Welcome to Litsy!

A lake that glows scarlet at night, enchanted home filled with relics, a powerful Empress in exile, ghosts drifting through forests… What a beautiful novella!

Vo‘s world-building is rich and elegant. She weaves the tale of a traveling cleric, Chih, and a hoopoe bird, Almost Brilliant, who are capturing stories and secrets in the Empire of Anh. It‘s the first in series, but I‘ve heard you can read them in any order.

This was a reread, since I love this series but it's probably been years since I read the first (looks like it was 2020). It felt maybe a bit longer/slower than the most recent one (which isn't out yet, I had an ARC), maybe a bit more introductory, even though they all stand alone? But it's really satisfying how Chih slowly assembles the story to create a record.

It was also my #BookSpin, so we're off to a flying start!

Hey so @bookwyrm7 that was devastating…

First book off my #auldlangspine list! Genuinely had me crying at work, how dare you 😭

5 stars, @Lin3han you‘d love this one.

I‘ve never enjoyed a novella, where most of it I had no idea what‘s happening, more. What‘s opposite of world building?

“Angry women raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.”

I loved this tale of friendship, loyalty and betrayal told through the lens of female rage. Women who refuse to be broken by circumstance - one sold into service by a poverty stricken family and the other a beloved princess trapped in a political marriage with a hostile court. Unlikely friends and allies - their story is both inspiring and deeply sad.

I do get tired of fantasy worlds where women are still treated like crap. Can't we imagine something different?

September #Roll100
@PuddleJumper

I was legit confused for the first half of this book. Like I did not understand the meaning behind the stories the old woman was telling. But once I got it, it was a beautiful and sad story

We're having crazy thunderstorms this afternoon! There are probably productive things I should be doing, but I can't resist curling up in the sunroom, listening to the rain hit the metal roof, and reading a great book. 🥰

The cover for these!? Amazing!! The story inside...imo, debatable 😆 I've been meaning to pick these up for a while now but kept putting them off bc they're novellas... Finally read it tho and I was slightly...confused? But after a second restart, I just let it play and it became quite interesting. I think that's how I have to treat these little nuggets. This story focused on the current empress and her origins #sapphic #nonbinary

I feel like this is one that will grow on me over time. Even though it's a short novella, I read it slowly over a month. This fantasy world is slowly revealed through the memories of a handmaiden to the exiled empress. I'm interested to read the next books from this series to learn more about this world.
#SeriesLove2024 @Andrew65 @TheSpineView
#AuldLangSpine @sebrittainclark @monalyisha

"The abbey at Singing Hills would say that 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", in "The Empress of Salt and Fortune", by Nghi Vo.

4.1⭐️ it was good, not quite what I expected, but that‘s OK. What drove me crazy with the continuous amount of the times the question “do you understand” was asked, because no, no, I really kind of don‘t. I mean, I get why it ended the way it did, and why certain events happened. However, I still don‘t understand the cause of some of the events, the decisions that were made, or why everything is being confessed now.

I wanted to like this more than I did. The story was intriguingly told and the world being built had many interesting elements. However, it felt incomplete, possibly because it was a novella rather than part of a longer work. The storytelling was the sort of thing I‘d want in like a 500-page novel.

I reread THE EMPRESS OF SALT AND FORTUNE in a single sitting while the boyos frolicked outside. It‘s a book I really liked the first time through and loved the second. Every element is so loaded, and so subtle, and such a joy to mine for meaning. I‘m excited to reread Vo‘s next two novellas, too, and I hope the people ahead of me for the fourth one return it quickly.

Last book of 2023. Happy New Year everyone! I know I have read these out of order but they are all so good.

I read this one via e book and I think I enjoyed it 🤔

I may read the rest, but this one didn‘t amaze me (should it have done? 🤔😅)

Read for reading challenges.

3.5/5

Great read

I was so drawn into this world. A traveling historical monk gets a chance to unravel some secrets of the past. My only complaint is that I wish it were longer! An engaging tale that slowly reveals a world - it does a lot with the space it's given. The story stayed engaging for me too, there were some twists I didn't expect that made it a very satisfying bite-sized read.

And with that I am FINALLY caught up in reviews. I think. Yay reading!

This was emotionally impactful, and constantly moving forward. Despite taking breaks between tales for side conversations, every moment capitalized on the displayed emotions and cultivated a compelling reading experience. I recommend this to readers who enjoy Asian inspired tales dedicated to the need for women's voices to be heard and recognized.

Review: https://www.behindthepages.org/post/the-empress-of-salt-and-fortune-by-nghi-vo-b...

This book has been on my wishlist for some time. I picked it up from an independent book seller today:)

This novella didn‘t draw me in at all. Only reason I finished is so I could check off “rabbit on the cover” for the pop sugar challenge.

Library Book

An interesting short book on women and empire. No as impressed as everyone else seems to be.

Very hard decision to choose between my January Favorite: Light From Uncommon Stars and my February Favorite: Empress of Salt and Fortune.

This little novel has beautiful writing, but I struggled following it. I recommend NOT reading this on audiobook, the narrator didn‘t differentiate characters well so it was difficult to follow. A well crafted Chinese fairy tale in a pretty little book. 4⭐️
#NoShameReadathon2023 - lesser know fairy tale or non-European fantasy
#FabulousFebruary

5/5

Cleric Chih interviews an elderly woman, Rabbit about her first hand experience as a servant to The Empress of Salt and Fortune, In-Yo.

It's an incredible story that communicates so much, in so few pages. I loved it.

This series is excellent. I‘d like a bird friend who went everywhere with me and remembered everything, although …maybe not if they were as talkative as Almost Brilliant.

Rabbit, an elderly woman, former handmaid to the recently deceased empress In-Yo, is our narrator. Telling cleric, Chih(they), the story of empress In-Yo, from her marriage and exile, to how she took the throne. This world is so full of secrets and strife, a world where wars are won by “fierce women raised by angry mothers”, and history outlasts all the silences and erasures. This is a novella but feels so much longer in the best way.

Into the Riverlands is getting published this month, so pick up a mobi or ePub download of The Empress of Salt and Fortune before 11:59 PM ET, October 7th, 2022

https://ebookclub.tor.com/ #TorBookClub

Available in the US and Canada.

Three days to get your free copy

https://ebookclub.tor.com/?utm_source=exacttarget&utm_medium=eblast&utm_term=tor...

I don‘t always like the novella length, it‘s difficult to get right, but this genre bending fantasy is perfectly suited to it. Its vibe is like an Asian period drama crossed with mythology. It centers on female friendships that spring up in the fight against a sexist oppressive regime. #PopSugar2022AHugoAwardWinner

Feels like it belongs to the canon of ancient legend. Hard to say much without spoiling a novella, but while I loved the way this tale unspooled, I was saddened by the necessity of repeated calculation and sacrifice that always seems to accompany imperial sagas, no matter how much more indelible to the mind the flavour of tragic happenings is. I don't know if you call the ending hopeful, but it's worth pondering. Huzzah for non-binary rep!

Unexpectedly comforting. Reminded me of Chambers' Psalm for the Wild Built even though the overall tone and story are quite different.

Magnificent. The writing is so beautiful. Nghi Vo is an incredible storyteller. The prose is wonderful & the characters are incredibly rich for a story less than 100 pages long. The mythos is amazing, reminiscent of an Imperial era China, & the commentary on the patriarchy is inspiring. I love the strength & cunning of Empress In-Yo. Highly recommend for anyone who loves fantasy with a folklore feel. Short & sweet, but packs a magnificent punch.

This was my #DoubleSpin for March, a short, but very impressive story. I like Vos way of telling, but not saying. Kind, calm, comforting - that's how this story felt.

@TheAromaofBooks

Listened to the audio book and really enjoyed it. It's a collection of vignettes from the empress's life and in total you get a sense of her life, and of rabbit, the storyteller.

It's a slow start, stick with it.

This was a really quick read! A 2hr novella with a really great reader.

Feminist, high fantasy, debut, queer story.

Using for #Booked2022 - Set in China

It lives up to the hype. I loved it, and the audiobook narration was great. A fierce story of revenge, power and love. The empress reminds me of Catherine the great and her rise. The story doesn‘t sugar coat what it takes to grip power, and shows the empress as both clear eyed and ruthless.

In this Hugo-nominated novella, an aging former handmaiden and a journeying cleric converge on Thriving Fortune, the cursed and isolated estate where the young foreign empress once plotted her revenge against the empire that destroyed her people. I found this one intricate and fascinating—with such a novel perspective and narrative structure, but it does take a while to get your bearings! I‘m very curious about the next book in the series.

Book 2 for #clearurshitreadathon complete

Prompt: Smallest Book

A novella about an empress in exile who plots a war against the kingdom that took her away from her people.🔸#augustreads2021

I‘m still not sure how I feel about this one, other than realizing that perhaps novellas are not really my jam. I liked the world-building (but I wanted more). The characters were interesting (but I wanted more). The writing was beautiful, the plot was clever, but I didn‘t feel like I connected with either of the main characters. Overall, I just wanted more fleshing out of everything—and I think this may just be an issue I have with novellas.

Beautiful novella, I really loved the story and how it unfolded, in separate talks between the 2 main characters. Great writing! Thanks for TOR free ebook program, I already got the second book in The Singing Hills Cycle, I will start it soon.

Also finished last installment in the Murderbot series, Fugitive Telemetry; this series keep going strong and I love it.

Here is my #BookSpinBingo board

@BookishMarginalia #LitsyAtoZ

🎧 Thank you HOOPLA & Josefine! Great novella!

(EDIT: I did warn you 😁 I‘m caught up for now, sorry so many)

Reasons I liked it (so I don‘t spoiler-it).

I feel a short story/novella is a difficult thing to write. Stephen King who can spend ten pages describing a fire hydrant is also a fantastic short story teller.

This book hits that mark. ⭐️ It‘s succinct. No extra words. I feel all the words belonged in this story.

⭐️⭐️⭐️2/3 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

This got my attention because of the cover. I read the entire thing in an afternoon. Thankfully there's another book in the series because I definitely didn't get my fix. One main character is a bird. One is genderless. The third is an old woman named Rabbit. If you're still with me, definitely give this a go.

#BookSpinBingo square 10
@TheAromaofBooks

Excellent storytelling in this Hugo Best Novella nominee! An elderly woman who was a servant to a former empress tells a cleric about her time at the court, in a story with some surprising twists. @hugoawards @hugo2021

I'm at 9 hours and 20 minutes for the #20in4 readathon. One more day to go!
@Andrew65

"Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves". Such a vibrant story told in so few pages! It's quite impressive that the author can build this whole world in less than 120 pages. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more by Nghi Vo.

Next book in the #Asianreadathon. A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage. Alone and sometimes reviled, she has only her servants on her side. This book chronicles her rise to power through the eyes of her handmaiden, at once feminist high fantasy and a thrilling indictment of monarchy. The country represented is Vietnam.

A very quick listen. It was easy to get caught up in the world and the story. #audiorisotto