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jayisreading's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Vo returns with beautiful prose for The Singing Hills Cycle, and I was really taken to the particular focus on the complexities of grief. Mammoths at the Gates felt a bit heavier and more serious than the previous installments, with Chih having to contend with grief and loss. Another key theme that I really appreciated was having to deal with the inevitability of change, which always is a struggle. I wish we could have sat longer with Chih's feelings and have time to reflect after they were away from home for years, but that would likely result in the book no longer being a novella. All things considered, though, I thought Vo did a great job exploring these deep themes without it being too shallow, while also still delivering a compelling story.
While these novellas can be read in any order, I personally think Mammoths at the Gates will be more impactful of a read if you read at least one the other novellas first.
While these novellas can be read in any order, I personally think Mammoths at the Gates will be more impactful of a read if you read at least one the other novellas first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, and Violence
Minor: War and Domestic abuse
librarymouse's review
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
Like all the rest in this series, Mammoths at the Gates is an incredible story told in iterations. This story was more nuanced in how the story was shared and retold over again, in that it was told through the events of the book, rather than the events of the book being the telling of stories. I enjoyed the nuance of Myriad Virtues' story - both the ones she shares and the glimpse readers are given of her life. The reciprocal devotion between her and her cleric creates a whole new mode of shared existence between them. Similarly, I enjoyed the exploration of the nuance of a person's life, questioning the hero-worship and the avoidance of speaking ill of the dead, when there is always at least one bad act in a person's life to be addressed. This book was a cozy, engaging read, and it prompted questions on how the dead are memorialized and remembered, and how the living are able to grieve.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Violence
Minor: War
apple_atcha_reading's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
5.0
Another solid installment in the Singing Hills series. I love that these short stories are interconnected, but could be read in any order and still make sense.
In this installment we see Cleric Chih back home in Singing Hills, where they discover their beloved Cleric Tien has passed. Family members from Cleric Tien's former life before joining Singing Hill believe they have a right to Cleric Tien's body and a say in how their passing is handled.
This was what I would describe as more of a slice of life installment, with hints of mysticism throughout. It's much more reflective, and we spend more time with Cleric Chih going through Cleric Tien's belongings and archives, as well as spending time in the aviary visiting Almost Brilliant <and their new chick>. The speaking ceremony (funeral) was incredibly touching and made me tear up. It was clearly emotional and difficult for all involved, no matter how close they were to Cleric Tien. In the aftermath of the funeral and <smashing of the gates, seeing how powerful grief is. Myriad Virtue's expression of grief was so emotionally charged and what I took to be a representation of how people will never truly be gone as long as their are people who remember them and share their stories.>
Overall, it was a very thoughtful and touching story of grief and how it effects everyone around the person, especially those who knew them best. Nghi Vo is an auto buy author for me and I sincerely hope she continues this series.
In this installment we see Cleric Chih back home in Singing Hills, where they discover their beloved Cleric Tien has passed. Family members from Cleric Tien's former life before joining Singing Hill believe they have a right to Cleric Tien's body and a say in how their passing is handled.
This was what I would describe as more of a slice of life installment, with hints of mysticism throughout. It's much more reflective, and we spend more time with Cleric Chih going through Cleric Tien's belongings and archives, as well as spending time in the aviary visiting Almost Brilliant <and their new chick>. The speaking ceremony (funeral) was incredibly touching and made me tear up. It was clearly emotional and difficult for all involved, no matter how close they were to Cleric Tien. In the aftermath of the funeral and <smashing of the gates, seeing how powerful grief is. Myriad Virtue's expression of grief was so emotionally charged and what I took to be a representation of how people will never truly be gone as long as their are people who remember them and share their stories.>
Overall, it was a very thoughtful and touching story of grief and how it effects everyone around the person, especially those who knew them best. Nghi Vo is an auto buy author for me and I sincerely hope she continues this series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Violence
Minor: Domestic abuse
clarabooksit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Deadnaming
Moderate: Violence and Domestic abuse
ezwolf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Mammoths at the Gate is the fourth installment in The Singing Hills Cycle where we follow Cleric Chih and their companion Almost Brilliant as they collect stories and history on their travels. In this book Chih has returned home to their abbey to something amiss.
This series is so fascinating and I love the way that the book uses stories from its characters to create the story we read. How once people are gone, its only the stories that remain.
I am pleased to have Almost Brilliant and Chih reunited. I love their dynamic and Almost Brilliant is such an interesting character and meeting her daughter was so fun! Being back at the abbey also meant that most of the characters we met had gender neutral pronouns and presentation, I think this was the most characters using they/them pronouns I've read about all in one book.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
This series is so fascinating and I love the way that the book uses stories from its characters to create the story we read. How once people are gone, its only the stories that remain.
I am pleased to have Almost Brilliant and Chih reunited. I love their dynamic and Almost Brilliant is such an interesting character and meeting her daughter was so fun! Being back at the abbey also meant that most of the characters we met had gender neutral pronouns and presentation, I think this was the most characters using they/them pronouns I've read about all in one book.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Domestic abuse
Minor: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, and Blood
ashton_n's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
A lot of people are afraid of death; or perhaps it’s more accurate to say what comes after, what comes before, what happens during. When someone dies, there’s a tendency to paint people as a dichotomy. But people are not two sided coins, they are an expanse of experiences, memories, an emotions. To remember them is to honor their existence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Violence
sarrie's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
TL;DR: While not my favorite in the Singing Hills Cycle I still think this is a valuable story in the series, giving us a closer look at the order and it's inner workings
I'm a big fan of the Singing Hills cycle featuring Cleric Chih and their travels gathering stories. The Tiger Came Down the Mountain is one of my favorite novellas I've read in a long time, and the stories are so vibrant that I was super excited to get to Mammoths at the Gates. Perhaps that excitement was a little too much, my expectations too high for this installment as it is definitely the weakest I've read so far in the series.
This is a story about grief in a way. But a removed kind of grief. Chih returns in time to witness the funeral rights of a teacher from the monastery and the family that want their remains returned. The conflict arises in the shared grief, but differing stories the two groups have of the deceased individual. We get snippets of history with Chih and their old friend who is the acting leader. We also see grief over the loss of childhood and the friendships that change and evolve as we age. All this was obvious but it simply didn't click for me. Perhaps a longer story would have carried these themes better? More of the story telling aspect (as we only got that briefly at the end)?
The ending did little to help the story, feeling as if the author had written themselves in a corner. Magic was used as the 'get out of jail free card' solving everyone's problems. Simply not my favorite. I still enjoyed my time with the Cleric, I still loved seeing more of Singing Hills. I think perhaps go into this one prepared more for a quieter, slower, and darker version of these novellas and you'll have better expectations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse and Violence
uranaishi's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol, Grief, Animal cruelty, Violence, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Animal death, and Classism
Minor: Abandonment, Transphobia, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Medical content
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