Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

60 reviews

nytephoenyx's review

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reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The Empress of Salt and Fortune is beautifully written. I enjoy the repetition and the cadence in the writing and I think that the storytelling format is absolutely perfect for a novella. It's astounding how much can be gleaned of an individual by looking at choice slices of their lives. I enjoyed the story - or, rather, I enjoyed the collection of micro stories within the larger reflection. It wasn't mind blowing to me, but when writing a novella, the author has a limited amount of space to make the reader invested in the story and fall in love with the character. Nghi Vo did this extremely well and The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a quick story I'd recommend to anyone.
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horizonous's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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jjjreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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tinyelfarcanist's review against another edition

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inspiring mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This is, undoubtedly, a feminist tale.

There is a story on the books, of the emperor of Anh coming to In-Yo in a dream and pressing a seed into her belly. It is the story that the people of Anh like a great deal, about the great virility of their rulers and how they reach out in their sleep or in death, and it isn't as if the history books aren't full of such things.

In such a short format, the author packs a fleshed-out world you want to delve into. Passing characters leave a mark and the story being told from the past is even more engaging than the present.
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rustylasagna's review against another edition

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reflective relaxing fast-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? Yes

4.0

Very beautiful!
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loverofeels's review against another edition

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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?
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thereaderfriend's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Nghi Vo managed to expertly tell a story in a story of a oppressed woman who overthrew a patriarchal empire. Rabbit, a humble handmaiden sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of 5 packets of dye, tells the story of how In-Yo, an exiled princess turned to amazing empress, conquered what saw so little of them, to a servile cleric. Rabbit also gets taken advantage of but is redeemed with a great outcome, as well as In-Yo with her amazing overcoming. Also appreciated how Chih, the cleric, responded to learning this lesson. They were so kind and earnest about how they saw this story and how it would affect Chih's career. 

Some fav quotes: 
"Accuracy above all things. You will never remember the great if you do not remember the small."
"How do you live with it watching you? .. As you live with anything, I suspect. You bear it, or you end it." 
"Time is the thing. I want time to get the words right. To do proper honor to those who died. I don't want them to be ashamed when others speak about them. But I know that there is only so much time left, and it will never be perfect. "
"... 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."
"Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves."
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cheye13's review

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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

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hlhayes7's review against another edition

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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

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ggcd1981's review

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

The Empress of Salt and Fortune é uma novela inspirada pela Cultura Chinesa. Eu resolvi ler esta obra quando recebi um crédito VIP mensal no Audiobook.com e não me arrependi. A história é contada quase como uma fábula, inclusive a narração de Cindy Kay contribuiu muito para essa atmosfera do livro. A história em si tem momentos pesados de morte e luto, intriga política e até mesmo a queda de um império, mas através da escrita de Nghi Vo e da narração de Kay a obra obtém uma certa leveza. Resumindo aqui o enredo,
a novela trata da história de como a Imperatriz In-yo estando em isolamento e em um país que não era o seu construiu uma rede de espiões a partir de “Leitores de sorte” e, apesar de estar sob vigilância constante, por meio de sua engenhosidade e desenvoltura derrubou um império e tomou o poder. Essa história é contada por sua fiel criada e amiga, Rabbit, quem sacrificou seu amor e sua filha por In-yo. Rabbit conta sua própria história assim como conta a da imperatriz para o clérigo (não binário) Chih do Monastério Singing Hills e seu pássaro e companheiro Almost Brilliant (uma ave dotada, na obra, de fala e da habilidade de nunca esquecer). Em The Empress of salt and fortune já no início In-yo havia falecido, Rabbit conta sua história para que esta não seja esquecida, mas também para que alguém saiba que na verdade a nova imperatriz que irá suceder é na verdade filha de Rabbit com seu amor, Sukai (este assassinado por suspeita de espionagem), adotada em segredo por In-yo.
A novela é feminista e tem boa representação LGBTQ+. Ela também aborda temas como opressão, classes sociais e luto. Gostei muito da obra apesar de que a escrita e vocabulário necessitaram mais atenção de minha parte para não deixar de compreender o seu sentido. Foi uma boa experiência e continuarei com a série. Dou um sólido 4.5 estrelas. 
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