Reviews

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

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caitcoy's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I don't understand how Nghi Vo manages to continually knock it out of the park with every single Singing Hills Cycle book for me, but Mammoths at the Gates just continues the trend. I love Cleric Chih with my whole heart and it was both emotional and heartwarming to see them return to the abbey. They're returning at not one of the best times, as their mentor has died and the mentor's family has come to claim the body, whether the abbey wants to relinquish it or not.

Nghi Vo really nailed the feeling of growing up and then coming home and all the joys and sorrows that brings and how difficult it can be to accept that while you've changed, so has everyone else while you've been away. And the meditations on grief were gripping and there were a lot of moments that I found myself nodding and marking down quotes. It was also very interesting to see more of a community of neixen instead of only sassy Almost Brilliant.

While I've loved every entry of the series so far, this might be my favorite. I really loved Into the Riverlands but the exploration of grief and growing up in Mammoths at the Gates plus the continued exploration of stories and memory just really had my heart throughout.

sashas_books's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Oh. I think I have just read the best story in The Singing Hills series. Lovely! I am sorry to have read it so fast, too fast.

Yes, please, give me even more focus on Chih as a protagonist – thank you. They are coming home.
(And there are indeed mammoths at the gates. This is not a story about mammoths.)

Coming home is hard. Some things stay the same. Some things don’t. Your friends change. And some people are gone forever.

“The Divine says people change, remember? No one is as they were five years ago, or two years ago, or a week ago, or a moment ago. If you love somebody, you must let them change.”

“...growing up, growing older, was always a kind of loss, even if what was gained repaid it all and then some.”

How are we transformed by grief and loss? What form can justice take? What stories do we tell about each other, what stories do we know?

I loved the twist at the end – strange, poignant, and unexpected, but so right.

osmxn's review

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adventurous emotional reflective sad 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

3.25

luanndie's review

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

4.0

Aunque creo que en esta saga, ninguna historia volverá a estar a la altura de la primera entrega, tengo que reconocer que he disfrutado mucho de este volumen. La reflexión sobre como nunca podemos volver a casa del todo, de como combinar nuestros recuerdos con las nuevas realidades que nos encontramos en nuestro regreso y sobre todo, la reflexión sobre las contradictorias historias y facetas que conforman a una persona me pareció muy interesante. Me hubiera gustado que se hubiera explorado un poco más esas contradicciones, pero en general volví a disfrutar mucho de reencontrarme con nuestro monje favorito.