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A review by legs_n_chins
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will read anything Nghi Vo writes for the rest of time forever.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
There is so much packed into so few pages, it’s honestly sort of breathtaking. I couldn't put it down. The story itself was beautiful and stunning. I found myself emotional over characters I had really only just been introduced to simply because of the modest length of the novella. Which I think speaks highly to the writing craft and how much skill the author has when it comes to writing characters with a lot of depth and care. The way plans fell into place was absolutely incredible and so fascinating. So much thought was put into the entire plot from start to finish, and I loved the tangible pieces that Chih picked up along the way that tied into the overall narrative. Everything was just so neatly pulled together and laid out, I honestly wasn’t certain I understood at the very beginning, but by the end it all felt so obvious. It was such an enjoyable journey.
I also really liked the craft of the book. I loved how the shape of the story started to appear and the way it gained clarity as it went along. And I think that was helped immensely by the way it was told, through the mouth of a character recounting events to an objective party. It felt like sitting by a campfire the whole way through, but the added trinkets discovered by Chih enhanced the experience. I think it also added to the mystery to have this reminiscing storyteller voice rather than take the reader on a more active path through the events — none of the information was fed to us and the narrative was given with the assumption that we already know the ending. This way, it felt like there was more opportunity to figure it out myself. If that makes sense. I just really loved the contrasting POVs and story set-up.
Also I just really liked the feminist narrative and that clerics, as I understand it, use they/them pronouns. I was expecting a feminist story and this delivered, but the non-gendered pronouns was just a nice little surprise :)
Angry mothers raise daughters fierce enough to fight wolves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death and Murder