Novella Review – The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hill Cycle, Book 1) by Nghi Vo (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 128 pages
Publisher: Tor.com
Release Date: March 24, 2020
ISBN-13: 978-1250750303
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in The Signing Hill Cycle
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.
Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor’s lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.
At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She’s a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.”
Series Info/Source: I borrowed this book from the library. This is the first book in the Singing Hill Cycle.
Story (5/5): This is the story of a young Cleric who journeys to the empress’ former home to find her history. When they arrive there the Cleric meets Rabbit, a handmaiden of the Empress. As the Cleric finds different items around the house, Rabbit tells them stories about the history of the items which reveal the truth of the empress’s life and history.
Characters (5/5): I loved the characters in here and especially enjoyed watching how the Empress lived her life and took excellent advantage of the awful situations she was put into. There are a number of very well done characters in her. The Cleric identifies as a they/them so that designation throughout this review is not a typo.
Setting (5/5): I loved how the simple setting of the Empress’s former house turned into a whole world of politics and danger all through the objects that are left there. It was incredibly cleverly done. There is more unique world-building in this one slim novella than I see in a lot of fantasy novels of much longer length.
Writing Style (5/5): The creative and unique way this story was put together was amazing. By simply having Rabbit tell the Cleric the stories of different objects we are immersed in the world of the Empress and Rabbit. The way everything is revealed is incredible, the settings and characters really come alive for the reader. This was just so well done.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an absolutely amazing book. I love how we are introduced to this world and how the story is formatted. The whole story is beautifully written and cleverly done. I loved the concept, the characters, the world, and the story and would highly recommend it. This book stands alone beautifully but I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.
