This third instalment in the Singing hills Cycle was action packed! I think this one is my favourite so far. Following Chih and Almost Brilliant on their continued journey they arrive into Riverlands only to come across bandits, martial artists and lots of stories. I loved how there were multiple shorter stories in this one instead of one longer one. Also it was interesting to see Chih actually make a journey themselves! Loved.

Cleric Chih and their niexin Almost Brilliant embark on another adventure, this time through the mysterious Riverlands where every man has his own company of secrets.

On their daring journey, they are acquainted with a colourful group of people, a wild martial artist and her intelligent sister, an elderly man with a menagerie of stories and his beloved wife, a terrifying woman in her own right.

Like all the other novellas in this series, Into the Riverlands too is filled with luscious prose and rich world building.

I could honestly read 500 pages of Nghi Vo simply describing the world of the empire of anh.

Truly, the book is perfect in all senses of the term. The atmosphere of the novel is impeccable and it is so immersive that at times I forgot I wasn't watching a movie rather than reading.(Someone should definitely adapt this series and make an atla style animated show.)

Chih is no doubt a wonderful character and I loved watching their interactions with the people around them.
My only problem was that the rest of the characters were somewhat one dimensional and underdeveloped. The ending was a bit unsatisfactory as well as if everything ended as easily as possible.

Overall 4/5 stars, Into The Riverlands really solidified Nghi Vo as one of the most underrated yet best fantasy fiction writers of our generation. I am waiting with bated breath for the next installation in the Singing Hills Cycle.

Okay…I don’t remember if this is my first novella of The Singing Hills Cycle….yep, I checked. This is the only one of the series I’ve read. And I can absolutely say that it seems true that you can start at any point with these stories, but obviously I’ll need to read the others before I can fully confirm the assertion.

This was a well written tale, and I’m hopeful the rest of the series will be the same. It seems to be centered on the wandering cleric known as Chih and their quest to travel around and collect stories. With their talking bird companion Almost Brilliant, they encounter all sorts of folks and get involved in all sorts of scenarios.

I like books that have the feel of magical realism or folklore and mythology. And because this is a series of novellas, they also read pretty quickly, which is also nice.

Sadly, what I’ll say is that I read this book in the middle of the night, while driving back home after a convention. Long days on the road are exhausting, and I have a difficult time sleeping because of how bumpy the ride is, so I try to distract myself with reading books. When I decided to pick this one up, it was around midnight and I had just finished a longer book, and I knew we only had a couple hours until we stopped for the night, and I didn’t want to get into something that would be long or require a lot of focus. A novella seemed to fit the bill.

I enjoyed reading this. It didn’t take long to get into the story and figure out what was going on and distinguish between the characters. But I can also admit that I was tired, and despite an inability to sleep in the van, I did nod off a few times. So, maybe I missed some things in the story. Maybe if I read this again, my 4 star review will increase, because I would be more alert with taking in the story.

Still, what I remember was good and enjoyable. Oh, and I saw where they revealed the cover for the next novella in the cycle, and honestly it’s made me excited to pick up the other stories and read them all.

I love Nghi Vo's writing style. This book has quirky characters and interesting world building, as expected from Nghi Vo. I will definitely be checking out more of the books in this universe.

Another really fun, interesting story from Nghi Vo. I love these novellas, they're so creative and so interesting and I fly through them each time I pick one up -- I look forward to the next installment.

Into The Riverlands is the third book in The Singing Hills Cycle and I was very excited to read it. I really enjoyed the first two in the series and this one didn't disappoint but I didn't enjoy it quite as much as the previous two. I would still like to continue this series as they come out
I do love the concept of these novellas - the fantastical elements with the focus on story-telling. This time we had a talking bird, last time it was tigers!
I liked the characters, liked the story line - would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley for the arc. I was already a fan of the series before being approved for this and was so excited. That joy was short lived since it won't be available at my book store for a while. In the meantime I going to keep singing Nghi Vo's praises because they deserve them and more

INTO THE RIVERLANDS by @nghivowriting.

If you like fantasy grounded in intersectional and feminist roots where the stories themselves include storytelling, THE SINGING HILLS series should be on your TBR. Not to mention, the art on these covers is absolutely gorge!😍 Thank you to the author and @tordotcompub for this beautiful physical copy.

In this third installment of the series, our story-gathering duo of Cleric Chih and their avian companion, Almost Famous, travel into the Riverlands to listen to and record the historical stories of that landscape.

There is much more character development of Cleric Chih in this novella than the previous two and I really enjoyed learning more about them. Also, being a big fan of folkloric stories, I just love the way stories are passed down and around in these books.

If you have not yet had the pleasure, you owe yourself these gentle, magical reads. INTO THE RIVERLANDS came out in December and is available now!

⭐Do you read novellas? If so, do you have any favorites? If not, what don't you enjoy about them? ⭐ I am a sucker for a short and sweet novella and ESPECIALLY series.

#macmillan #tordotcomoub
#torbooks #booknerd #fantasybooks
#novellas #bookworm #bookpusher #bookreviews

4.5 Stars

2022 was the year I discovered the Singing Hills Cycle, and I absolutely loved every minute I spent with the three novellas that are out so far.

What I appreciate most is that each of these novellas has such a different “flavor,” so to speak. The first one is a slow-burn story about court politics; the second one is about trying to stall some hungry shape-shifting tigers and bartering histories; and this one is more of an action-packed journey through the jungle with lots of martial arts.

For Nghi Vo to be able to dip into all these different fantastical archetypes, but still maintain consistent conceptual and thematic threads that are held together by one really distinctive character is really kind of an amazing feat.

The way stories-within-stories function and the act of storytelling itself is also inherently different from one book to the next. Into the Riverlands is more about the characters swapping stories as they travel together, not only as a means to pass the time, but also to gain a better understanding of the landscape they find themselves in. Therefore, the question this novella is posing is about how stories can shape and deepen our understanding of the world around us as well as the people around us.

As I said, this installment is also a bit more action-forward compared to the first two, which sets it apart from the rest of the series so far, but not in a way that’s unwelcome. That martial arts element paired with the fact that this installment is the shortest of the three so far makes it feel much more immediate and fast-paced.

I would still say that I love When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain the most out of the three novellas published so far, but that could very well just be a matter of taste, and it does not mean this novella was "unsuccessful" by any means. I thought this was another great installment that further builds out this fascinating fantasy world in an exciting way, and I absolutely cannot wait to see what the next novella brings.

I started reading the Singing Hills Cycle a couple of years ago and I have yet to be disappointed. The writing is immaculate, the characters are flawed but likable, and the world is vast and intriguing. I love how each of the novellas centers around new characters and their stories. In the third book, Into the Riverlands, we are following Chih as they come across martial artists. I found this installment of the series to be more action packed than the previous installments. However, it was still enjoyable. If you are a fan of folktales, I would lightly recommend picking up the Singing Hills Cycle. It is a comforting series that I would recommend to anyone who’s interested.

Really enjoyed the storybook vibes and the oral storytelling aspect. This series was my first intro to Nghi Vo’s writing, and I’m intrigued and looking forward to picking up her two novels, both of which I own. I enjoyed the travel story element present in the book, and Into the Riverlands is my favorite of the series, as it's a good mix of stories for Chih to record and over-arching plot, plus we get a lot more of Chih’s personality.

Into the Riverlands is the first book in The Singing Hills Cycles series that I have finished and it was genuinely such a delight! We follow Chih, a wandering cleric who travels the lands collecting people's stories. We, along with Chih, meet some interesting characters who share their tales, whilst encouraging Chih and the reader to be more critical of what they know. Our group find themselves in a feud, tieing in the overarching theme of violence and legends.


**Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts are my honest opinions.**

Into the River lands is a wonderful addition to the singing hills cycle. An enjoyable read and delves deeper into not only legends of martial arts masters and their heroic adventures but how real events can become stories and how those stories become legends over time. It also explores the people who become legends and how the tales Cleric Chih collects may not fully reflect reality and the purpose of stories. The riverlands was a setting unlike the previous we had seen before and in contrast to the previous novellas this story focused on the present rather than stories of the past. While not as epic or as exciting as Empress of Salt and Fortune it was overall very enjoyable read and beautifully written as always. I enjoyed spending more time with Chih, Almost Brilliant and their travelling companions.

I adore this series of novellas from Vo. I love Chih and Almost Brilliant and the role they play in these stories. Into the Riverlands was probably my favorite in this series at the moment.

The two previous novellas in the Singing Hills cycle have both been delightful and this third offering is no exception. Following cleric Chih as they travel around the land finding and recording stories for posterity, we encounter some fascinating characters along the way. I thought the plot of this installment was particularly strong while still retaining the 'story within a story' structure that has worked so well in the past. I also enjoyed the description of place that we got in this novella - Nghi Vo paints a beautiful picture of the land in which the Singing Hills monastery sits and the journey to Betony Docks takes us through some evocative landscapes that I really appreciated. I hope that there are more books to come in this series and I will continue to read them with delight.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another really beautiful addition to the Singing Hills Cycle.
I found the mix of characters in this one really lovable and enjoyable. The way Nghi Vo writes makes the imagery so clear and I can really picture the story unfold as I read. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot Duology.
I can’t wait for the next book in this series, really cosy and soothing reading.

Absolutely love Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant and Vo has such a good way of spinning a story, it always feels like I'm right there with them on their (mis)adventures

Thank you to Nghi Vo, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom, and Netgalley for a free reader copy of Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle, #3) for an honest review.

I continue to love everything about the further adventures of cleric Chih of the Singing Hills, on their path to continue the collection of true stories from the world, I was ABSOLUTELY tickled pink to have the return of Almost Brilliant, because the two of them working together in tandem brightens up my heart.

I love the continued message in these bite-sized one-day read novellas that there is so much wisdom and advice layered in the lore of stories, but also the undercurrent that one may not be entirely aware that they are, just by living their life, in the act of writing their own legend, too.

A phenomenal novella of intrigue and suspense and tight as bowstring storytelling. Nghi Vo does it again!

This 3rd in the Singing Hills fantasy series takes Cleric Chih and talking bird Almost Brilliant into the Riverlands, notorious for its martial artists.

After travelling with 2 couples they encountered, Chih sees 'a battle between people who don't fight like people, who are what legends come from.'

This is a brilliant series, well worth following!