The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle, #1)

by Nghi Vo

[nannah]

You know when you meet someone and have an instant connection with them, and you just know in that moment you’ll be best friends for life? That's the sort of feeling I got in about the first two pages of The Empress of Salt and Fortune. There's no doubt I've got a new favorite book and a new favorite author!

Content warnings:
- forced sterilization

Representation:
- the main character is non binary
- most characters are from a place similar to imperial China
- the Empress In-Yo seems to be from a place inspired by Mongolia (I'm guessing?)

An archivist visits the place that was once home to a banished Empress--who's now in her high power--to catalog and record the history left there, both by physically going through the house’s belongings and by listening to the old grandmother who remains there. The grandmother, called Rabbit, begins telling the archivist the brutal truth about her friend, the lonely, cunning, and vengeful Empress In-Yo, and the secret she’s been hiding all these years.

The Empress of … is the first in a series of novellas, and although it’s short, it doesn’t feel rushed or lacking in plot. I’m fairly inexperienced with novellas, though, let alone Tor shorts, but it also feels very refreshing in that it moves at that slower, unhurried pace following Rabbit’s tales--instead of sprinting from plot point to plot point. The story, and the secrets it carries, unfolds in such a masterful way that I can’t stop thinking about it and the beauty of storytelling. What a wonderful book.

And what beautiful writing! Need to read the second one as soon as possible!