Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders by Aliette de Bodard

Lunar New Year should be a time for familial reunions, ancestor worship, and consumption of an unhealthy amount of candied fruit.

But when dragon prince Thuan brings home his brooding and ruthless husband Asmodeus for the New Year, they find not interminable family gatherings, but a corpse outside their quarters. Asmodeus is thrilled by the murder investigation; Thuan, who gets dragged into the political plotting he’d sworn off when he left, is less enthusiastic.

It’ll take all of Asmodeus’s skill with knives, and all of Thuan’s diplomacy, to navigate this one—as well as the troubled waters of their own relationship….

Thanks to author for the review copy!

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders is a novella set after the third Dominion of the Fallen book, The House of Sundering Flames. However, I can attest that it is possible to read it as a standalone.

The story is a delightful mix of cozy murder mystery and court intrigue, led by an improbable yet…endearing power couple: a dragon prince and his fallen angel husband. Their dynamic is one of the best aspects of the novella. Think “this is why I don’t like bringing you to things”/ “sorry babe I couldn’t hear you over all the stabbing I’m doing”. I admit that what attracted me about the blurb was the fact that the main characters were married. Established couples are so rare in SFF stories and I am always partial to them.

Thuan and Asmodeus didn’t disappoint. While Thuan was walking on eggshells, navigating the treacherous court of the kingdom of the Seine to solve a murder that could spell trouble for the entire dynasty, Asmodeus was bludgeoning ahead with all the subtlety and finesse of…well, a bludgeon. And it was extremely fun to follow.

The worldbuilding was lush and intriguing, and since the novella was bite-size, it whet my appetite for more. Warring courts in magical gothic Paris? Lunar New Year festivities in an underwater kingdom of dragon shifters? Yes, yes please.

Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders featured some of my favourite tropes and perfectly delivered on them. Aliette de Bodard is working on another novella with the Disaster Husbands. I’ll be first in line to grab it!