Novella Review – Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle, Book 3) by Nhgi Vo (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 112 pages
Publisher:Tordotcom
Release Date: October 25, 2022
ASIN: B09NJ9PY5Y
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in The Singing Hills Cycle
Source: eGalley from NetGalley to Review
Rating: 5/5 stars
“Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themself far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be.
Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story—beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel—bears more than one face.”
Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Singing Hills Cycle. I got a copy of this book to review through NetGalley.
Thoughts: I enjoyed this addition to the Singing Hills Cycle a lot. In this book Chih and Almost Brilliant head to the Riverlands, a vicious land plagued by bandits and fighters. There is a lot more action in this book than in the previous ones. As with previous books there are stories and tales within the main story that Chih and Almost Brilliant collect along their journey.
This was very well done and a thoughtful (if quick) read. We get to learn more about the Riverlands and meet the legendary fighters of the region. We get to watch as Chih is involved in a battle for a small village (and accepts that they are more suited to telling stories than fighting). I enjoyed this a lot, I think if you have enjoyed the previous novellas in this series you will enjoy this one as well.
I still love the idea of Chih being a collector of stories and really enjoy Chih’s love of stories themselves and knowledge of how they help people understand the world.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was a great pleasure to read and I continue to really love the premise behind this series and the stories it contains. This book was a bit more action packed than previous ones. I am eager to see where Chih and Almost Brilliant explore next!
