A review by rorikae
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo

adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

'When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain' by Nghi Vo is the second installment in the Singing Hills Cycle. Similar to the first novella, it follows cleric Chih on their adventures collecting stories. This time they have to use a story to save their life when they are captured by a band of tigers. To stall for time they retell a story of a tiger and their lover to their tiger captors and in the process, learn the true version of the story that the tigers hold.
This is a great follow-up to the first installment and continues a great novella series that I can't wait to read more of. Vo's prose is evocative and weaves an engaging story. I appreciate that this series slowly unfolds the world through individual stories that are given their own time to shine in their own novellas. The set up of the story, similar to that of One Hundred and One Nights, works incredibly well in novella form and fits perfectly with Chih's work collecting stories. I'm excited to read more in this series and see what stories Chih collects next. 
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