Fans of the Singing Hills Cycle be slightly warned, this one gets dark, but it's still pitch-perfectly suited for this stunning series. The focus on famine and starvation is...a lot, to say the least, but it's so well-executed.

The creepiest of Vo's cleric novellas so far - famine and cannibalism oh my. If you're concerned seeing a cat on the cover, don't worry, no kitties die during the story.

I loved this! It was absolutely a fantastic addition to the "Singing Hill Cycle"! Nghi Vo is simply the best and I can't wait for more in this series!

5/5

I love the Singing Hills Cycle so much. The world is great and I really enjoy following Chih and Almost Brilliant during their often horrific, sometimes lighthearted, and always contemplative travels. The perspective of the cleric tasked with collecting stories while trying to avoid reinforcing hierarchies and biases is one I enjoy inhabiting.

Love this series, and this latest installment is no exception. Perfectly paced and chilling, the mystery unfolds wonderfully. Always feel safe in Nghi Vo's hands, despite the frightening stories she tells.

Thank you to the publisher for the early copy!

3.75 rounded up⭐️

The latest book in the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo is one of the darkest of the bunch, but also one of the most impactful.

Book Stats:
📖: 96 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: TorDotCom
Format: Singular POV
Series: Book 6/6 in The Singing Hills Cycle

Themes:
🐈: Devastation of Famine
🐈: How hunger affects people
🐈: Can't run from the past

Representation:
💨: Non Binary MC
💨: Asian legends and myths

Tropes:
💗: Animal Companion
💗: Oral Storytelling

🥵: Spice: 🚫
Potential Triggers: **check authors page/socials for full list.

Short Synopsis:
Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant have traveled to Baolin along the river searching for more stories to record. What they find is stories of betrayal, famine, and devastation. Uncovering a decades-old sinister plot where the powerful don't meet consequences for their actions. Unfortunately, for those people in power, memories have teeth, and they are still hungry.

General Thoughts:
While short and lacking much character development and world building, this is probably one of my favorite installments of this series of novellas as far as the tale that I've read thus far. I wasn't expecting this story to be as dark as it was. But it absolutely gave a sinister and desolate picture as I read. The descriptions of famine and the length people will go to to survive were absolutely harrowing, even though they were very simply dictated. You could feel the desperation of some of these people, jumping off of the page.

Cleric Chih remains ever faithful in their duties to record oral storytelling throughout the providences. I always appreciate the cleric for their aptitude, and I always will love Almost Brilliant as a fuzzy and feathery side companion, who is sometimes just a little too smart and snarky for their own good. This particular novella was very short, so I don't feel like there was a lot of room for character development within the novel. But I do feel like we got a little bit out of the cleric anyways.

The town they were in seem to be very interesting, especially with the background that is welcome through the story. But I do wish we had gotten some sort of world building to learn about the town in general.

The real captivating aspect of this super short story for me was the oral storytelling done by the characters within the novel. I felt like the stories themselves were extremely detailed and interesting, and absolutely captured my attention. They were dark and atmospheric and absolutely harrowing at times. Which set up for the big climatic reveal at the end of the novel of course. So while I do feel like the book was lacking in a few areas the oral storytelling really made the book shine anyways.

Overall, I really liked the novel despite wishing it was longer and contained a little bit more character development and world building.

Disclaimer: I received this gifted ARC through NetGalley and the publisher TorDotCom. All opinions are my own. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Perhaps my favorite cycle so far, a deep dive into what it means to hunger (both physically and emotionally) and the lengths we go to in order to satiate that hunger. I was worried for Cleric Chi, but as always, their kindness and wisdom helped them bring another difficult story to a close.

Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this wonderful eARC. Nghi Vo does it again in this wonderful addition to the Singing Hills Cycle.

In this installment, we join Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant on another adventure to collect the story of a town ravaged by a famine demon in the not so distant past.

One of the things Nghi Vo does beautifully is focus a book on a topic in a way that showcases its deeper meaning, in this case how food scarcity can change people, cause them to do things only desperate hunger can. Other reviews I've read called the book too short and unfinished but to me that is part of the point: to make you feel like you're still hungry but there is no more, no way to sate that hunger for the story. To give you that brief sense of famine. I wont say this is my favorite of her books but I definitely enjoyed it. 4.25 ☆

Nghi Vo has once again written another wonderful tale following cleric Chih on their journey. This installment, while feeling shorter and leaner than the rest, with a darker, heavier topic, it is still no less beautifully written.
A Mouthful of Dust, at its core, is a book about food, both in abundance and in scarcity. It showcases how food can shape a family, a town, and even a culture, while also exploring just how far humanity will go to survive if food isn't guaranteed. Vo's descriptive writing offers a haunting and gruesome, yet not overly grotesque look at famine and how it ravages through a population. Hunger comes for everyone when the food supply has run empty, but some are willing to sacrifice more than others to save themselves.

Pretty much anything by Nghi Vo is an auto-read for me, so I grabbed A Mouthful of Dust eagerly. In this one, Chih is looking for the stories of a recent famine, and plunges straight into a clearly fraught local situation. Cannibalism is more or less taken for granted in these situations, and Chih expects to find it, but people have all kinds of secrets around a famine, and the local magistrate definitely wants to hide something — and it… isn’t cannibalism?

This one’s a bit creepy, and it feels like Chih’s definitely in some danger. It feels really short, though: not incomplete, but it’s a small spare mouthful, lean with famine and shame. I’d maybe have liked one or two more stories; maybe I’d have liked a certain character to tell her story to Chih and give her own point of view…

In any case, this also reminded me that I’d really like to reread some of the earlier books in the series. Like the others, it pretty much stands alone once you have the basic concept, but it references the Empress of Salt and Fortune, and that made me remember how long it is since I read the book of that name, and that I’ve half-forgotten her story.

A lovely, lovely series of novellas, though they go some dark places. It’s an amazing concept for a series which lets Nghi Vo explore a whole range of themes and locations.

Another brilliant addition to this series. I could read a million of these stories. But now I really want some pork and the recipe at the end wasn’t enough! I need someone to make it for me.

Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant have been sent to the city of Baolin to collect stories about a three year famine. Some people easily share how they survived the famine demon's visit, while others seem to be hiding something. This installment of the Singing Hills is tense and you will be looking over your should as you read. The descriptions take you straight to Baolin and beyond. Incredible!

Nghi Vo does it again. This installment is a fantastic addition to the series—lyrical, incisive, and quietly devastating. Short, but incredibly impactful.

As always, my favorite aspect of these novellas is the way truth and storytelling are expressed. It is both visceral and powerful, with a message that feels especially relevant today as Chih explores the hunger/starvation of the town of Baolin. Vo has such a talent for atmosphere, and it truly shines here, alongside the prose. I would also be remiss not to mention Chih and Almost Brilliant. They are a delight to follow, and it's always great to see them together. Definitely one of my favorites in the series so far. I'll be thinking about this (and that final line) for a long time. Thank you NetGalley and Tor for this eARC!!

As this series grows Nghi Vo has drawn me into this world with expert prose. "A Mouthful of Dust" is the darkest installment yet. It made me cringe more than once with the descriptions of atrocities committed during a famine. Vo did an excellent job depicting the reality of slowly starving to death. They used taste in an interesting way to build empathy. In particular, I enjoyed the way she described sucking water out of towels to get the flavor from them. This is something we all have done as children, but for much different reasons.
I cannot wait to read the next installment of the Singing Hills Cycle.

There is nothing that Nghi Vo can write that I would not read. This is the most recent novel in the Singing Hills Cycle. It's not the strongest in my opinion, but remains nonetheless a solid and compelling story. There's more body horror in this particular tale than others, but personally I did not find it as frightening or unsettling as others in the series.

I've been reading this series since 2021. I always love returning to the Singing Hills Cycle. It feels almost effortless to dive back into Nghi Vo's lyrical, witty & haunting prose. Vo has a unique skill where her novellas feel just the right length for the plot to develop & for us to gain some insight into the world & our narrator, Cleric Chih. A Mouthful of Dust was no different. There were so many layers to this story, from the bones & the pork to the clay biscuits. It was all perfectly woven into an intense story tapestry. I am already looking forward to returning to this world.

Nghi Vo continues to expand and explore the world of the Singing Hills Abbey, and I’m all for it. This novella is darker than its predecessors in this series; it is more atmospheric. I’m amazed at how much interest and nuance Vo manages to fit into Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant, as well as all the supporting characters, in such a short story.

While it’s not necessary to read the novellas in order, I recommend reading the previous stories, particularly novellas 1 and 4, before this new novella. There are references to characters and features interwoven throughout the novellas, but it felt that prior knowledge was more necessary for this novella.

4 stars.

Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishin,g for this ARC.

A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo, a well written novelette. Captures the imagination and makes you want to keep reading.