Wayward Reviews

The Red Scholar’s Wake blends space opera with an intriguing political undercurrent and unconventional romance. While it’s a bold and imaginative concept, readers may find elements of the world-building and character dynamics challenging to connect with.

Book Synopsis

Book Details

Pages: 321

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Publisher: Gollancz / Illumicrate

Format: Hardback

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…

*Please note I do use affiliate links occasionally

Review

* Non-Spoiler Review*

My first Illumicrate book of the year. At one stage I was subscribed to two book subscription boxes. Now, I am only getting one (Fairyloot) – due to my low reading completion rate.

The Red Scholar’s Wake is a book I have had on my shelf for 3 years! I know I was apprehensive to read it as it had a science fiction premise (and I do not really enjoy Sci Fi).

So in one moment, I am happy that I got through this book and in the second moment, this book had many elements that I struggled with.

The first element I struggled with, is the fact you are expected to understand very quickly the world – I mean within the first chapter. Next is the characters love interest feels forced and not at all natural, not to mention the robotics of it all.

Surprisingly though, I did want to finish the book. There was something the drew me enough that I wanted to know how the story ends. However, when I finished it – I was underwhelmed.

Overall, I was impressed with the world idea…it just wasn’t executed well.

Spice Rating: 2.5/6 – See my rating system here

Book Rating: 3/5