characters live with docking star ships, brain implants, and artificial intelligence on a space station orbiting a red sun, their adventures are never boring.
If you like space opera and have any sort of acquaintance with Vietnamese language, cusine and culture, you shouldn’t miss this unique story. And it’s a good introduction to a young writer who, so far, has one other good offering about this 23-planet imperial dynasty and, hopefully, many more on the way.
THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER 