This was a fun and interesting book from an author I am not familiar with. Highly recommend and looking forward to more.

"The Empress of Salt and Fortune" by Nghi Vo is a masterful blend of high fantasy and political intrigue. This novella, the first in the Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle, is a stunning narrative that weaves a tale of empire, storytelling, and the power of women.

Set in a world reminiscent of imperial China, the story centers on a young royal from the north sent south for a political marriage. Isolated and often scorned, she must navigate a treacherous court and choose her allies wisely. The narrative also follows Rabbit, a handmaiden sold to the palace, who becomes entwined in the empress's story, revealing a tale of rebellion, fealty, and cunning strategy.

It takes a little while for this novella to get going, and I think the main problem is that the frame narrative (oral historian exploring an old house) is just not interesting compared to the story-within-a-story (imperial espionage). It’s a quick read once the second story takes over, though!

Told as a series of stories being recorded this is a history told in pieces, with only the important parts being shared, and understanding is left up to the listener (and the reader). Its got just enough backdrop to place you in the world, and just enough detail to keep you wanting more.

#NetGalley

"Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves."

Oh, this book was great. This is exactly my kind of book: focused on the act of storytelling with mythology, politics, spies, revenge, and love. The book follows Chih, a traveling cleric, and their magical bird companion Almost Brilliant, who has been tasked with the purpose of collecting the histories of their nation. During their travels, they meet an elderly woman named Rabbit, who was a former handmaiden to the Empress In-yo. Rabbit has a story to tell, so Chih and Almost Brilliant set up camp at Scarlet Lake, where the Empress was banished by the Emperor, and listen to pieces of the tale day after day, revealing histories and secrets never before told.

The prose is beautiful. I cannot speak more highly of Nghi Vo's writing abilities--the writing pulls you under and doesn't let up until you've finished the last page. This story is not just written, it feels woven. A tapestry of myth and history and beauty.

I feel that Vo's underlying intention of The Empress of Salt and Fortune is that the story is as much about Rabbit, a girl sold to the government by her parents in lieu of paying taxes, as it is about Empress In-yo. I wasn't expecting this aspect of the story, but I really enjoyed learning more about the two of them and their relationship with one another as the years go by. I also loved that the story was unpredictable, with some subtle twists and turns that kept me on my toes.

I am eagerly looking forward to the next installments of this series to see what other stories Chih collects. Also, I now realize that I need every book by Nghi Vo! Just incredible work all around. 4.5 stars.

I have elected not to read and review this book due to time constraints. Thank you for the opportunity.

Both a quiet little tale and one with epic proportions: I believe I am begining to understand. (But here are some extra words to make the review long enough)

A quick read that establishes a world worth returning to, this novella builds rich relationships through the narrative device of a character recounting their illustrious life. Also notable for its strong commentary about the role some mothers can play in their daughter's lives.

This was a fun novel! Very action-packed! Loved all the characters and filled with an excellent world-building! I recommend this for fantasy lovers!

I really enjoyed this novella and plan to seek out more by the author.

This is a framed story. In the frame part, a young monk comes to catalogue the belongings remaining at the former palace of an empress who was once exiled on the edge of the Scarlet Lake. She meets a servant of this former empress.

Most chapters begin with a detailed physical description of items being cataloged. These items range from a handcrafted black and white sealskin robe to ivory dice with gold characters and edging. The elderly servant generally has something to say about each item, and that provides the true story- how the empress came from the north for a political marriage and was then exiled. There's more to the story, but I'm avoiding spoilers for this review.

I enjoyed the slow unfolding of the story and the quiet relationship that grew between the monk and the servant. I would have liked to be cataloguing some of these items myself- they were described beautifully and I'd like to see them! There isn't a ton of tension in this story, but there is a secret to be uncovered and I felt calmer and more settled after reading it.

After several chapters I knew it would not appeal to my students and do not plan to purchase it. Thank you for the opportunity to read it for preview purposes. I personally loved it, but it is it more for my adult friends than my high schoolers.

Gorgeously done book, I've recommended it multiple times now. And have put Vo's new work on several patrons' radars

Before I started reading The Empress of Salt and Fortune I had heard nothing but amazing things about it. This novella also sounded like something that I would love, which made me even more exited to read it. I’m happy to say that I ended up loving this book! I now want to read everything that Nghi Vo writes.

I’m not the most eloquent when it comes to describing writing styles, I just know what works for me and what doesn’t. The writing style in The Empress of Salt and Fortune was beautiful and captivating. It was intricately woven and I couldn’t stop reading it. Which is another reason that I need to read everything else by Nghi Vo. I also loved how each chapter was a story within a story, how the past and present connected in a way. The story in itself was fascinating and I wanted to find out more, in both the present and the past one.

The characters in this novella were wonderful. The main character Chih was an amazing protagonist. They were more of an observer than a participant in the story. By that I mean that they are listening to the story that is told to them by Rabbit, an old woman who was the handmaiden to the Empress. Still, I enjoyed learning more about them and getting to know them through the glimpses we got. My two favourite characters in this story were Rabbit and the Empress. I loved learning more about them. Their story was fascinating and I always looked forward to learning more about what was going on with them.

Overall, The Empress of Salt and Fortune was a fantastic novella. The writing style is beautiful, the story and characters compelling. I definitely recommend this book to everyone! I can’t wait to read more by Nghi Vo in the future.

This was delightful novella. A clever, memorable short story about an exiled empress and her long-plotted rebellion.

The purposefully distant and subtle writing, the often gorgeous descriptions - all of which were carefully used to illustrate how the scorned wife of an Emperor plotted her revenge. Smart and unique. ★★★½

Where do I even begin with this book? It’s a fantastic read with feminist themes and an Asian inspired, rich, fantasy world. My only complaint with this was it is only a novella and wasn’t longer! I couldn’t believe what the author managed to accomplish in a span of only 112 pages, I’m pleased to see that there is a sequel but honestly this reads as a standalone just as well.

This is a fantasy novella but it’s quite unlike any other fantasy stories I’ve read. It’s toned down a bit and has a much more “quiet” feeling atmosphere. Not the high octane, adrenaline pumping fantasy one can usually find. The story is told in third person POV but it centers around a former royal handmaiden, Rabbit, relaying the tale of the Empress’s rise to power to a cleric, Chih, whose job it is to document such knowledge. I personally really enjoyed the story being told this way, secondhand through the eyes of someone who saw it all and not by the person who it happened to necessarily. I thought it was an interesting take and it kept me turning pages because I couldn’t wait for the next part of her tale to be told as it slowly revealed more information about the world and characters.

For such a short book I could not believe the complexity the world held, there was so much there: history, culture, and even politics. The region the Empress came from differs greatly from the seat of the Empire she is married off to and the politics she experiences at court are shocking. There are many little twists throughout the story as well as the Empress is exiled and starts a rebellion.

The writing is gorgeous and gave the novella such an ethereal atmosphere, in my opinion. I couldn’t wait to keep reading, it just pulled me right along and painted the story in my mind with ease. Everything went along at an even pacing and flowed nicely. Honestly, I can’t properly describe it to do it justice so you should probably just go read it. It’s fantastic.

There is some diverse rep in this book, we have Chih who identifies as they/them and the Empress who is either a lesbian, bisexual, or pansexual. It isn’t explicitly stated so if you do know which it is, please let me know! I think it’s strongly implied she identifies as one of those though and I actually think Rabbit is bi or pan as well. The characters are so richly complex as well, the story really pulls on your heartstring while reading about the events they have experienced.

What I Loved:

Gorgeous writing.
Diverse, complex characters.
Rich world building.

What I Didn’t Love:

Honestly, I can’t think of anything that I disliked enough to comment on!

I highly recommend checking out “The Empress of Salt and Fortune” it has so much going for it whether you’re looking for a fresh take on fantasy, a quick read (it really is very short), or something with some Asian & LGTBQ+ rep. It’s a great little novella and I can’t wait to dig into the sequel!

Trigger Warnings: Body mutilation (against their will), death, murder, and mention of suicide

*** Huge thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review ****

The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a fantasy that can be likened to a deep body of water. Its surface is calm yet the underneath is laced in unexpected, complex torrents. Although it paced common themes in epic fantasies zeroing-in revenge and the dismantling of an empire or its ruler, I have never read such an unassumingly short but powerful book.

The story swings back and forth Chih’s present quest to catalogue the previous Empress’ artefacts and old Rabbit’s accounts linked to items. This novella is a time-capsule, told in the inventory of mundane objects that carry hauntingly vivid histories. I love Nghi Vo’s flair in the story-telling. I figured I am charmed by stories that are told by one character to another. There is something that is soothing in the way that tales, after the fact, are relived in someone else’s recollection especially ones that are tinged in sorrow and longing.

Nghi Vo sported a well-balanced pacing while employing a style of patterns and riddles. She knows when to goad the reader as well as when to hold back; thus, teasing them to flip the pages further. And since the breadth of the novel already took place in the past, the reader is given the ample time to bathe in the events that brought about the current state of things. I am also amazed at the restraint in the prose without compromising the world-building. This world created by Vo is rich and punctuated in lore and culture but it did not fell victim of over embellishment. It was never lacking but the language is concise and crystal.

I am a fan of the female friendships and endearing romance which was also instrumental to tying a heart-warming knot in this novella’s entirety. The characters are also this book’s brawn. I adored Rabbit’s character and the wisdom in her anecdotes. I rooted for In-yo’s blasé air of confidence and sureness. I also loved Chih and Almost Brilliant’s dynamic as partners.

There is so much more that this book brought to the table. There is a clear feminist voice which is a departure from the usual masculine schema in epic fantasies. I also nod at the nonbinary and queer nature in this world. It is present because it simply exists and was not used as some token adornment. I am tired of stories that engage these characters within a limited range of play and I am happy that this novella made them the anchors to which the story revolved. It pulls forth personas that are usually negligible in the backbone of tales in the guise of an exiled wife, a servant, and some fortune-tellers. It brings to light untold stories and unspoken truths. It stamps a message that, sometimes, commonplace can bring doomsday, too.

“Accuracy above all things.
You will never remember the great
if you do not remember the small.”

The Empress of Salt and Fortune Is by far the best novella I read in its teeming culture and mythology. It is lyrical, atmospheric, and a fairy-tale almost. It is an account of retribution, resilience, and sacrifice told from a voice of longing and trust in a future painstakingly shaped by the past.

Tor sent me an eARC via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review. All thoughts are mine and are not influenced by the author nor publisher.

I really enjoyed this short novella, in which a scholar encounters an enigmatic woman in a mysterious location. Really, a setup for success! A great mix of new fantasy with real folklore, too.

A compact little tale that will instantly draw you in. In this story we follow an elderly woman Rabbit who recounts their remarkable tale to Chih & their hoopoe Almost Brilliant. This was an almost lyrical read for me. Loved how imaginative it was, but found the beginning a bit hard to piece together. It is definitely worth making it to the end & I would recommend to anyone looking for a new & highly imaginative story.

3.5/5 stars

In tight economical prose, Vo tells the story of a princess sent from her homeland to marry an emperor who humiliates and reviles her, sending her into exile in a remote home as soon as she does her dynastic duty and gives him a son. She has only a low born servant as her only friend, but with no allies and only her brain, she revenges herself completely. The story is told by the servant to a cleric who arrives a year after the death of the Empress of Salt and Fortune to catalog the belongings abandoned there. The writing is exquisite, the story clear and beautiful--sorrow, love, and revenge are the elements of this very short book. It's certainly one of the best of 2020!

This is a unique and beautiful book, and I think it will appeal to a wide audience of readers. The cover art is striking, as well!