The Empress of Salt and Fortune

Books | Fiction / Fantasy / Epic

3.8

(338)

Nghi Vo

Winner of the 2020 Crawford Award!Winner of the 2021 Hugo Award!A Hugo Award-Winning Series!A 2021 Locus Award FinalistA 2021 Ignyte Award FinalistA Goodreads Choice Award FinalistA Book Riot Best Debut Fantasy of All Time"Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful... The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren QueenA Book Riot Must Read Book of 2023 | A 2020 ALA Booklist Top Ten SF/F Debut | A Book Riot Must-Read Fantasy of 2020 | A Paste Most Anticipated Novel of 2020 | A Library Journal Debut of the Month | A Buzzfeed Must-Read Fantasy Novel of Spring 2020 | A Washington Post Best SFF of the Year So Far PickNamed Book Riot's Best Book Cover of 2020Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Library Journal | NYPL | Chicago Public Library | The Austen Chronicle | AutostraddleWith the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama, Nghi Vo's The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.A young royal from the far north, is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece.The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills CycleThe Empress of Salt and FortuneWhen the Tiger Came Down the MountainInto the RiverlandsMammoths at the GatesThe Brides of High HillThe novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entry point.Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune“An elegant gut-punch, a puzzle box that unwinds itself in its own way and in its own time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect. I didn't know I needed to read this until I did.”—Seanan McGuire"A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised."—Zen Cho"Nghi Vo's gracefully told debut . . . resides in the intimate margins of its (beautifully imagined) world's history, portraying how the marginalized may yet shape those narratives and harness the power of stories."—Indrapramit DasAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Fantasy

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Author

Nghi Vo

Pages

112

Publisher

Tor Publishing Group

Published Date

2020-03-24

ISBN

1250750296 9781250750297

Ratings

Google: 4

Community ReviewsSee all

"This was a build up of feminine rage that sneaked up on me and it was PHENOMENAL. This was the embodiment of hell hath no fury like a woman’s scorn, and revenge is best served cold and quietly in a world where women are continuously the price paid for the power of men. Short, sweet, and satisfyingly deadly. Great read! "

Soni C.

"It was very short. I think it could have been longer but it just wasn’t my type of book. It wasn’t bad but I just didn’t like how it was told. (Spoilers kinda): I don’t like how the grandmother told the story since there was gaps in the story. Its like if I were to tell you a story about myself. You wouldn’t get the full picture which might be the point. But I don’t care foe this type of story telling."

Kettle

"Intricate storytelling, meta reflection about storytelling and the workings of history-recording and archiving, complex, beautiful LGBT narratives and gorgeous, gorgeous writing - a most enthusiatic recommendation!"

rungemaille

"Ohmygoodness Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo and read by Cindy Kay was as beautiful and captivating to listen to as the cover is to look at.<br/><br/>Cover art by Alyssa Winans and cover design by Christine Foltzer."

Reading into the Void

"Wlw, nb main"

Lance B

"What a wonderful little Novella. Everything in this story is beautifully interwoven. It’s short, poignant, and colorful. High fantasy done well. "

Cheyenne Corty

"This one was a little hard to get into at first because the world was so unfamiliar, but in the end, it was beautiful. It really drives home both the strength of women and the value of history - even of objects that don't initially seem important."

awesome_user_984860

"At first I was not so sure about the story, first found it very confusing… I decided not to drop the book and to continue to reading. I’m so happy I did! Beautiful story with a great message 9.5/10"