illegible_scribble
1/29/2019
This is the story of two very damaged beings, and the way that their shared venture helps them work through some of their trauma and learn to trust each other, at least provisionally. It's also a critique of the absolute self-assurance which accompanies fanaticism and is often so extremely destructive.
Although this story is very much in dialogue with Sherlock Holmes, I wasn't even thinking about that the first time I read it, and it reads well even if one is not a Holmes fan. I do love a good science fiction mystery, but the star of this story is the worldbuilding; the mystery is just a bonus.
I'd love to see more stories featuring these characters. As with most of the Xuya stories, this can be read on its own, but is enhanced by having read one or more of the other stories. A good exemplar which can be read for free online is the Nebula-winning, Hugo-finalist novelette "The Waiting Stars".