After enjoying de Bodard’s two novellas, I am READY for the Dominion of the Fallen. Though we own the book, I checked out the House of Shattered Wings audiobook from the library so I could get those words in my brain that much faster. 

In a fantastical alternate history, magic is real and angels fall from the sky—facts that compounded the horrors of the Napoleonic Wars. In this Gothic Belle Époque, Paris lies in ruin, and noble magic houses and gangs fight over scraps. Is it livable? Technically. Will you have a good time? Absolutely not. 

Enter Philippe, against his will. If you’re into wuxia and have read Heaven Official’s Blessing, his situation matches Xiè Lián’s: a Taoist who cultivated his way to immortality and godhood, but the Jade Emperor kicked him out of the Heavens. The French colonials forcibly conscripted him and now he’s stuck in Paris with no way out. His struggle for survival changes when he encounters a newly fallen angel—and the head of House Silverspires who has come to collect her. Suddenly, he’s tossed into the one thing in Paris possibly older than he is: court intrigue, house politics, and void-slick murder. 

My summary focuses on Phillippe because his POV is a good starting point, but other characters hold equal protagonist weight. Phillippe accidentally(?) drinks the fallen angel Isabelle’s blood. I shrieked, “Don’t put that Westerner’s blood in your mouth! You don’t know where it’s been!” and promptly became fascinated by the strange connection it formed between them. A favorite is the elderly alchemist Madeline who uses drugs to escape the horrors of her past. Fallen angel Selene heads House Silverspires and her wife Emmanuel acts as the House’s librarian. And of course, Asmodeus, the bloodthirsty head of House Hawthorne. I’m most looking forward to getting to know him because de Bodard’s been tweeting such awesome tidbits of his marriage to a dragon prince. 

Character, in fact, is where de Bodard shines in this book. There’s a big cast. Each one is locked in the prism of their experience. The POV switches weren’t just fun, but needed. It made me wonder what my glass walls are and how I could expand them. Even when a character did something that I personally thought a little foolish, I knew why they were doing it. In lesser hands, Selene would have run into the Green Principle—stupidity so deep I stopped caring about her—but to the end I wanted her to survive and have a little victory, as a treat. When the angelic characters were first introduced, I despaired I would remember everyone’s name. By the last page, I remembered each one because their personalities, occupations, and priorities were so distinct. 

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve read so many Asian-authored fantasies this year or what, but I didn’t struggle with the world or the plot as much as other reviewers mention. I’m vibin’. The only difficulty I had was due to the audiobook. I couldn’t see the section breaks, so sometimes I was slow on the POV switch uptake. But overall, my enthusiasm for the work remained undiminished from start to finish. 

And yes! It’s very queer! Platonic and romantic bonds hold equal importance in the heart! Hooray! House of Shattered Wings is excellent from primaries to scapulars. Make yourself a cup of tea and get lost in the dark.