In a STARRED review, PUBLISHERS WEEKLY praises R. B. Lemberg’s forthcoming THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES (not due until September, but available for pre-order from your favorite bookseller or direct from Tachyon).

Lemberg’s outstanding debut novel expands on the short stories of the Birdverse that they have been publishing for about a decade, most frequently in the lit mag Beneath Ceaseless Skies, drawing readers into a lush desert world and the two elders from different cultures navigating its wilds.

Andi C Buchanan at NERDS OF A FEATHER, FLOCK TOGETHER is really excited about the book.

2. What upcoming book are you really excited about? 
Oh no, this whole interview is going to have to be about choosing just one, isn’t it? I am very much looking forward to R.B. Lemberg’s THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES. I’ve been following Lemberg’s shorter work for a number of years; it’s beautiful and warm and comforting, and hopeful without falling into the trap of skirting tougher issues or minimising them. The Birdverse verse (of which THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES is a part) is filled with people you don’t find as often as one might like in fiction, and yet resonate so strongly for me. I’m really excited about seeing what Lemberg does at novella length.

Lemberg recently participated in their first REDDIT AMA at r/Fantasy.

PristineEnthusiasm
Hello R.B.! I am excited to see The Four Profound Weaves coming out this fall. Could you talk a bit about the book?

AMA Author R.B. Lemberg
Thank you so much for the question! I think at its heart this book is about hope and death – it’s about two older people who essentially gave up on their lives but are now coming into their own, discovering the heart of their art, becoming heroes.

THE FOUR PROFOUND WEAVES follows two trans people in their sixties, who have alternating viewpoints. The nameless man is a trans man who has finally transitioned after forty years of wanting to do so, but being unable to do so because of pressure from his society and his loved ones. Uiziya, one of the friends who helped the nameless man transition, comes from a culture where being trans is not a big deal, and transitions are celebratory events. Uiziya is a trans woman who transitioned as a child. She is a weaver from a lineage of famous weavers, most importantly her aunt, Benesret, who was teaching her the secrets of the desert’s four profound weaves: change, wanderlust, hope, and death. But Benesret was exiled before she could finish teaching Uiziya. The two MCs begin a journey to find Benesret: Uiziya wants Benesret to finish teaching her, and the nameless man wants Benesret to give him a new name. Thus begins a journey that ultimately will lead them back to the nameless man’s home city on the edge of the desert. There, they must confront the sinister ruler of that city, the Collector, who hoards art and the bones of the women he murders.