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booksthatburn's review
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 Iβm 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.
Iβm 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.
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 Iβm 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.
Iβm 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cursing, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
maeverose's review
4.0
Iβm not sure I fully understood the ending but I enjoyed it overall
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual assault and Kidnapping
Description of a hanged bodyf18's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail
overbooked207's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
4.0
π Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo Book Review π
5th book of January 2023 and 5th of the year:
This was the third installment in the beautifully written, queernormative The Singing Hills Cycle series by Nghi Vo. Like the two books before it, this focused on storytelling, learning about other cultures and people, and why those things are so important, and I love the fact that they highlight those things. It had great, diverse, and badass characters, and the fight scenes were also very good. The audiobooks are all beautifully narrated, and I recommend the whole series! TWs for animal death, cursing, death, gore, injury/injury description, mention of rape and forced prostitution toward the beginning, murder, and violenceππ§π³οΈβππ
5th book of January 2023 and 5th of the year:
This was the third installment in the beautifully written, queernormative The Singing Hills Cycle series by Nghi Vo. Like the two books before it, this focused on storytelling, learning about other cultures and people, and why those things are so important, and I love the fact that they highlight those things. It had great, diverse, and badass characters, and the fight scenes were also very good. The audiobooks are all beautifully narrated, and I recommend the whole series! TWs for animal death, cursing, death, gore, injury/injury description, mention of rape and forced prostitution toward the beginning, murder, and violenceππ§π³οΈβππ
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Rape, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
nekoshka's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing and Violence
displacedcactus's review
adventurous
inspiring
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
Don't be put off by the fact that this is the third book in the series -- The Singing Hills Cycle is designed to be read in any order you like. Each book is a self-contained narrative where Cleric Chih finds themself collecting stories from someone in a specific locale. In this episode, we find Chih and their avian companion Almost Brilliant traveling through the titular riverlands with an older married couple and a pair of sworn sisters, one beautiful and martial, the other plain and practical. Each member of the party shares some of their favorite stories from the region, and along the way they encounter some trouble on the road, until everything comes together in a pretty satisfying conclusion.
The theme of this book, and the series as a whole, seems to really be about who tells stories, and who gets stories told about them, and how stories change depending on the teller.
As someone who has always enjoyed folklore and fairy tales, I really love this series and the folktales that Vo weaves into her world.
The only drawback to these books is that they are VERY SHORT. The Storygraph listing claims this is a 100 page novella, but on my ereader with a font on the large side of medium this was 66 pages, including front and end matter! It's very easy to read in a single sitting. Unless you are the sort of person who frequently re-reads books, or who loans them out to friends who reliably return them, I can't really recommend owning this book, but I definitely recommend getting it from the library. Personally, I'd love to see the publisher release all three books so far in a lovely omnibus edition with illustrations. That's something I'd be proud to have on my shelf!
The theme of this book, and the series as a whole, seems to really be about who tells stories, and who gets stories told about them, and how stories change depending on the teller.
As someone who has always enjoyed folklore and fairy tales, I really love this series and the folktales that Vo weaves into her world.
The only drawback to these books is that they are VERY SHORT. The Storygraph listing claims this is a 100 page novella, but on my ereader with a font on the large side of medium this was 66 pages, including front and end matter! It's very easy to read in a single sitting. Unless you are the sort of person who frequently re-reads books, or who loans them out to friends who reliably return them, I can't really recommend owning this book, but I definitely recommend getting it from the library. Personally, I'd love to see the publisher release all three books so far in a lovely omnibus edition with illustrations. That's something I'd be proud to have on my shelf!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Violence
Minor: Cursing