Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Into the Riverlands

The story-within-a-story framework for this cycle of novellas is so well-executed, and I loved the road-trip version we get in this installment. While this felt more plot-driven than the two previous novellas, I still really enjoyed it, and loved the wuxia elements, in particular.

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devynreadsnovels's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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librarymouse's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

I continue to adore these novellas. I wish there were more, and I'm eternally glad Nghi Vo is continuing to publish them. The prose is beautiful and I am a sucker for a continually evolving/changing story that doesn't necessarily need to be told linearly.

from poly elders who have adored each other long enough for their love to become that of legend, to non-romantic sworn bonds, to fast friendships, this novella shows the enormous breath of what is possible in relationships and love, beyond the narrow definitions often ascribed to marriage and friendship. Nghi Vo writes the most gorgeous fully realized characters.

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booksthatburn's review

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adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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

The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are meant to be able to be read in any order, interchangeable and episodic. The latest entry, INTO THE RIVERLANDS, achieves that with a meandering series of stories, interruptions, and anecdotes as Chih and Almost Brilliant travel in the riverlands with a mix of persons. It's not trying to wrap up anything left hanging, the storyline is entirely new and self-contained, and the entire tale is both introduced and resolved. It's not the last book in the series, but it also doesn't specifically leave anything left hanging for later. The floating nature of the story is carried off well. While I am reading them in order (mostly due to discovering the series when only the first book was available), I do concur that they would make sense in whatever order the reader is so inclined to use. Chih has a transformative experience which is said to be new to them thus far, but it's not so life-changing as to render the previous stories into a distinct "before" and "after" that might be jarring if read out of order. Their voice as a main character is consistent with earlier books, which is especially important as they and Almost Brilliant are the main points of continuity within the series (with the idea of the Singing Hills Temple as a refrain but not an actuality thus far).

INTO THE RIVERLANDS is a rambling tale, where Chih is being told stories, often in the somewhat messy and multilayered manner of a group of near-strangers who know similar tales, and may have shared backgrounds, but where each has their own version. Towards the end, there is a reveal that re-contextualized many of the stories. I suspect that if I reread the book I would find that it is even more looping and connected than I was able to understand the first time. I like books which have some kind of revelation that changes the way that the rest of the story is perceived or understood, and I’m also impressed that such a short story conveys so much and has such an interesting twist. It might, however, make the story feel confusing and a bit pointless, because only a couple of things happen in the midst of all the stories. It's definitely not pointless, and it fits in well with the broader series. Almost as soon as I finished I wanted to read it again to understand it better.

Chih has been in danger elsewhere in the series, but this time they are confronted with the messy and logistical realities of death and its aftermath in a way they've never been before. In a previous book, they were in danger of being killed, but it was not the kind of danger that involved them having to figure out what to do with bodies afterward. This time while traveling through the river lands, the group comes a body. There's a mark from the Hollow Hand, a once prominent and terrifying group whose current iteration is composed of whatever group decides that claiming an affiliation would strike fear in victims and bystanders.

I’m glad this is a novella because the way it meanders feels random and unconnected at first and it might have been boring in a longer story. However, as a novella, it had just the right amount of time to cultivate the impression of people traveling together and telling each other stories before they're suddenly interrupted first by death and second by danger.

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maeverose's review

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4.0

I’m not sure I fully understood the ending but I enjoyed it overall

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odditiex's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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