Publishers Weekly
★ 08/01/2022
Historian cleric Chih returns in Vo’s spellbinding third Singing Hills Cycle novella (after When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain). This time, Chih and their companion Almost Brilliant, a bird with near-perfect memory, wander into the riverlands of Anh, where an encounter with a bully brings them together with two young women: a martial artist skilled in a rare style and her sworn sister, a self-proclaimed “ugly girl.” The four of them accept an elderly couple’s offer to escort them through the land’s winding trails, though their guides have no patience for the myths and rumors that Chih collects. When they come upon the remains of a man killed in the fashion of one of those very myths, Chih finds that they can no longer just passively record stories—they’re in one. Vo expertly weaves myths and histories of this fantastical land throughout, while also offering readers a deeper understanding of Chih themself, a character who may have been left as a framing device in lesser hands. The result is a pitch-perfect series installment. (Oct.)
From the Publisher
Praise for Into the Riverlands
"Spellbinding. . . . Vo expertly weaves myths and histories of this fantastical land throughout, while also offering readers a deeper understanding of Chih themself, a character who may have been left as a framing device in lesser hands. The result is a pitch-perfect series installment."—Publishers Weekly, (starred review)
"Rides the knife edge between telling a story and being in the middle of it and explores how tales become legends. . . . Highly recommended for . . . anyone who likes high fantasy inspired by Imperial China or wuxia movies and stories."—Library Journal (starred review)
"The novella is written in Vo’s rich, lovely language, and it’s nice to have such a wonderful fantasy series be totally accessible in standalone volumes. . . . Fans of folklore-inspired fantasy will eat this one up."—Booklist
Praise for the Singing Hills Cycle
"Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect."—Seanan McGuire
"A quiet, wrenching tale of resistance, resilience, and court intrigue."—R. F. Kuang
"A glorious, beautifully-written tale that is both tragic and triumphant, unfolding a secret history through the ordinary artifacts of everyday life."—Kate Elliott
"Vo's debut has it all: from sapphic love to cruel betrayals; from political intrigue to lakes that glow red to ghosts that continue to walk old paths."—Booklist, starred review
"A stunning feminist fantasy."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Uncovers a nuanced history of how the disenfranchised shape history, and can come to rule it, though at great cost."—Buzzfeed
"A masterpiece of understatement and implication. . . it gives the impression of effortlessness while being quietly meticulous in every stitch."—Nerd Daily
"[A] gorgeous debut novella."—Paste
"An epic in miniature, beautifully realised."—Zen Cho
"At once epic and intimate, this story of revenge, power and the weight of history is a small, masterful jewel."—Aliette de Bodard
"Resides in the intimate margins of its (beautifully imagined) world's history, portraying how the marginalized may yet shape those narratives and harness the power of stories."—Indra Das
"Rich details and emotional prose captures readers from the first page of this imaginative and powerful novella. "—Library Journal
Library Journal
★ 08/01/2022
The third novella in Vo's Crawford Award-and Hugo Award—winning "Singing Hills Cycle" (after When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain) continues to follow cleric Chih as they travel through the empire of Ahn, collecting stories for their monastery, which is devoted to the preservation of history. On a little-used trail through the Singing Hills, Chih is accompanied on their journey by two young sisters (one of them a martial artist) and a local middle-aged couple, who take turns telling tales to ease the journey. One such story is the local legend of two martial artists, Wild Pig Yi and Gravewraith Chen, who fought over the treasure carried by the beauteous Nin but banded together to face a dangerous gang. It's a good story that Chih is determined to preserve, but when the party reaches their destination, the cleric learns that not all good stories are true—or over. Like the previous books in the series, this one rides the knife edge between telling a story and being in the middle of it and explores how tales become legends. VERDICT Vo's (The Chosen and the Beautiful; Siren Queen) latest is highly recommended for readers of the previous books in the series and anyone who likes high fantasy inspired by Imperial China or wuxia movies and stories.—Marlene Harris
