I recently came upon Aliette’s book, The Tea Master and the Detective, which i very much enjoyed and, as i mentioned in that review, i was going to be reading more from Aliette in the future.
So off i went to Aliette’s website to find out more about “The Universe of Xuya”, and so began my hunt to track down each of these stories from years ago and hopefully read them all in chronological order. Before beginning to read, or listen to, these books, it is best to go to that page and have a good read through the background to Xuya and bring yourself up to speed with how everything is in this alternative past/future that Aliette has created.
And so in The Jaguar House, in Shadow we begin our Xuya journey. This story was originally printed in Asimov’s, July 2010 edition, and if you feel inclined i’m sure you can go and buy a second hand copy at your usual second hand places. It’s also in the collection Of Wars, and Memories, and Starlight. Or, instead, you could simply listen to the audio book at StarShipSofa.
If you want to skip all the intro stuff just skip through to 23:58, where the story begins. The narration is by Morag Edwards and it is absolutely delightful and gives the story a wonderful other worldly quality. Admittedly, i listened to this in bed in the pitch dark with the speaker just above my head, and i fully recommend everyone in the whole wide world giving this a go.
Even if you’re not into doing the whole Xuya thing, this is delightful audio book that is soooo well worth a listen simply for its own sake.
Next up: Fleeing Tezcatlipoca.
Aliette’s Page