Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in The Singing Hills Cycle. I got a copy of this on ebook through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: This book was just as wonderful as all of the previous Singing Hills Cycle books. I love that we got to journey to Chih's home of Singing Hills Abbey in this volume. This was a fascinating and heartfelt read with a lot of humor and some wonderful stories within the main story.

This book finds Chih returning to their home abbey only to find that their mentor, Cleric Thien has died. As Chih works through their anguish they end up working with Almost Brilliant to help Myraid Virtues (Cleric Thien's hoopoe) navigate her grief. Things are complicated by the gates literally being stormed by mammoths as the Coh clan demands Thien's body for burial.

I continue to love this series' focus on the importance of stories and the legacy stories leave for the rest of humanity. Chih finds some healing in going through Cleric Thien writings and helping to decide which stories will be kept in the archives and which will be kept eternally in the hoopoe's minds. The hoopoes' unique ability to remember things forever across generations is fascinating and is really explored a lot in this book. This book also looks at how different the impact a person has is to different people; Cleric Thien obviously had a huge impact on the Abbey but he also had a huge impact on the Coh clan, but in a different way.

It was a lot of fun to hear about Chih and the trouble they got into growing up at the Abbey. This gave Chih even more history and depth for the reader and getting to know some of Chih's friends at Singing Hills Abbey was a lot of fun too. There are heavy themes of change in this book as well. With Almost Brilliant having her brood and the abbey leadership moving on, everyone is dealing with both the grief and hope that change can bring.

As with all of these books, this was amazingly well written and the story was very thoughtfully woven. This is entertaining while being thought-provoking. I am always in awe at how much I enjoy these books and how much I think about them afterwards.

My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing continuation of the Singing Hills Cycle. I believe (and hope) there is one more book planned for this series and I eagerly await it. I would recommend this series to everyone, but especially to those who enjoy stories about the importance of stories.

I absolutely loved this story! Probably my favorite of the series so far. I loved getting to see Chih in their element and be formally introduced to life at Singing Hills, and I loved the emphasis this book put on stories of friendship. It was heartwarming and lovely and felt like a hug in book form!

A story about who we are and who we can be, coming home and making a place your home and grief, so much grief. It's a really captivating story, much like the previous in the series. Chih is the Chih we have come to know and love from the previous books. We see a new side of them - who they are when they are at home among people who know and love them.
I want to talk a bit about what this story does with the topic of grief - it's outstanding! Very emotional, going from full stupor and depression to a miraculous transformation and rebirth. There is no glossing over over the hurt and pain but ultimately there is hope and this is what matters the most.

I have nothing new to say about the writing - Nghi Vo is a master of words and her storytelling is pure magic.

CW: death, grief, violence

Meh. I read an ARC for the previous one in this series, and I basically have the same opinions. If I had to say, I think the previous book was slightly better

I really loved this! Mammoths at the Gates feels a little different tonally from previous novellas in the series, but in a good way. We pick up with Cleric Chih as they are returning to the Singing Hills to learn that their mentor Cleric Thien has died and Thien's granddaughters wait outside the gates with war mammoths, demanding to be given Thien's body. I really loved how the setting led to getting more background information about the structure of the abbey, the hierarchy of the clerics, and possible history for their longstanding companionship with neixin. Chih also reunites with their friend Ru, who is both similar and different to how they remember, and Thien's neixin is processing grief in a way that others in the abbey struggle to understand. The embedded storytelling comes a little later in this book, when characters gather for a talking ceremony to share stories about Thien's life. This was just such a lovely novella and a beautiful consideration of grief, change + transformation, how well you can know someone, the ways we are composed of stories, remembering things as they are and not how you wish they were, etc etc. I completely adore this series and more people should be reading it! I already cannot wait for the next story with Cleric Chih.

A beautiful addition to this wonderful series. I love Chih and seeing them finally return home and be reunited with old friends and family to say goodbye to someone close to them was so bittersweet. I will read Singing Hills books as long as they continue to be published.

This is a wonderful insight into the Singing Hills and the characters that we've heard about in previous instalments. I can't wait to see where this series goes in future

I was a huge fan of empress of salt and fortune and I think this might be my favorite since! Really beautifully written and it was so nice to finally get a clear picture of what life at singing hills abbey is like. I think it would be difficult to read this particular entry out of order, however, as it relies on the reader already having a bit of familiarity with the world.

Another stellar installment in the Singing Hills series! Nghi Vo has done it again with style and heart. This excellent little collection of novellas can be read in any order, though I enthusiastically recommend starting with the first book, because it’s simply stunning in its craft.

MAMMOTHS AT THE GATE picks back up the story of Chih, wandering cleric of the Singing Hills monastery and career historian, as they travel back home to Singing Hills. This centering on Chih and their own story was an unusual and wonderfully-done shift from the previous books in the series, which felt both natural and welcome.

The thing I like most about this series is how each installment is really about something greater than its plot. MAMMOTHS AT THE GATES deals with a number of those themes: what it means to come home, the impacts of grief on a person, and how to reconcile the good and bad things that any person has done in their life. This is definitely a book I found myself thinking about well after I had read its final page.

All in all, a really wonderful read — and if you haven’t started this series, I can’t recommend it enthusiastically enough. thanks so much to Tor and Netgalley for the ARC!

I have been loving this series and cannot wait to see what happens next!
This is the fourth book and as we’re slowly gaining more lore about the world I find myself falling deeper in love with it.
There was a bit of a tone change in this compared to the others as cleric Chih returned to the Singing Hills and learnt of the death of a well loved teacher. Vo weaves together beautiful stories and reflections of the characters life whilst giving us a more somber tale.
Though the second book remains my favourite this was excellent and Nghi Vo continues to prove her incredible skill as a storyteller.

Even though they're short stories each one is its own story so I never feel dissatisfied. They should be read in order of publication date so as not to be spoiled and to see the character growth.

Another great adventure with Cleric Chih! I have sped through the inventive novellas of the Singing Hills Cycle in just a couple of weeks, and can't believe I didn't know about them earlier. I'd recommend this series to anyone who is looking for a fascinating and unique Asian-based fantasy world.

The best in the series. I didn’t think I could love this one as much as I did but returning to Singing Hills and getting more of the backstory for all the characters was incredible. 5 stars!

🏳️‍⚧️🇻🇳 BOOK REVIEW

Are you looking for the book you didn’t know you needed set in an Asian fantasy world with non-binary clerics? Well, you’ve come to the right place.

Cleric Chih comes home to their abbey after travelling to find that the elder Cleric Thien has passed away, the whole abbey is mourning and two mammoths and their riders from the army are waiting at the gates. It is not the peaceful return they had hoped for…

I just love the lyrical writing of Vo’s and the mystique and magic of the world. Her novellas speak thematically of memory and story and the significance of it all. This one in particular is great if you’re a fan of the series because we finally get to see a story happening in real time and an insight into Cleric Chih’s world and how their order works and what their home is like and the history behind the neixin (accompanying bird people). You can’t help but be drawn in by the author’s writing because every single sentence feels so purposeful.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This one releases 12/9/23. Thanks to @tordotcompub and @netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNFed at 40%

I was very lost with the storyline when I started the book. I knew the characters are animals but wish we got in introduction. I later realized that I was confused because this is book 4 in the series and I don't believe you can read it as a standalone. I have heard of good things so I will start with book 1.

This is the fourth entry into the Singing Hills Cycle series and it is just as good as it's predecessors. This novella in particular ist poetic and heartbreakingly beautiful as it tackles loss and grief in a manor that only Vo can.

I received an advance digital copy in exchange for
an honest review. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher.

Full disclosure, but I adore this novellas, and this one was as good as the previous ones!

This one differs from the other novellas though, as this is more of a homecoming rather than a new adventure for Chhih. We see how their journey has changed them, and how they clash with their home after being away for so long. They have changed, and so has their home, so they'll have to adapt to this new reality.
It is also about grief, and what constitutes a person - in the end, a person is the stories we remember of them, and everyone will have a different story that paints a wholly different picture of a person. The novella explored this in a gorgeous way, thus keeping up with the themes of story and the importance of them. I loved every second of it!

Mammoths at the Gates is the fourth in Nghi Vo's Singing Hills Cycle series. Vo uses this novella to tackle grief and loss in a poetic, heartwrenching way that will definitely stick with me for a while. It is much more emotional than the first three and, as always, Nghi Vo's prose considerably adds to Cleric Chih's character despite the short length of these novellas.

This was gorgeous! So utterly breathtakingly heartbreakingly beautiful! I haven't cried so much in ages and I haven't loved a story this much since The Empress of Salt and Fortune. I'm so grateful for this story, because I've been craving stories about Cleric Chih themselves! Chih and Almost Brilliant are my favourite parts of these stories so I'm thrilled we got so much of them and their stories.
The Mamoth at the Gates is such a deep and moving tale. I was bawling through most of the second half, I was miserable (but in a good way?) If you've enjoyed any of the Singing Hills cycle you'll no doubt love this as well. The characters, story and lore were all so well interwoven into a masterful tale.

Thanks to Tor Books/Netgalley for my review copy. Thoughts all my own…

Mammoths at the Gates is the fourth novella in the Singing Hills Cycle, which can be read in any order (I haven’t read all of the others). They centre around Cleric Chih and are set in a fantasy world with ghosts, spirits and fantastical beasts. In Mammoths at the Gates, Cleric Chih arrives home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in years, only to find that their mentor has recently died.

The book is beautiful. The writing is deft and the characters are richly imagined, nuanced and completely loveable. The story explores grief and memory in such a gentle, lyrical way. A novella, so it’s a quick read, perfect for a quiet weekend afternoon with a cup of tea.

As soon as I finished it I went in search of the other books in the series, and I can’t wait to read them. I feel like they’ll be the type of book I’ll reread every so often, and think about frequently.

Mammoths at the Gate isn’t out until September, but you can read the other three while you wait!