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moonytoast's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
short but very lovely, a great bite-sized fantasy story about the big and small moments of history and the winding journey of a once-exiled empress from the north to becoming the sole monarch
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Death, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
loverofeels's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
fascinating story and beautiful writing, but i found it hard to get through for some reason even though it was very short and not particularly dense?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, War, and Suicide
cheye13's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Grief, Infertility, Pregnancy, Violence, War, and Medical trauma
Minor: Suicide, Sexual content, and Homophobia
literarypenguin's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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? No
5.0
The Empress of Salt and Fortune proves that even the shortest of stories can still be well written and impactful!
We follow a cleric named Chih traveling the kingdom with their Hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant recording stories about the empress. They meet an older woman named Rabbit who recounts her adventures and travels with the empress and alongside the cleric we learn about the empress, her exile, and what she did after. I love stories where we learn alongside the characters what truly happened in the story and it was very exciting to read it this way!
Rabbit was a great character and just in her words, you could tell how much she valued her friendship with the empress and how much she truly meant to her. How she would have done anything for her and the empress in her own way would have done the same for her. Despite her strong friendship, she told the truth about the empress and people got to see her as a person instead of a historical figure.
This tells the story of a rebellion but doesn't show war or big battles, instead, it shows us what happens behind the scenes and the people that make a rebellion work. It shows people coming and going throughout the war and the impact they had no matter how short their time was. It was refreshing to see that side of a battle in a book.
This was such a good novella and I highly recommend reading this and can not wait to read the other two books in the series for myself!!
We follow a cleric named Chih traveling the kingdom with their Hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant recording stories about the empress. They meet an older woman named Rabbit who recounts her adventures and travels with the empress and alongside the cleric we learn about the empress, her exile, and what she did after. I love stories where we learn alongside the characters what truly happened in the story and it was very exciting to read it this way!
Rabbit was a great character and just in her words, you could tell how much she valued her friendship with the empress and how much she truly meant to her. How she would have done anything for her and the empress in her own way would have done the same for her. Despite her strong friendship, she told the truth about the empress and people got to see her as a person instead of a historical figure.
This tells the story of a rebellion but doesn't show war or big battles, instead, it shows us what happens behind the scenes and the people that make a rebellion work. It shows people coming and going throughout the war and the impact they had no matter how short their time was. It was refreshing to see that side of a battle in a book.
This was such a good novella and I highly recommend reading this and can not wait to read the other two books in the series for myself!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: War and Violence
Minor: Infertility
aardwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Lovely prose, clever pacing with few pages, lively characters, and awesome worldbuilding, and it all comes together with elegant craft.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Violence, Suicide, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Medical content, Blood, and War
hlhayes7's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Murder, and Violence
mmccombs's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Short but so complex. The world building was really astounding because so much was set up in such a small space, and it is also a compelling world. Of course, I was kind of wishing for more at the end, I was still a little unclear on some things or wished for more depth, but I kind of liked the bite-sized adventure of this. Excited to read the rest of this!
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence and War
thewordsdevourer's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
hmmmm...the empress of salt and fortune is def an interesting story w/ a unique--yet somehow thematically appropriate--structure, but i feel like the story's full potential isnt thoroughly explored bc of its execution that leaves quite a lot to be desired. somehow, the narrative feels disjointed and disconnected, yet i dont think it's fair to blame this on the structure, as some sff short stories w/ a similar structure pull it off to a greater effect (namely, the merchant and the alchemists's gate).
many parts of the writing also feel unnecessarily obscure; show-not-tell is def sth to adhere to, but there are times when it feels confusing here, ultimately leaving me unable to fully connect w/ or even comprehend the characters. ig what im tryna say is it doesnt have to be that discombobulated. however, i do like the story's theme of remembrance, and mighttt just check out the sequel simply to see how things continue after that nicely tied up ending.
many parts of the writing also feel unnecessarily obscure; show-not-tell is def sth to adhere to, but there are times when it feels confusing here, ultimately leaving me unable to fully connect w/ or even comprehend the characters. ig what im tryna say is it doesnt have to be that discombobulated. however, i do like the story's theme of remembrance, and mighttt just check out the sequel simply to see how things continue after that nicely tied up ending.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, War, Violence, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual content
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Confinement, and War
Minor: Pregnancy, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Animal death, and Sexual content
horationelson's review
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Confinement, Infertility, Violence, and War