Synopses & Reviews
Nghi Vo's Locus and Igynte Award Finalist, and Crawford and Hugo Award-Winning Series, The Singing Hills Cycle, continues...
“A remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.” NPR on The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themself far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be.
Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story — beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel — bears more than one face.
The Singing Hills Cycle
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entry point.
Review
“The novella is written in Vo's rich, lovely language, and it's nice to have such a wonderful fantasy series be totally accessible in standalone volumes…Fans of folklore-inspired fantasy will eat this one up.” Booklist
Review
“Rides the knife edge between telling a story and being in the middle of it and explores how tales become legends.” Library Journal (Starred Review)
Review
“Spellbinding….Expertly weaves myths and histories of this fantastical land throughout, while also offering readers a deeper understanding of Chih themself, a character who may have been left as a framing device in lesser hands.” Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
About the Author
Nghi Vo is the author of the novels Siren Queen and The Chosen and the Beautiful, as well as the acclaimed novellas When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain and The Empress of Salt and Fortune, a Locus and Ignyte Award finalist and the winner of the Crawford Award and the Hugo Award. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind.