The Red Scholar's Wake

'A great sapphic sci-fi'

SAMANTHA SHANNON

Xich Si: bot maker, data analyst, mother, scavenger. But those days are over now-her ship has just been captured by the Red Banner pirate fleet, famous for their double-dealing and cruelty. Xich Si expects to be tortured to death-only for the pirates' enigmatic leader, Rice Fish, to arrive with a different and shocking proposition: an arranged marriage between Xich Si and herself.

Rice Fish: sentient ship, leader of the infamous Red Banner pirate fleet, wife of the Red Scholar. Or at least, she was the latter before her wife died under suspicious circumstances. Now isolated and alone, Rice Fish wants Xich Si's help to find out who struck against them and why. Marrying Xich Si means Rice Fish can offer Xich Si protection, in exchange for Xich Si's technical fluency: a business arrangement with nothing more to it.

But as the investigation goes on, Rice Fish and Xich Si find themselves falling for each other. As the interstellar war against piracy intensifies and the five fleets start fighting each other, they will have to make a stand-and to decide what kind of future they have together...

An exciting space opera and a beautiful romance from an exceptional SF author, shortlisted for the 2023 Arthur C. Clarke Award.

'Confident, sexy, and touching'

MAX GLADSTONE

'An exhilarating dive into space piracy'

EVERINA MAXWELL

'A fizzingly inventive space opera'

ALASTAIR REYNOLDS

'The most glittery and delicious candy-shell'

FREYA MARSKE

'A "read-in-one-sitting" novel'

KATE ELLIOTT

'An epic tale of piracy and romance'

GARETH L. POWELL

'It took my breath away!'

STEPHANIE BURGIS

'LESBIAN SPACE PIRATES. Enough said'

KATEE ROBERT

A "read-in-one-sitting" novel with a beautifully-realized setting amid a complex examination of power and consequences, all intertwined with an intense and gripping romance. -- Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun Kate Elliott, author of Unconquerable Sun
De Bodard's novel, with its rich overlay of Vietnamese culture, is a sumptuous, romantic experience The Financial Times
A gripping science fiction adventure, full of cool science-fictional ideas, plot twists, and high stakes . . . Most importantly, this story has heart, with characters you really care about Laura J Mixon, author of Up Against It and the Avatars Dance trilogy
Intense, gripping, and beautifully-realized Kate Elliott, author of UNCONQUERABLE SUN
An epic tale of piracy and romance in the void of space. A new book from Aliette de Bodard is always a treasure Gareth L Powell, award-winning author of Stars and Bones
Thrillingly exciting and achingly romantic, The Red Scholar's Wake is rich with political intrigue and piratical adventure. It took my breath away! Stephanie Burgis, author of SNOWSPELLED and SCALES AND SENSIBILITY
Confident, sexy, and touching - The Red Scholar's Wake gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "star-crossed lovers"! Max Gladstone, Hugo and Nebula award-winning author

A Xuya-verse f/f romance about lesbian space pirates and it's SO GOOD
One of the protagonists is a sentient space ship, and the descriptions of her are absolutely swoon-worthy

Susan, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
The Red Scholar's Wake is a fizzingly inventive space opera, quite unlike anything I've encountered before, and told with style, grace, and a big dose of heart. SF is lucky to have Aliette de Bodard Alastair Reynolds, SUNDAY TIMES bestselling author
The Red Scholar's Wake takes you on an exhilarating dive into space piracy with passion, politics, dazzling settings, and-even better-a profound core of love transcending hopelessness that rings throughout the story Everina Maxwell, author of WINTER’S ORBIT
Space pirates, a marriage of convenience, and a world that feels really fresh-you don't want to miss this one! Katee Robert, NYT bestselling author of NEON GODS
So romantic I may simply perish Tasha Suri, author of THE JASMINE THRONE

Aliette de Bodard is one of the Writers of the Future, has won two Nebula Awards, a Locus Award and a BSFA Award. She has also been a finalist for the Hugo, Sturgeon, and Tiptree Awards, making her one of our most-lauded contemporary fiction writers. A writer by night, by day she is a qualified engineer, specialising in Applied Mathematics. She lives in Paris, in a flat with more computers than she really needs. You can learn more at or by following b>@aliettedb</b on twitter.

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