Fantasy Novella Review: Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard

 


Full Disclosure:  This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained from the author in advance of the book's updated release on June 28, 2022 in exchange for a potential review.  I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book.

Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances by Aliette de Bodard 

Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances is the latest novella in Aliette de Bodard's "Dominion of the Fallen" universe, and more specifically, is the second of her "murderhusband" novellas that feature the heads of House Hawthorn*, lovable and just dragon prince Thuan and the sadistic, sarcastic, assholish but fiercely protective of his own fallen angel Asmodeus.  The first of these novellas was 2020's Of Dragons, Feasts, Murders, which I absolutely loved and still quote on occasion, being both a fun mystery, a fun trip with these great characters, and well, actually poignant and relevant themes about misrule, corruption and change in bureaucracies.  So yeah, I was excited to see another sequel novella come out.  

*As of Book 2, The House of Binding Thorns - this fact is so impossible to talk around that well, I'm not even going to try.  Nothing else about these novellas requires reading of book 2 though, although it is referenced a few ties in this novella.*

And Of Charms, Ghosts, and Grievances features another strong murder mystery as Thuan and Asmodeus are vacationing and well, babysitting, in the dragon kingdom once more.  The story isn't quite as generally politically applicable as its predecessor, but the mystery remains strong, the relationship between Thuan and Asmodeus and their characters remain excellent, as do the two new characters that join them this time.  Oh and this is a book about protecting children and two parental figures with very different mindsets, and oh my god are all the scenes with the kids so damn cute.  It may not be up to the same level as the first novella, but this is still damn fun and adorable at times, even as Thuan and Asmodeus are dealing with ghosts, abusive/murderous exorcists, and a whole lot of danger.  

More specifics after the jump:

Quick Plot Summary:  On vacation once more in the Dragon Kingdom under the Seine, Thuan and Asmodeus are trying to spend a night babysitting their two nieces - as well as a few other family children - when they discover that their 6 charges have become 7, and the seventh child isn't actually alive.  But the fact that this new child is a ghost is only the start of their problems, as the girl leads them to the shrine of an extremely obscure Immortal, where they find the corpse of a recently murdered bureaucrat.  And as Thuan and Asmodeus try to solve the murder - and how to deal with or care for the ghost girl in the meantime - they find their relationship suddenly in conflict over how to handle the situation, which doesn't make things easier when they find themselves the next target of the magic-wielding murderer......

Thoughts:  The usual dynamic of the Murderhusbands you expect in a mystery is: Bored Asmodeus gets excited over a murder and decides to go all stabby and direct at the problem, while Thuan tries to convince him to handle things diplomatically.  That was the successful formula underlying the last novella, and obviously those character dynamics haven't wholly changed here.....but this novella still goes in a different direction anyway, with Asmodeus and Thuan struggling over their differences as to how to handle a ghost child - who is a child yes but also one who needs blood (and likely has killed) for sustenance.  Add in Asmodeus being direct as usual and taking on significant pain on himself to help the ghost girl, and well, you have a relationship conflict that underlies this story and is really the most important bit here: with Thuan both being too willing to sacrifice himself and to not care for himself while also being a bit too inflexible and scared of the killer child to recognize the softness underneath; meanwhile Asmodeus doesn't want to see Thuan make another sacrifice and also sees himself in the child - and naturally is protective of those who he cares about in his charges.  

It's a relationship conflict that's really well done, along with a very strong mystery/adventure plotline that works well, with great side characters in the two nieces (both of whom have been hilariously corrupted by Asmodeus' style of parenting) and in an official they obtain as an ally and most impressively, in an old flame of Thuan's who he still is on good terms with who is just hilarious.  I loved her so much, and how she plays off Asmodeus is utterly delightful.  

The result is a story that gives us more of the same two major characters I loved previously, deals with relationship conflicts and children really well, and has an adventure that works very well all around it.  If I rate it lower than the prior novella, that says more about how relevant that novella was than anything wrong with this one, as this one is still great, and I'll take a third Murderhusbands novella in a second.