Publishers Weekly
★ 06/01/2020
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. Uiziya, a weaver of the desert snake-Surun’ people, has waited 40 years for her exiled aunt Benesret to return and teach her the Four Profound Weaves, which would enable her to create a carpet of wind, carpet of sand, a carpet of song, and a carpet of bones. Nen-sasaïr, a trans man from the more urban land of Iyar, only recently revealed his true gender and is now alienated from home and family. He comes to the desert hoping to re-ground himself by asking Benesret for a new name. When the two get tired of waiting, they set out together on a quest to find Benesret themselves and, through her, realize their dreams. Uiziya and nen-sasaïr’s journey is enthralling and frequently moving, as along the way they are repeatedly faced with the choice “to care or not, as all people do.” Lemberg writes deeply considered, evocative portraits of their characters, handling sexuality and gender especially well. This diverse, folkloric fantasy world is a delight to visit. (Sept.)
From the Publisher
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2020 Washington Post Gift Guide
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[STARRED REVIEW] “DEBUT. VERDICT: Nebula-nominated Lemberg’s first novella, set in their deeply queer “Birdverse” universe, presents a beautiful, heartfelt story of change, family, identity, and courage. Centering two older transgender protagonists in the midst of emotional and physical journeys highlights the deep, meaningful prose that Lemberg always brings to their stories.” —Library Journal
[STARRED REVIEW] “Lemberg writes deeply considered, evocative portraits of their characters, handling sexuality and gender especially well. This diverse, folkloric fantasy world is a delight to visit. —Publishers Weekly
[STARRED REVIEW] “R. B. Lemberg spins a world of singing gods, desert nomads, and magic humming in the wind . . . Impressive world building renders the shifting hues of the desert sands and the cold stone of The Collector’s palace in tight prose.” —Foreword
“The Four Profound Weaves contains imagery that glows on the page.” —Patricia McKillip, author of The Forgotten Beasts of Eld
“What a treat: the full-length debut set in R.B. Lemberg’s super-queer Birdverse universe! It’s a wonder of identity, evolution and bravery in a time when we need it most." —Ms. Magazine
“A complex and mystical journey toward friendship, family, and love.” —Jewelle Gomez, author of The Gilda Stories
“R. B. Lemberg’s lyrical skill, combined with unforgettable characters and the magic of the Birdverse makes a stunning fabric over which this story plays beautifully.” —Fran Wilde, author of The Bone Universe
“Go read this story, tell it to your friends, and help us get to that future that we so desperately need.” —Trans Narrative, L. A. Lanquist
“Let this be your introduction to R.B.'s world of song carpets, deepnames, and deserts full of roving lovers.” —Isaac R. Fellman, author of The Breath of the Sun
“I am staggered by the richness and intricacy of R. B. Lemberg’s imagination. The Four Profound Weaves is an intense and emotional story of a journey of change, growth, and courage.” —Kate Elliott, author of Court of Fives
“Both sweet and fierce, devastating and gentle in its truths.” —M. Crane Hana, author of The Purist
“The Four Profound Weaves is a jewel-bright tile in [Lemberg’s] ongoing mosaic.” —C. S. E. Cooney, author of Bone Swans, Stories
“In reading this story about recognition and transformation, I felt recognized and transformed. It’s fantastic alchemy on Lemberg’s part, and their love and labor shines off the page.” —Nino Cipri, author of Homesick
“Lemberg’s gorgeous prose sets The Four Profound Weaves apart as one of the most beautifully written fantasies of the year.” —Locus
“A balm and a call to arms . . . Thoughtful and deeply moving, The Four Profound Weaves is the anti-authoritarian, queer-mystical fairy tale we need right now.” —Annalee Newitz, author of The Future of Another Timeline
] "A haunting literary fantasy about the fluidity of gender and much else.” —Washington Post
“If the plot is the warp of a story, then the weft of this novella is Lemberg’s exquisitely crafted, luminescent prose.” —Maria Haskins, author of Odin’s Eye
“When I finished this novella I cried because it was so joyful and beautiful and moving that for the first time in a long while I caught a glimpse of the path forward.” —Jason Sanford, author of Sublimation Angels
“Lusciously detailed world-building and gorgeous language.” —Deborah J. Ross, author of Collaborators
“Both ethereal and ephemeral: graceful, delicately wrought, and fleeting.” —SYFY Wire
“A brilliantly profound and poignant quest, through haunting desert and intricate city and terrifying dungeon, that's truly about people and change.” —Scott H. Andrews, editor of Beneath Ceaseless Skies
“For me, the greatest fantasies—the works that I want to reread again and again—both provide a window onto ourselves and our own world and also transcend what we think we know and understand. The works I reread, and want to share, provide moments that open my chest to existence. The Four Profound Weaves does this often.” —Strange Horizons
“Remarkable in its truths about the changing nature of life, poetic in its prose, and profound in its understanding of humanity.” —SFRA Review
“With elegant prose and an understanding of human nature in all its genders, Lemberg weaves a golden tale of human longing, friendship, and hope.” —Traveling in Books
“Modern speculative fiction at its best, exploring important issues through compelling characters, fantastic settings, and exciting stories.” —The Fantasy Hive
“Powerful, magical, lyrical, and beautifully original” —Beauty in Ruins
“Theirs is a story of survival and triumph, of redemption and transition, and Lemberg delivers it in a deeply woven, and obviously personal, narrative.” —The Novel Approach
“A delightful world, nuanced representation of trans characters and a gorgeous story.” —Chain Interaction
“5/5 stars. This will certainly be touted as a queer nonbinary transformational story (and it is that), but it's so much more.” —Nonstop Reader
“Lemberg weaves a golden tale of human longing, friendship, and hope.”—Traveling in Books
“It is a work that promotes hope and healing, and it is one of those rare books that can be accurately termed deeply wise.”—The Temz Review
“A beautiful debut masterpiece of inclusivity and diversity . . . The Four Profound Weaves already has established itself as a queer must-read.” —RevUU Magazine
“Lemberg has told with subtlety a delicate tale of hope, change and resistance. It is, without a doubt, one of the finest stories published in 2020.”
—Middle Shelf
Library Journal
★ 04/01/2020
DEBUT Uiziya e Lali has waited 40 years for her aunt to teach her the last of the Four Profound Weaves: of wind, sand, song, and bone. But her aunt, Benesret, is a master weaver to assassins, and Surun' weavers have exiled her. In the city of Iyar, the Khana women are traders, traveling in caravans; the Khana men are scholars, living much of their lives cloistered. A nameless man arrives, trying to find his place in a body that finally fits him after decades living as woman, wife, and mother, looking for Benesret to firm up his place in the world. As he and Uiziya search for Benesret, looking for answers to their individual questions, they must come together to deal with the Collector, the evil Iyar ruler who hoards power and death. VERDICT Nebula-nominated Lemberg's first novella, set in their deeply queer "Birdverse" universe, presents a beautiful, heartfelt story of change, family, identity, and courage. Centering two older transgender protagonists in the midst of emotional and physical journeys highlights the deep, meaningful prose that Lemberg always brings to their stories.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
