It may be ten years or so since I read this, and I had forgotten how good it is. Set at the Versailles court of Louis XIV, it is the story of Marie-Josèphe de la Croix and a captive sea monster, destined for slaughter for royal entertainment, and how her realisation of the captive’s personhood revolutionises Marie-Josèphe’s world, all in lush yet intense prose. Presumably it was one of the sources at the back of Neal Stephenson’s mind for the Baroque series set around the same time.

The Moon and the Sun won the 1998 Nebula for Best Novel, one of those years when the Nebula process came up with an admirable choice from a strong field. I have read three of the other shortlisted books, and two of them – Bujold’s Memory and George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones – are particular favourites of mine, though perhaps less obvious Nebula winners. I have also read (though was much less impressed by) Connie Willis’ BellwetherKing’s Dragon by Kate Elliott, Ancient Shores by Jack McDevitt, and City on Fire by Walter Jon Williams. (Blue Mars and Forever Peace won the Hugos around this time.)