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The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, 1)
Winner of the 2020 Crawford Award!
Winner of the 2021 Hugo Award!
A Hugo Award-Winning Series!
A 2021 Ignyte Award Finalist
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
A Book Riot Best Debut Fantasy of All Time "Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful... The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."--NPR "Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."--Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen A Book Riot Must Read Book of 2023 A 2020 ALA Booklist Top Ten SF/F Debut A Book Riot Must-Read Fantasy of 2020 A Paste Most Anticipated Novel of 2020 A Library Journal Debut of the Month A Buzzfeed Must-Read Fantasy Novel of Spring 2020 A Washington Post Best SFF of the Year So Far Pick Named Book Riot's Best Book Cover of 2020 Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR Library Journal NYPL Chicago Public Library The Austen Chronicle Autostraddle
With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo's The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women. A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully. Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for. At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece. The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
Mammoths at the Gates
The Brides of High Hill
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. Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune "An elegant gut-punch, a puzzle box that unwinds itself in its own way and in its own time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect. I didn't know I needed to read this until I did."--Seanan McGuire "A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised."--Zen Cho "Nghi Vo's gracefully told debut . . . resides in the intimate margins of its (beautifully imagined) world's history, portraying how the marginalized may yet shape those narratives and harness the power of stories."--Indrapramit Das
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Community Reviews
4/5
Chih, a young cleric from Singing Hills, is on their way to the capital when their curiosity takes them to a former residence of the Empress of Salt and Fortune. There they come across the Empress' former handmaiden Rabbit, who is willing to recount tales of life in the residence and the Empress' rise to power. It's a story within a story that slowly unveils something deeper and secret.
Very much enjoyed this, it was short but packed quite the punch. I am amazed with how much world building Nghi Vo manages to cram in 100 pages without infodumping or making it a tedious read. The story is engaging and draws you in and, perhaps, that was the only thing that bothered me: that I wished to know more about this world and was left hanging dry.
Chih was a solid character and a solid device to introduce the reader to this world, and Almost Brilliant quickly became a favorite. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Cindy Kay's narration a lot, easy to understand yet full of emotion. Can't wait to keep reading this series.
The abbey at Singing Hills would say that if a record cannot be perfect, it should at least be present. Better for it to exist than for it to be perfect and only in your mind.
Chih, a young cleric from Singing Hills, is on their way to the capital when their curiosity takes them to a former residence of the Empress of Salt and Fortune. There they come across the Empress' former handmaiden Rabbit, who is willing to recount tales of life in the residence and the Empress' rise to power. It's a story within a story that slowly unveils something deeper and secret.
Very much enjoyed this, it was short but packed quite the punch. I am amazed with how much world building Nghi Vo manages to cram in 100 pages without infodumping or making it a tedious read. The story is engaging and draws you in and, perhaps, that was the only thing that bothered me: that I wished to know more about this world and was left hanging dry.
Chih was a solid character and a solid device to introduce the reader to this world, and Almost Brilliant quickly became a favorite. I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Cindy Kay's narration a lot, easy to understand yet full of emotion. Can't wait to keep reading this series.
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