Rules:
Rules:
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.
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.
