Publishers Weekly
★ 11/23/2020
Vo follows The Empress of Salt and Fortune with another dazzling, standalone novella featuring Cleric Chih as they explore the northern region of Anh. A quick trip to a local way station is derailed by a trio of tigers who corner Chih and their guide, Si-yu, in a barn. When the tigers, who speak with human voices, learn that Chih is an accomplished story archivist, they demand to hear the human version of a legend shared among their kind before eating the travelers. At their request, Chih tells the story of Scholar Dieu, a woman dedicated to her studies, who comes upon the tiger Ho Thi Thao. Though the tigers frequently interrupt Chih to counter the human narrative with their own version of events, it is clear Dieu and Ho Thi Thao are intricately linked in both human and tiger history. Vo elegantly threads the legend through the frame story, and Chih’s personal history is equally, if not more, fascinating than the legend of Ho Thi Thao. Readers who missed Vo’s debut will have no trouble following the second leg of Chih’s travels, and those returning will be pleased to sink into another lush, sophisticated story of queer love and survival. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary. (Dec.)
From the Publisher
A Hugo Award-Winning Series!
An ALA RUSA Reading List Selection!
"Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful. . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR
"Dazzling. . . . Readers who missed Vo’s debut will have no trouble following the second leg of Chih’s travels, and those returning will be pleased to sink into another lush, sophisticated story of queer love and survival."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen
"You don’t have to read Nghi Vo’s debut in order to follow this second short novel, but you’ll want to! Feminist, layered and queer AF, Nghi Vo’s storytelling will mesmerize you. You should probably just read them both."—Ms. Magazine
"As a piece of fantasy literature, Vo’s worldbuilding is a command performance... We are in a golden age of the novella, and Vo knows how to make the most of the form, with short, propelling chapters and potent ideas. The world is scaffolded off real history and folk traditions but feels fresh and interesting, and Vo once again succeeds in using a scholarly, contemplative protagonist to tease deep emotion and significance out of old stories."—The Chicago Review of Books
"So good I want to marry it."—Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author of The Murderbot Diaries
"Vo is my favorite fantasy debut of 2020."—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books
"This lyrical story of the cleric Chih unraveling the story of a ravenous tiger is unforgettably original and gorgeously written."—PopSugar
Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune
"Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful... The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR
"Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect."—Seanan McGuire
"A quiet, wrenching tale of resistance, resilience, and court intrigue."—R. F. Kuang
"A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised."—Zen Cho
Library Journal
★ 11/01/2020
As a Singing Hills cleric, Chih has been traveling and gathering stories in the Northern Province, now heading up a pass with Si-yu, one of the mammoth corp. As a snowstorm picks up they arrive at a way station where they are attacked by three hungry tigers, one who can change form into a woman as a tiger queen. Now facing off against these incredible beasts, Chih is able to delay their deaths with the promise of a story of Ho Thi Thao, a famous tiger, and Dieu, her scholar and lover. As Chih unravels the story as they know it, they begin to learn that truth and history are influenced by the perspective of those who tell it. This compelling plot is fast-paced, while the writing creates an intimate story that is filled with beautiful prose and lush worldbuilding. VERDICT This stand-alone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune is as sensuous and lyrical as Vo's debut. Readers may miss Chih's companion, Almost Brilliant, but the mammoth Piluk and tiger queen Ho Sinh Loan are enchanting additions.—Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
