Mammoths at the Gates, the fourth novella in Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle, finally introduces readers to Cleric Chih’s home monastery. Chih’s return to Singing Hills is not as joyous as it should be. Chih’s mentor, Cleric Thien, has passed away. Most of the monastery inhabitants are away studying a recently uncovered flooded city. And Singing Hills is being threatened by the granddaughters of Cleric Thien, who want their grandfather’s remains to lie in state, because of his high status as clan head before becoming a Cleric and be buried alongside their recently deceased grandmother. Chih must find a way to help the acting head of the monastery, who also happens to be Chih’s childhood best friend Ru, deal with the granddaughters while honoring Thien’s memory and teachings under the traditions of Singing Hills.

Mammoths at the Gates is one of several books I’ve read recently that delve into the myriad ways in which we process grief and loss. Both Chih and Ru exhibit behaviors I found very familiar as they process their loss: the great outpouring of emotion only when alone or with the closest of friends, and the using of work, even if it’s just “busy work,” to blunt the raw emotions enough to get through the days/weeks that follow the loss. But while for Chih keeping busy is a choice, for Ru it is a requirement; as acting head of Singing Hills Ru must attend to the visitors at the gates as well as the day-to-day operations of the monastery. Vo also expertly addresses the swings that happen from recalling happy memories to recognizing the reality that the person is truly gone, including those moments when we “hear” the person, or “see” them out of the corner of our eye and think for a moment that maybe news of their passing was incorrect … or those moments when we simply forget the person is gone.

By contrast, there is Thien’s avian companion Many Virtues. In the Singing Hills Cycle, Cleric are accompanied by neixin, birds with infallible memory – they recall everything they see and hear, which makes them amazing repositories of world history, legend, and the details of an individual’s life. The bond between Cleric and neixin is indelible and deep. Through Many Virtues, Vo explores what happens when our sense of loss is so profound we cannot imagine continuing to live without the one we’ve lost, and how sometimes that leads to self-harm (off-screen, in this case).

Through Thien’s granddaughters, Vo also looks at the way we sometimes mourn an idea rather than a real person. These granddaughters didn’t actually know their grandfather. But they were brought up on stories of his career and they say the palpable love their grandmother held for their grandfather even after he’d become a Cleric. But they still mourn the loss as though they knew him directly, mirroring the way in our world we mourn the passing of celebrities we’ve never actually met as though we knew them intimately.

Vo also comments on the cultural/societal ways in which we “say goodbye,” the rituals that are attached to acknowledging a person’s passing and the impact they had on our lives. I found Singing Hills’ ceremony, one of storytelling about the deceased with a touch of ritual rather than one focused more on the ritual than the person, to be sweet and ideal, providing some of the most poignant moments of the book.

Chih also must navigate the changes in their relationship with Run. As a traveling Cleric, Chih has been away from the monastery more than they have been present, while for reasons of health Ru has not been able to travel and has had to forge a life in the absence of their best friend. Watching Chih reconcile the past with the present was a bit uncomfortable at times but was important for both characters.
Even though this is the fourth book in the series, the Singing Hills novellas are all stand-alone. So even if you haven’t read the preceding three books you can pick up Mammoths at the Gates and quickly understand Cleric Chih and their world. For those that have read the earlier novellas, there are oblique references to those events that will tantalize without making new readers feel like they are missing vital information. (And the fifth Singing Hills Cycle entry, The Brides of High Hall, comes out on May 7, 2024!)

I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I didn’t really care for this entire series. Which is surprising, because I like the authors other works very much. I feel like I was thrown into these, and it wasn’t good for me as a reader. I like to have a little bit of set up.

The Mammoths at the Gate is one of the most beautiful novellas I have read. The Singing Hills novellas are all beautifully written and show such a love for story telling and what that can mean to/for people. The Mammoths at the Gate covers grief in such a beautiful way. It explores what it means to grieve for someone who may have done some bad things. Should we feel love, should it be diminished. Nigh Vo covers this topic with care and grace in a way no one else can. I highly recommend this to all.

Another solid novella in this wonderful series! It's a little on the quieter side than the rest, but it's no less good! I'm such a fan of this author and these books, and I can't wait for the next ones.

The Singing Hills Cycle is one of my favourite series, so it was no surprise to me that I enjoyed this book immensely; what did surprise me is that Mammoths at the Gates is my favourite entry so far. This novella revolves around grief, the ways we cope and stories we tell after someone is gone, and the fallibility of our objectivity in the aftermath. Each of these novellas has a fable-like feel and this one more so than most. I loved it and I will continue to devour each new entry in the Singing Hills Cycle for as long as it goes on.

Thank you to Tordotcom and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

Another gorgeous entry into the Singing Hills cycle. I really liked that we finally got a look at the abbey itself, and a bit more about Cleric Chih's own life and friends and of course - the neixin!! Also, sorry to say that though this does offer a really beautiful meditation on grief and how stories and memory are what we leave behind my absolute favorite part was the neixin baby daddy reveal at the end. That was excellent and added a lot of interesting depth to all the aviary scenes, and answered my burning question of, "really, Almost Brilliant is just going to leave her daughter alone for a whole night while she sits up with Myriad Virtues??"

As always, it's just a real pleasure to be in this world. At this point in the series there's been enough other material that we're getting some call-backs but also a lot of new glimpses into the world and its history, which is a great balance to strike. You really can't go wrong with these books if you want a little treat of inventive fantasy, and this is one of the stronger entries of the group.

Chih returns home after many years to things being very different and yet, somehow, the same in many ways. But the changes that are there with people result in a lot of grief and reflection on the past. The Singing Hills Abbey is also threatened by the presence of (two military mammoths, a furious lawyer, and a practical military leader. And Chih tries to find a way to resolve the conflict whether it is their place or not.

Overall, I liked this. It's about change, grief, and loss. It was sad, but also sweet and hopeful and nostalgia. I loved seeing more of the neixin and the family life there. Chiep is adorable. It was really nice to read and learn more about the Abbey and Chih' relationship with it and Ru. The ending was not my favorite, since it just relies on the unknowns around the neixin, but overall, would still highly recommend.

A beautiful story about grief, and loss, and home — this book took my breath away. This is one of my favourite installments in the Singing Hills Cycle - it was truly incredible.

I couldn’t read this when i first got the arc, because it hadn’t been long enough since my dad passed and i wasnt ready. I’m still not ready, nor will I ever be, but I found comfort in this book. Thank you for reminding me just how important memories are.

MAMMOTHS AT THE GATE by @nghivowriting is the fourth installment of THE SINGING HILLS CYCLE and it's as enchanting and delightful as its predecessors. Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @tordotcompub for the e-ARC.

This episode of this cozy, historical, fantasy novella series finds Cleric Chih, our travelling cleric, returning to their home, the Singing Hills Abbey after three years of travelling and collecting stories, to help bury their mentor. They find themselves in the middle of a cultural and political battle for the corporal remains of this great cleric: his granddaughters have arrived upon the backs of royal mammoths demanding the abbey turn over his body to be buried with their clan. Chih must help to alleviate the tension between these two factions to keep the peace and protect their home.

Listen, I can't rave enough about this series. Wholesome, cozy, inquisitive, heartbreaking AND heartwarming, and magical are some descriptors that come to mind. There is lgbtqia representation, historical and cultural references from the Asian diaspora, articulate avians with fancy names, thought-provoking dialogue, adventurous journeys, found family, mythical storytelling, and much more. AND all the installments are novellas so far so they can often be read in one or two sittings.

This one is out in the world now and the next novella is coming out in 2024. Muppet arms!! What are you waiting for?!?!

What is (are) your favorite book series right now and why? I am super into novella series right now so this, WAYWARD CHILDREN and MURDERBOT are probably my current top 3.

💚SMASHBOT 💚

A beautiful look at death, grief, and the impact on those we leave behind. I absolutely love this series and this book takes a slightly different tone from the others, but suits the story and characters so well.

I came into this newest release with some hesitation with it being the fourth in a ongoing series that I had no clue about. But this was definitely a beautiful and quick read with such through details in just ten chapters . It unveiled a lot about the magic behind a society that uses stories as a way of tradition and magic, which I enjoyed rather a lot. The fact it was so personal to the characters both human and somewhat not made it unique because it reads like a nontraditional western location thats fictional.

That said I've heard about Nghi Vo and while definitely a newer to me author I understand the impact of her work in the reading community over that five or six years alone. She is part of a new batch of authors I can't wait to be able to consume more from when given the time and chance.

In this 4th in the series Chih returns to the Singing Hills Abbey, to renew a friendship and help deal with a crisis.

They're shocked to see royal mammoths at its gates, along with northern Coh clan pavilions! Their mentor, Cleric Thien (once the patriarch of Coh clan), has died and their two granddaughters (the ones at the gates) demand his body for burial in the north.

The situation seems dire until Thien's neixin companion Myriad Virtue does something extraordinary.

Thank you to Nghi Vo, Tor Publishing Group, Tordotcom, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "Mammoths at the Gates" (The Singing Hills Cycle #4) for an honest review.

I LOVE THIS SERIES SO SO SO SO MUCH.

This newest installment of gloriously writtern Cleric Chih's journey & tales sees them returning home to the Singing Hills Abbey and brings with it the return of Almost Brilliant. This is a deeply touching story about the nature of growing up (both growing apart and regrowing together) and of how everyone carries the weight of grief differently. I felt my heart crying out to the characters in this one so much.

Another fantastic installment to our Cleric Chih's journey, this time taking them back home.
This one felt heavier than the others due to a death, reuniting with those they know. A story about love and loss.

Still beautifully written and I cant wait to see what Chih's journey goes next.

This entire series is part of a band of comfort reads.

I love them so much, and this exploration of coming home and growing up, mixed with a gorgeous combination of grief for the past and those lost to time (but never memory), is so so perfect.

The amount of times I almost sobbed.

A really lovely meditation on coming home, grief and change. There is not really much you can say about the fourth book in a series without spoiling, but I loved that we learned more about the Singing Hills monastery and their customs. It was lovely to see some old characters return and I love this series dearly. Nghi Vo is a fantastic storyteller and this entry in the Singing Hills Cycle is no exception.

Nghi Vo's writing style is so special. The words on the page read like a story you're being told around a campfire or while tucked into bed. I've loved every installment of this series but I really loved this one because we get to see more into Chih's life as a cleric and their past. This is a more personal look into them as a person and the workings of the Singing Hills Abbey. Learning more about the neixin and the aviary was so interesting and I think it added more layers to the previous books.

This is one of my all time favorite series, I absolutely adore it and devour every addition. The cover for the next one was just revealed and it's so gorgeous, I'm so excited!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you were wondering if you can truly join in on the Singing Hills series at any point I can assure you you can as that is exactly what I did. This series has been on my radar for a long time but this is the first volume I read and it's masterfully crafted for new readers and I guess for returning ones alike.
I guess for those already familiar with the series there are a lot of crossreferences and easter eggs which are perfectly balanced for new readers to feel they are there to give more depth, more history, more atmosphere. Also, one's very soon involved with the characters emotionally even if this is the first time meeting them.

With that said, you have to prepare that this is the kind of fantasy where you're thrown into deep water. No heavy infodumps, no long preposition (this is a novella, after all), but one can soon figure out all the important background from the text, it's just not offered ready on a plate. If this is the first title in the series you read, just be aware that this is intentional and not because you started in the wrong place.
Actually, this kind of worldbuilding style is my favorite because it feels so genuine, you don't feel like an outsider who gets explained how this world is different from what you know but you can feel immersed in the world, in the story instantly.

This story is extremely character driven and the stakes are relatively low: there's a dispute over the funeral processes of a deceased which leads to a threat to the protagonist's home, which is of course high stakes for them, but no saving the world, changing history kind of thing. And personally I relly much prefer this kind of low-stakes in fantasy.
The characters are built wonderfully, I could instantly get attached and feel all the grief and melancholy.

This is exactly the kind of fantasy I love and can't wait to read the rest of the series, and was really glad to find out the other day that the next installment in the series is already underway.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing the ARC.