For the past few years, I’ve been working on making my reading less white. As Aarti keeps pointing out, this doesn’t require any shift in my book-reading habits, but only my book-finding habits. And one thing I have found is that if you follow more authors of color (on whatever social media platforms you wish), you’ll find more authors of color. I discovered Aliette de Bodard because I followed Zen Cho (author of Sorcerer to the Crown); since following Aliette de Bodard, I’ve added several more specfic books by authors of color to my TBR list. Because of signal-boosting.
THAT IS A BOOK-FINDING TIP. YOU ARE WELCOME.
The House of Shattered Wings is about creepy angels. Does anyone not love creepy angels? These ones roam the streets of a battered and ruined Paris, trying to survive. Our dubiously ethical hero, Philippe, is neither Fallen nor human, but an Immortal who has been cast out of his native Vietnam and is struggling to find his place in France. When he’s caught by the powerful House Silverspires harvesting the bones of a newly Fallen woman called Isabelle, he finds himself a House prisoner and Isabelle’s unlikely ally. But a dark power is stalking Silverspires, and the House can no longer promise safety to its occupants.
Aliette de Bodard has created a secondary world that’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. All of her characters are ethically compromised, which is, of course, my fave — only Isabelle comes without baggage, and by the end of the book, the world she lives in has forced her to change what she believes and what she will stand for.
But in particular, The House of Shattered Wings excels at atmosphere. I wasn’t overly engaged with the characters on an emotional level (when I read the end and found out about a major death I shrugged), but the atmosphere was more than enough to carry the book. The being that is targeting Silverspires moves through the world like a shadow, and you’ll be glancing over your shoulder if you finish this book at night in a darkened apartment.
You know what else, too? I haven’t read nearly enough books about creepy angels, I’m now realizing. Drop your best creepy angel book recommendations in the comments, por favor!