kaziaroo's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I normally go for substance over style, but I liked this one a lot. It's very atmospheric and immersive, and I really enjoyed the narrative style and framing. The storytelling was very subtle and I'm still a little confused about the timeline of events but it suited the overall tone. It took a while for me to realise what made the empress so great and even now I feel like I barely know her, more as a shadow in the mist than a person. As someone who tends to read chunky novels, it feels strange and almost uncomfortable to finish a story while not knowing so much about the characters. It kept me company for a few hours, and now it's gone. I'll definitely keep the other books in the series on my to-read list for next time I have a long journey.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Misogyny, and Death
Minor: Abortion, War, Pregnancy, Murder, Violence, Suicide, Sexual content, Infertility, and Animal death
singlier's review
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Empress of Salt and Fortune 5/5 🐇s
I read this book on the recommendation of an online friend and was absolutely not disappointed. This book is a quick read, only around 120 pages, but what it manages to do in those pages is astounding. The story follows a young cleric, Chih and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant as they listen and catalogue the artifacts of Rabbit, a servant who worked for the late Empress In-yo. Over the course of the book, they learn the story of Empress In-yo, a princess from the north entrapped in a political marriage who, after bearing a son for the Emperor, is sent into exile. Years later, In-yo returns to the capital, where she overthrows the Emperor and enshrines her daughter on the throne as the head of a new dynasty.
This books is short but powerful, mixing the catalogue of Chih's findings with the stories Rabbit tells her. It is a story of anger, magic, and retribution, all set in a high fantasy imperial China setting. The cast is small, with most named characters being women. There are two more books in the series, and I can't wait to read them.
I read this book on the recommendation of an online friend and was absolutely not disappointed. This book is a quick read, only around 120 pages, but what it manages to do in those pages is astounding. The story follows a young cleric, Chih and their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant as they listen and catalogue the artifacts of Rabbit, a servant who worked for the late Empress In-yo. Over the course of the book, they learn the story of Empress In-yo, a princess from the north entrapped in a political marriage who, after bearing a son for the Emperor, is sent into exile. Years later, In-yo returns to the capital, where she overthrows the Emperor and enshrines her daughter on the throne as the head of a new dynasty.
This books is short but powerful, mixing the catalogue of Chih's findings with the stories Rabbit tells her. It is a story of anger, magic, and retribution, all set in a high fantasy imperial China setting. The cast is small, with most named characters being women. There are two more books in the series, and I can't wait to read them.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Infertility
fraise's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Grief, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Violence, War, Suicide, Infertility, Colonisation, Murder, Toxic relationship, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal death and Slavery
gbookly's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Misogyny
Moderate: Grief, War, and Pregnancy
Minor: Murder, Infertility, and Suicide
its2early4this's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
This was an interesting book, particularly in how it was written. I enjoyed the storytelling through someone's memories and items. I liked that the world was revealed through glimpses, and that the author didn't just tell how things work in their world, but rather showed what happened and trusted that the reader was intelligent enough to make connections and understand (this is a major plus for me in any book). The biggest downfall for me was that, because of how the story was told, the characters felt distant. I wasn't as attached to them as I might have otherwise been. And things that would ordinarily have felt tragic didn't impact me much at all. Because it is a quick read, it still is probably worth the time invested, and I wouldn't be opposed to reading the others in the series if I have nothing else pressing to read. But the book wasn't particularly memorable for me. I did enjoy how the Empress's story ended. And I did like seeing the story of someone important and powerful told through the eyes of their servant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, and Death
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Pregnancy, and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia, Infertility, Bullying, Body shaming, and Sexual content
Most of the things that are likely to be triggering are not described in any great detail, due to the way the book is written. Loss/grief and pregnancy are probably the triggers dealt with the most in-depth. Although war plays a major role in the story, it is only really talked about from a distant perspective.books_are_magical's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infertility
takarakei's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Confinement, and Death
Moderate: War, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Murder and Infertility
thereaderfriend's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Nghi Vo managed to expertly tell a story in a story of a oppressed woman who overthrew a patriarchal empire. Rabbit, a humble handmaiden sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of 5 packets of dye, tells the story of how In-Yo, an exiled princess turned to amazing empress, conquered what saw so little of them, to a servile cleric. Rabbit also gets taken advantage of but is redeemed with a great outcome, as well as In-Yo with her amazing overcoming. Also appreciated how Chih, the cleric, responded to learning this lesson. They were so kind and earnest about how they saw this story and how it would affect Chih's career.
Some fav quotes:
"Accuracy above all things. You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small."
"How do you live with it watching you? .. As you live with anything, I suspect. You bear it, or you end it."
"Time is the thing. I want time to get the words right. To do proper honor to those who died. I don't want them to be ashamed when others speak about them. But I know that there is only so much time left, and it will never be perfect. "
"... if a record cannot be perfect, it should at least be present. Better for it to exist than for it to be perfect and only in your mind."
"Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves."
Some fav quotes:
"Accuracy above all things. You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small."
"How do you live with it watching you? .. As you live with anything, I suspect. You bear it, or you end it."
"Time is the thing. I want time to get the words right. To do proper honor to those who died. I don't want them to be ashamed when others speak about them. But I know that there is only so much time left, and it will never be perfect. "
"... if a record cannot be perfect, it should at least be present. Better for it to exist than for it to be perfect and only in your mind."
"Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, War, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy and Grief
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, and Murder
cheye13's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, Violence, War, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Homophobia
literarypenguin's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Empress of Salt and Fortune proves that even the shortest of stories can still be well written and impactful!
We follow a cleric named Chih traveling the kingdom with their Hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant recording stories about the empress. They meet an older woman named Rabbit who recounts her adventures and travels with the empress and alongside the cleric we learn about the empress, her exile, and what she did after. I love stories where we learn alongside the characters what truly happened in the story and it was very exciting to read it this way!
Rabbit was a great character and just in her words, you could tell how much she valued her friendship with the empress and how much she truly meant to her. How she would have done anything for her and the empress in her own way would have done the same for her. Despite her strong friendship, she told the truth about the empress and people got to see her as a person instead of a historical figure.
This tells the story of a rebellion but doesn't show war or big battles, instead, it shows us what happens behind the scenes and the people that make a rebellion work. It shows people coming and going throughout the war and the impact they had no matter how short their time was. It was refreshing to see that side of a battle in a book.
This was such a good novella and I highly recommend reading this and can not wait to read the other two books in the series for myself!!
We follow a cleric named Chih traveling the kingdom with their Hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant recording stories about the empress. They meet an older woman named Rabbit who recounts her adventures and travels with the empress and alongside the cleric we learn about the empress, her exile, and what she did after. I love stories where we learn alongside the characters what truly happened in the story and it was very exciting to read it this way!
Rabbit was a great character and just in her words, you could tell how much she valued her friendship with the empress and how much she truly meant to her. How she would have done anything for her and the empress in her own way would have done the same for her. Despite her strong friendship, she told the truth about the empress and people got to see her as a person instead of a historical figure.
This tells the story of a rebellion but doesn't show war or big battles, instead, it shows us what happens behind the scenes and the people that make a rebellion work. It shows people coming and going throughout the war and the impact they had no matter how short their time was. It was refreshing to see that side of a battle in a book.
This was such a good novella and I highly recommend reading this and can not wait to read the other two books in the series for myself!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Infertility