greatlibraryofalexandra's review
5.0
This is a delicately bold, quiet and fierce, new age fairytale for the daughters of burned witches, suffragettes, silent sentinels, erased women - and so on. It's subtle, flowery, evocative, and pays homage to feminine resilience and the cunning brutality that bursts out of wronged women in a story that is both light as a feather and heavy as an anvil.
Stunning proof that a book does not have to be long to be rich, intelligent, engaging, and effective. This was subtle, beautiful, and satisfying in the best of ways. It is a fragile and powerful work of art, from the inclusionary nature of its characters down to the ruthless politics. So much breathes beneath the surface.
I would be interested in seeing a film adaptation of this; it seems to be poised perfectly for an immense production on the silver screen, but I fear the male gaze would make it something gaudy and cheap -- so perhaps we should preserve it as a hidden secret of teeth-baring female fantasy.
Stunning proof that a book does not have to be long to be rich, intelligent, engaging, and effective. This was subtle, beautiful, and satisfying in the best of ways. It is a fragile and powerful work of art, from the inclusionary nature of its characters down to the ruthless politics. So much breathes beneath the surface.
I would be interested in seeing a film adaptation of this; it seems to be poised perfectly for an immense production on the silver screen, but I fear the male gaze would make it something gaudy and cheap -- so perhaps we should preserve it as a hidden secret of teeth-baring female fantasy.
ayshayodels's review
5.0
I marvel at how writers are capable of writing so much in so few pages. It also makes me wonder about all those books filled with nonsense that could easily be condensed to half their size and still amount to the same story. The Empress of Salt and Fortune did something that very few books do and that's tell a story in a way that no one else can and manage to grip you through it all. This book was poetry and lore and beauty all wrapped into one. I'm definitely picking up the second book.
maekay's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
paigereadsaw's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
arrasisabell's review
4.0
“At once epic and intimate, this story of revenge, power, and the weight of history is a small, masterful jewel.” - Aliette De Bodard
claudiaque's review
5.0
Sometimes its so much harder to write a review for a book you found great than one you didn’t like. I just want to point at it and say IDK its just neat when its so hard to describe what exactly you loved about it. Well, ok I guess I will try.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a novella focusing on a very loosely described fantasy world where a history recorder finds a woman in a remote cabin and begins getting her story about the former Empress.
This is my second Vo and I think it helped coming in knowing I would more than likely become a little lost at moments. My first attempt was the audiobook of Siren Queen and I think in the future I will stick to text. It translated much better here and Vo played with the formatting a bit to make things even more interesting visually. Each chapter is prefaced by a list of described items that the recorder is…recording. The storyteller then tells a story relating to at least one of the items that was listed. It's an interesting format and worked for me.
I loved the rather slow paced unwinding of the elements of the story. Despite the book being short it felt detailed and very fulfilled. The story evolved in such an organic and frankly beautiful way. It felt like a tale that took its time smelling the flowers of the world it was in and the people that were in it even if we only got small glimpses and knowledge of most characters.
Overall, a really enjoyable and beautiful novella. I will definitely pick up the rest of the series in the future and keep an eye out (especially visually) for more works from Vo.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a novella focusing on a very loosely described fantasy world where a history recorder finds a woman in a remote cabin and begins getting her story about the former Empress.
This is my second Vo and I think it helped coming in knowing I would more than likely become a little lost at moments. My first attempt was the audiobook of Siren Queen and I think in the future I will stick to text. It translated much better here and Vo played with the formatting a bit to make things even more interesting visually. Each chapter is prefaced by a list of described items that the recorder is…recording. The storyteller then tells a story relating to at least one of the items that was listed. It's an interesting format and worked for me.
I loved the rather slow paced unwinding of the elements of the story. Despite the book being short it felt detailed and very fulfilled. The story evolved in such an organic and frankly beautiful way. It felt like a tale that took its time smelling the flowers of the world it was in and the people that were in it even if we only got small glimpses and knowledge of most characters.
Overall, a really enjoyable and beautiful novella. I will definitely pick up the rest of the series in the future and keep an eye out (especially visually) for more works from Vo.
agentdrake's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
calebg's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thebooksareeverywhere's review
I was very unsure going into this book – I don’t usually read short stories like this and most of the time just didn’t know what to think. Although this book was beautiful and whimsical, I had mixed feelings about the whole thing. I was very confused throughout about who the characters actually were, and found I had to completely put it out of my head to enjoy the story.
And I have to say, the writing was lovely. I loved the idea of having fairytales sprinkled throughout the story, and I became very engrossed in those. I also loved the Asian and feminist rep!
“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”
I can see the good in this story and in parts I really loved it. But unfortunately most of the time I was left feeling confused and overwhelmed with little idea of what was happening. I enjoyed it once I let myself get lost in the story, but it just simply wasn’t long enough to allow the read to sympathise with the characters.
I really enjoyed some aspects of this book and it was beautiful, but it left me feeling like a lot was missing, and the premise was just better than how I ended up feeling about the story.
★★★
3 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽
And I have to say, the writing was lovely. I loved the idea of having fairytales sprinkled throughout the story, and I became very engrossed in those. I also loved the Asian and feminist rep!
“Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”
I can see the good in this story and in parts I really loved it. But unfortunately most of the time I was left feeling confused and overwhelmed with little idea of what was happening. I enjoyed it once I let myself get lost in the story, but it just simply wasn’t long enough to allow the read to sympathise with the characters.
I really enjoyed some aspects of this book and it was beautiful, but it left me feeling like a lot was missing, and the premise was just better than how I ended up feeling about the story.
★★★
3 out of 5 stars
-Beth
May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽