Months after its release, Marie Brennan’s DRIFTWOOD continues to garner interest.

Axie Barclay for MANHATTAN BOOK REVIEW enjoys the mosaic novel.

From the lived-in feel of the world to the mysteries surrounding Last, let alone the creatures from all the worlds emerging from the Mist, Brennan is at her most creative with this work. From religious zealotry to loners trying to save their little stretch of earth or memory of their people, Driftwood is as diverse as the Shreds themselves. Definitely worth a read. 

At FANTASY LITERATURE, both Kat Hooper and Jane Nyman feel much the same

I enjoyed most of the tales, though, and hope that Brennan will revisit this setting for a full-length novel in the future.

I listened to the audiobook which was produced by Tantor Audio and beautifully narrated by Christina Delaine. I recommend this version! 

~Kat Hooper

Bill’s comparison between DRIFTWOOD and Invisible Cities is quite apt — the quilted-together nature of the stories, the otherworldliness and yet almost-recognizability of Driftwood’s lands and peoples, the stories they tell each other and themselves about who they are and where they came from, all evoke Italo Calvino at his finest, and I can’t think of a better compliment to pay to Marie Brennan.

[…]

[I’d] recommend it to anyone who’s already a fan of Marie Brennan or to anyone who is looking for an introduction to her work.

~Jana Nyman

Mentions of DRIFTWOOD abound on REDDIT.

r/booksuggestions Your favorite shorter books (under 250 pages)

I recently read the new book by Marie Brennan called DRIFTWOOD. Had about 200 pages and was very interesting.

The world was something i never read before. Very unique and well written.

Baroness_Lori

The /r/Fantasy Monthly Book Discussion Thread

Loved it! I’m a big Lady Trent fan, and I enjoyed this jaunt into a different world. I hope she writes more books in this setting, it was very creative and fun, and the story really stuck with me.

thesphinxistheriddle

As part of r/Fantasy’s What are some physically good looking looking fantasy/sci fi books?, chem9dog included the book under “And here’s a list of normal books you can get anywhere that I think are just plain gorgeous even without a fancy edition.”

Nicky @ The Bibliophibian includes a selection from the book in Top Ten Tuesday: Favourite Book Quotes.

Paggarat was less doomed than they wagered, not because of how long it lasted but because of how it went out. Because of Aun and Esr, smiling at each other until the end of the world.

For BOOK VIEW CAFÉ, Brennnan offers her thoughts on hospitality.

After that tour through the unpleasant things humans do to each other, let’s turn our thoughts to something nicer.

You may think it odd that I’m discussing hospitality, given that my patrons voted for a set of economic topics this month. But we’re going to be looking at concepts of generosity and charity, and from that perspective, it seems only natural to begin with hospitality: the welcoming of a guest into your home.

Specifically, welcoming a traveler. We also take in guests on a more casual, short-term basis, when somebody comes by for dinner or to have a conversation, but for our purposes here I’m focusing on travelers. These days we talk about the “hospitality industry,” as if there are factories somewhere churning out a product for customers to buy — and in a sense, that’s true. Hotel chains operate on the promise of mass-produced accommodations, rentable for a set time in exchange for money.

But hospitality used to mean a good deal more. It wasn’t financial; it was sacred.