The City in Glass by Nghi Vo

Title: The City in Glass

Series: n/a

Author: Nghi Vo
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: TorDotCom; October 1, 2024

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

In this new standalone, Hugo Award-winning author Nghi Vo introduces a beguiling fantasy city in the tradition of Calvino, Mieville, and Le Guin.

A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.

The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot. And then the angels come, and the city falls. Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned. She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever. Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.

The City in Glass is both a brilliantly constructed history and an epic love story, of death and resurrection, memory and transformation, redemption and desire strong enough to burn a world to ashes and build it anew.

Nghi Vo’s, The Singing Hills Cycle, is one of my favorite series, so I was interested in checking out her latest story, The City in Glass. Essentially, this is a tale about a ruined city that might rise again from its ashes, a demon, an angel, and the strange tumultuous sort-of fascination/love story between the two.

The City in Glass was engaging from the very first page. It begins with a revelry, the fall of the city, and the demon, Vitrine’s effort to rebuild what she lost. Despite the book’s short length, the actual timespan of the story was hundreds of years with sporadic time skips, which sometimes spanned as long as decades. The book was written incredibly well and with enough detail to give the characters—particularly Vitrine—and Azril a rich history.

A large part of the book was dedicated to—and lingered on—Vitrine’s grief as well as her memories of the people and the place she’d lost. During these flashbacks, it was clear how much she’d loved the city of Azril, following generations of families, shaping the place into what it was before everything ended, like a gardener. Her grief was, for lack of better terms, consuming, and The City in Glass allowed Vitrine to go through these stages. It was messy—she was prone to giving into her rage, lashed out, and wanted to be left alone with memories and ghosts—but it drove home the devastation. The way she wanted to linger in the past reminded me of a short story I read earlier this year (Something Small Enough to Ask For by Anamaria Curtis), and the lesson for that main character was ultimately a similar one. Stay in the past or finally move forward? As character arcs go, Vitrine’s was a good one.

One avenue that I was pretty undecided on (and still am), was how the relationship landed, whether it worked as well as some of the other aspects of The City in Glass or not—especially with the way the story ended. On one hand, I understand Vitrine had to work through her grief and come to terms with the angel’s role in it. While on the other hand, some of the angel and Vitrine’s best moments were when they communicated, when there was this push-and-pull albeit with a sense of burgeoning closeness and understanding (even frustration and anger) with each other. However, I wish there had been more of it, or at least a little more of the angel’s perspective on the situation, particularly before the end.

Despite how conflicted I was about the aforementioned, it wasn’t bad actually. In fact, The City in Glass was thoroughly engaging and enjoyable, and I know I’ll be thinking about it for a long time.

 

About the author....

Nghi Vo is the author of the novels Siren Queen and The Chosen and the Beautiful, as well as the acclaimed novellas of the Singing Hills Cycle, which began withThe Empress of Salt and Fortune. The series entries have been finalists for the Locus Award and the Lambda Literary Award, and have won the Crawford Award, the Ignyte Award, and the Hugo Award. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (TorDotCom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo!

Title: The Brides of High Hill

Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #5
Author: Nghi Vo
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Novella
Publisher/Publication Date: Tordotcom; May 7, 2024

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The Hugo Award-Winning Series returns with its newest standalone entry: a gothic mystery involving a crumbling estate, a mysterious bride, and an extremely murderous teapot.

The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to an aging lord at a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. But they’re forgetting things they ought to remember, and the lord’s mad young son wanders the grounds at night like a hanged ghost.

One of my most anticipated releases of the year was Nghi Vo’s next novella in The Singing Hills’s Cycle, The Brides of High Hill, which the synopsis described as a gothic mystery. I’ve enjoyed books of that type from time to time, so, going into The Brides of High Hill, I was interested to see what Vo’s interpretation of it would look like.

The latest adventure of Cleric Chih takes a slight detour from the typical structure of the series, and puts them right in the thick of the action. There’s still a story that’s being told, but its clues can be subtle and are deeply embedded in the occurrences of the novella, rather than a story that is being imparted, in pieces, to Cleric Chih by other characters. The switch, however, works well, when the mystery and gothic aspects are taken into account. Atmosphere can be key—sometimes—and getting to see the faded or outright eerie elegance as well as the dilapidation that make up Doi Cao was a crucial part of setting the stage for the story.

And what a story it was. The twist managed to catch me by surprise, because it subverted the way I thought the story was going to go. But hindsight is 20/20. However, the ending is part of what I love most about Vo’s handling of The Brides of High Hill. It could have been straightforward, but it wasn’t. And I enjoyed that direction at lot more than my guesses.

At the end of the day, The Brides of High Hill is another great installment in the series.

About the author....

Nghi Vo is the author of the novels Siren Queen and The Chosen and the Beautiful, as well as the acclaimed novellas of the Singing Hills Cycle, which began withThe Empress of Salt and Fortune. The series entries have been finalists for the Locus Award and the Lambda Literary Award, and have won the Crawford Award, the Ignyte Award, and the Hugo Award. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind.

Goodreads     Website     Instagram

Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tordotcom) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

Short Stories I Read In November

It’s the fifteenth of December. So it’s time to talk about the short stories, miscellaneous posts, and podcast episodes I read or listened to in November.

On the Fox Roads by Nghi Vo (Tor.com; October 31, 2023)

I know Nghi Vo’s work best by The Singing Hills Cycle, a series of interconnected novellas that can be read in any order—as noted in the synopsis of the 2023 installment, Mammoths at the Gates. Since Vo is one of my favorite authors, I was very excited to check out her short story on Tor.com, On the Fox Roads. I loved this story a lot. It’s a historical cops and robbers kind of tale set in the Jazz Age—think Bonnie and Clyde—only there are subtle hints of magic from the mysterious and titular “Fox Roads.” But it’s also something of a character study, especially when I think about how the narrator was handled. Part of On the Fox Roads was their journey of discovering who they are and what they really want, within a journey that was dangerous and also extraordinary. I highly recommend this one!

From around the web…

• More than Human: Slan by A.E. van Vogt [Alan Brown; Tor.com, October 31, 2023]
• What Are We Writing About When We Write About Ghosts [Lisa Kroger and Melanie R. Anderson; Tor.com; October 31, 2023]
• To All the Book I’m Not Reading Yet [Molly Templeton; Tor.com; November 2, 2023]
• With Enough Reading Material, You Can Procrastinate Anything [Molly Templeton; November 9, 2023]
• Running Down that Hill: On Trail-Running and Writing [Costance Fey; Tor.com; November 14, 2023]
• Revealing I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle [Tor.com; November 21, 2023]
• Scalzi on Film: Speed Racer's Long Road [John Scalzi; Uncanny Magazine; Issue Fifty-Five]
• DIMENSIONS OF WONDER: George Saunders in a Haunted Mansion with Chocolate Mint [Eugenia Triantafyllou; Locus Magazine; November 28, 2023]

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

Title: Mammoths at the Gate

Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #4
Author: Nghi Vo
Source/Format: NetGalley; eARC
More Details: Fantasy; Novella
Publisher/Publication Date: Tordotcom Publishing; September 12, 2023

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest. Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather’s body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor’s chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve. But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien’s own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate... 

I was very excited to be approved for an ARC of Nghi Vo’s latest installment in The Singing Hills Cycle. This adventure sees the traveling cleric, Chih, return to Singing Hills abbey, and I was all for the change of scenery. It meant getting back to one of my favorite characters, the neixin named Almost Brilliant. And, while the world at large in this series is fascinating, I’ve always kind of wanted a story set at the abbey—since it was a pivotal part of Chih’s background.

This novella was everything I was hoping it would be. It still had the nested story format, but I liked how Chih was far closer to this conflict and some of the history—rather than only an observer—since the focus was on a fellow cleric who they were once close to (who had passed away). It was a messy and sensitive situation, especially where tempers and mammoths are involved. In spite of its short length, I appreciated the emotional depth that was present in the story. It’s one of the aspects that the series has excelled at since its beginning. Again, there weren’t the most pages here. But it wasn’t necessary, since, like the other novellas in The Singing Hills Cycle series, it was easy to care about and understand the perspective of even the new characters that were introduced.

Mammoths at the Gate, has reaffirmed my love for this series, its characters, and the stories within the story.

About the author....

Nghi Vo is the author of the acclaimed novellas The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind. The Chosen and the Beautiful is her debut novel.

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Tordotcom Publishing) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, thank you! 

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

Title: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #2
Author: Nghi Vo
Source/Format: Tor.com eBook Club; eBook
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; December 8, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.... Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in this mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune...

I enjoyed The Empress of Salt and Fortune so much, and I was eager to dive into its sequel, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. I also already had a copy of it, because it was a Tor.com eBook Club title a while ago, so there was basically no delay between when I finished the first and started the next.

When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain was just as engrossing and excellent as its predecessor. I really enjoy what Nghi Vo does with an embedded narrative, though the dynamics were shifted by the stark change in setting and the noticeable absence of Almost Brilliant. (I missed the neixin’s witty remarks!) But I didn’t mind it. The story was interesting not only because Chih doing most of the storytelling, but also for the addition of new characters, mammoths, and how great the story within the story was.

The tigers, in particular were fascinating. They were true to their nature and sufficiently terrifying in something of an antagonistic role—but also they were the catalyst that propelled the story in the direction it ultimately took. I genuinely enjoyed how Vo characterized them.

Overall, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain was the perfect weekend read, and I look forward to eventually reading the third book in the series.      

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

Title: The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #1
Author: Nghi Vo
Source/Format: Tor.com eBook club; eBook
More Details: Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Tor.com; May 24, 2020

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

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.

I finally caved and read The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. It’s been sitting on my tablet since I got it when it was one of Tor.com’s eBook club titles. And one night, I read the first sentence and was hooked.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune was an engrossing tale about how the life of a girl from humble beginnings got tangled with that of an empress. It recounted their time in exile and everything that entails. It was a beautiful story. And the majority of it is an embedded narrative, with a character (Rabbit) telling another character (Chih, a cleric, and Almost Brilliant, a neixin) their story.

This is one of my favorite storytelling conventions, and when it’s done well it can have an excellent effect. Each part of the story within the story in The Empress of Salt and Fortune was contained in respective chapters. I really enjoyed the format because of how much space it gave the present characters to interact, while also correlating their conversations—and the clues within the setting—to the history being imparted by Rabbit. The characters were, after all, what helped make the story so interesting. Chih and Almost Brilliant were favorites from the start, and Rabbit’s voice easily stole half the stage. All three propelled the story forward.

The point of The Empress of Salt and Fortune can be summed up by one of its earlier passages:

“Accuracy above all things. You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small.”—page 11.

And what a marvelous story it was!

The Friday 56 (226) & Book Beginnings: When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.... Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in this mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune

Beginning: "The tavern was little more than a waxed canvas tent, tilted towards the south by the wind that rushed headlong down the mountain."

56: "Ahnfi was the child of Pan'er, which sunk beneath the waves, and the latter-day daughter of that great city lacked all the parent's grace and beauty."

Comments: I had such a great experience with The Empress of Salt and Fortune that I couldn't wait to start its sequel, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain. This was another great installment in this series, and I loved it as much as the first. My 56 comes from page 54 instead, because every sentence was a major spoiler. What are you reading this week?

The Friday 56 (225) & Book Beginnings: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

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.

Beginning: "Something wants to eat you," called Almost Brilliant from her perch in a nearby tree, "and I shall not be sorry if it does."

56: "In-yo was silent behind her screen. Seated in my obscure corner of the hall, I could see a tiny twitch of movement, her hand tightening on the bulky silky robes that I had dressed her in that morning."

Comments: I read The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and it's probably one of the best novellas I've read so far this year. I loved everything about it. What are you reading this week?