#nghi vo

[vensulove]

she had a foreigner’s beauty, like a language we do not know how to read.

-nghi vo, the empress of salt and fortune

#my first book of 2024 was a reread of this beautiful book #the empress of salt and fortune #nghi vo #moodboard #book moodboard #brown moodboard #brown aesthetic #tan aesthetic #beige aesthetic #beige moodboard #tan moodboard #the singing hills cycle

[chai-and-cherries]

5 Insanely Underrated (Dark) Queer Book Recs for Your TBR (No Spoiler Reviews!)

I ain’t gonna beat around the bush, folks--this post has been a long time coming. Over the past year, I have somehow stumbled into my new favorite genre, leaving the careful days of YA comforting fantasy reads behind (but not forgotten!). I used to never be one for the dark, grisly, and not so man-made horrors beyond comprehension. But with the help of time, mind devouring storytelling, and gut wrenching emotions the world loves to carve out of us all, tastes have changed! So without further ado, let me recommend 5 of my favorite (darker) queer reads of 2022. Titles are linked to official Goodreads summaries while I have included my no-spoiler reviews below.

Some of these are horror, some fantasy, some tragedy, and most a mix of the above. As the new year draws closer, if you’re feeling ready to branch out (or branch in!!) please consider giving these severely underrated titles a read. And support lesser known authors while you’re at it!

As the title of the post implies, these books tend to brew darker than your average cup ‘a joe. So please heed included trigger warnings and take care! 

1. You Will Love What You Have Killed by Kevin Lambert

(Original title: Tu aimeras ce que tu as tué. English Translation by Winkler Donald).

Genres: Adult Fiction, Horror, Canadian Literature, Queer AF

Review: If you’re not a fan of blood, gore, and every horror under the dying sun, scroll away now. Starting off incredibly strong and incredibly twisted with French-Canadian Lambert’s debut novel, You Will Love What You Have Killed, this novel is neither for the faint of heart nor some of the hard of heart. I went into this book knowing next to nothing about what was in store and left somehow feeling more empty than before. As arguably the darkest and most gory book on the list, this surrealist take on childhood rage and post-humous revenge on the town that discarded you before you had a chance to fight back is bound to haunt you long after you’ve finished it. Lambert’s own style of dark and nauseatingly twisted humor will either seal the deal for you, or leave you running for the hills. To be honest, I loathe this book as much I appreciate the queer, surrealist landscape of apocalyptic vengeance. Brownie points for being flat-out strange.

Content Warnings: if you can think of it, chances are its here. loads of death and murder, including that of children, suicide; ableism; homophobia, transphobia; pedophilia, rape, sexual abuse, explicit sexual descriptions, abortion, necrophilia; animal abuse, killing of animals; child abuse, emotional abuse and verbal abuse (by the narrator); cancer; 9/11 (comprehensive list via Ashton on GoodReads)

2. Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White

Genres: YA Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi/Dystopian, Queer AF

Blurb: In this world on the brink of man-made/god-induced apocalypse, trans-boy Benji has to fight not only to survive a hellscape determined to burn itself to the ground, but also his own role in bringing about the End. Hell Followed With Us is a queer rage manifesto, the gospel for those forced to become monsters by the same society that weaponized and then condemned them for being such. White’s novel not only brought healing to a large part of my own religious trauma, but it helped me embrace the very “monster” the so called righteous would have damned. Because when the world will villianize you anyway, revolution may very well be embracing the monster within--the monster the world forced into being. This one is definitely a keeper, and definitely a re-reader. The character diversity in this book is incredible, also for the simple fact that it isn’t forced or seemingly “trying to meet a quota”, and for canonically calling out [redacted].  

Content Warnings: For a comprehensive list courtesy of the author himself, please visit his website here. 

3. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

Genres: Adult Fiction, Horror/Psychological Thriller, Short-Stories, Queer AF

Blurb: Shorter but no less impactful than the rest, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a twisted foray into the psychology of human obsession. After reading the blurb, I tried to prepare myself for the following unease and depravity I was promised. And god was that promise delivered on a silver poisoned platter. Set to the backdrop of chat forums and online messaging, LaRocca weaves a sadomasochistic love story between two women searching for deeper connection. But love isn’t exactly the right word, is it? After all, things can only get worse from the start. Suffice to say, wholesome does not live in these pages. And I need more. 

Content Warnings: animal cruelty/death, body horror, gore, mental/emotional abuse, exploration of kink, very toxic example of a dom/sub relationship.

4. Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolás

Genres: Adult Fantasy, Mythology Retelling, Romance, Paranormal, Queer AF

Blurb: I try not to pick favorites on list recs, but as my most recent read of the year, Nicolás’ debut novel has quickly been shelved in my mind and heart’s hall of fame. Angels Before Man is a queer retelling of the fall of Lucifer from a paradise that may not be as, well, paradise as it seems. With narrative prose so poetic that epics of the ancient world come to mind, and themes of religious rebellion and queer rage reminiscent not only of other novels on this list but also the lives of countless individuals whose love warns at revolution, Angels Before Man tells the story of the greatest disobedience Heaven had to face: the creation of sin, born from the first love that turned a jealous god to rage. As ABM only released weeks ago, I sincerely hope it’s only the beginning for this book and author. Bible? Who needs her. The Word of God? I don’t even know her. I’ve got Angels Before Man. And so will my friends because I’m gifting them this heavenly-gem (heh, see what I did there?) for the holidays. 

Content Warnings: Courtesy of the author himself (list also included at start of book): Blasphemy, off-page sexual assault with related internal monologue post-incident, Self-harm, Atypical depiction of grooming, Animal death, Abuse (emotional, physical), Sexual content, Body horror, Graphic depictions of violence, Incestuous term use, Potential correlation to homosexuality being sinful, Depictions of mental instability

5. Siren Queen by Nghi Vo

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Magic Realism, Queer AF

Blurb: Of the 5 recs on the list, I have to be honest and say with full disclosure that this is my one cheat as I have not actually finished it yet. But as I can attest from the 60% progress I have made, along with two of my close friends who recommended her in the first place, Siren Queen is a breath of fresh air in a genre that is understandably stifling at times. Interweaving the monstrous industry of Hollywood with actual monsters, Siren Queen explores the sacrifices made and prices paid for the chance at stardom and just being seen, all while embracing the monster society demands of us. Largely character-driven, this book has been a slower read than the rest, but its commentary on workers’ rights and inequalities, among other social issues often at the forefront of WASPish-run Hollywood, has kept me engaged since the start. 

Content Warnings: racism, racial slurs, fatphobia, violence, family violence, homophobia, sexism, drug abuse, addiction.

#book recs #book recs 2022 #queer book recs #you will love what you have killed #Kevin Lambert #hell followed with us #Andrew Joseph White #angels before man #rafael nicolás #things have gotten worse since we last spoke #eric larocca #siren queen #nghi vo

[megafaunatic]

wild pig yi • into the riverlands

#singing hills cycle #into the riverlands #lao bingyi #nghi vo #nudity ig #my art

[sapphic-book-tournament]

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo-

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 Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson-

Tomorrow, on the beach, Baru Cormorant will look up from the sand of her home and see red sails on the horizon.

The Empire of Masks is coming, armed with coin and ink, doctrine and compass, soap and lies. They'll conquer Baru’s island, rewrite her culture, criminalize her customs, and dispose of one of her fathers. But Baru is patient. She'll swallow her hate, prove her talent, and join the Masquerade. She will learn the secrets of empire. She’ll be exactly what they need. And she'll claw her way high enough up the rungs of power to set her people free.

In a final test of her loyalty, the Masquerade will send Baru to bring order to distant Aurdwynn, a snakepit of rebels, informants, and seditious dukes. Aurdwynn kills everyone who tries to rule it. To survive, Baru will need to untangle this land’s intricate web of treachery - and conceal her attraction to the dangerously fascinating Duchess Tain Hu.

But Baru is a savant in games of power, as ruthless in her tactics as she is fixated on her goals. In the calculus of her schemes, all ledgers must be balanced, and the price of liberation paid in full.

#the traitor baru cormorant #the tyrant baru cormorant #the monster baru cormorant #baru cormorant #sapphic book tournament #lesbian #lesbian books #sapphic #lgbt #sapphic books #lgbt books #sapphic fiction #lgbt characters #lesbian romance #seth dickinson #the singing hills cycle #nghi vo #fantasy books #lesbian fantasy novels #lesbian novels #lesbian characters #lesbian stories #lesbian romance novels #lesbian fiction #sapphic characters #sapphic fantasy #sapphic romance #empire of masks #tain hu #sapphic stories

[transbookoftheday]

Into the Riverlands by Nghi Vo

Wandering cleric Chih of the Singing Hills travels to the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themself far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be.

Accompanied by Almost Brilliant, a talking bird with an indelible memory, Chih confronts old legends and new dangers alike as they learn that every story—beautiful, ugly, kind, or cruel—bears more than one face.

#into the riverlands #the singing hills cycle #nghi vo #nonbinary #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr

[bi4bihankking]

The Locked Tomb Series Summary:

The “Lesbian Necromancers in Space” book series

The Empress of Salt and Fortune Summary:

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 locked tomb #tlt #gideon the ninth #tamsyn muir #the empress of salt and fortune #nghi vo #lgbt books #lgbt literature #queer books #queer literature #lgbtqia #poll #bookblr #booklr #books #literature #queer lit

[aplpaca]

gave in to impulse brain and made a book rec "slideshow". anyway siren queen Good

#siren queen #nghi vo #books #book rec #i have learned that krita's text editor feature kinda sucks actually #no rating out of 5 or whatever bc star/number systems are inconsistent when i use them so u get no numbers

[smokefalls]

… people change, remember? No one is as they were five years ago, or two years ago, or a week ago, or a moment ago. If you love someone, you must let them change.

Nghi Vo, Mammoths at the Gates

#Nghi Vo #Mammoths at the Gates #The Singing Hills Cycle #quote #fiction #fantasy #queerlit #novella #2023 reads

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2023. THE SINGING HILLS CYCLE by Nghi Vo.

Don't mind me, just on a novella kick over here. I read Empress a while back and enjoyed it (so that'll be a reread!), and then a friend recommended Tiger as similar to a novella of my own that's loosely in the works, and THEN I won a Goodreads giveaway for Mammoths (!!!!), so clearly the stars are just all aligning. Since Mammoths comes out in September, I wanted to Actually Read The Advance Reader Copy In Advance (and maybe even write up a Review!).

(Side note: I know Riverlands isn't pictured, but it's Not Out In Paperback Yet and all my editions must match.)

#books of 2023 #book photography #my photography #books #the singing hills cycle #nghi vo #the empress of salt and fortune #when the tiger came down the mountain #mammoths at the gates #cries i really do love novellas so much #perfect little bite sized books

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2023 📖 no. 149

Mammoths at the Gates by Nghi Vo

“Sometimes, you cannot survive and still be who you were.”

#books #2023 reads #mammoths at the gates #nghi vo #the singing hills cycle #booklr #lit edit

[words-and-coffee]

Always will my soul reach for yours.

Nghi Vo, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

#Nghi Vo #When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain #quote #quotes

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote YES if you have finished the entire book.

vote NO if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#fantasy #books #The Singing Hills Cycle #The Empress of Salt and Fortune #Nghi Vo #poll #result: no #l: English

[nayswriting]

Strange how some trash survives, but precious things are lost, isn't it?

Nghi Vo, The Empress of Salt and Fortune

#The Empress of Salt and Fortune #Nghi Vo #writing #fiction #fantasy #novel #fantasy novel #The Promise within Shadows #inspo #quote #Nay talks

[mostlyghostie]

I found this one really hard to draw for some reason and kept putting it aside when it didn’t look how I wanted- HOWEVER, as soon as I finished it I was very pleased and it might be my favourite one so far.

Visit my shop if you want a print of your own fave books!

#my art #books #illustration #booklr #jsamn #James Alan Gardner #les mis #discworld #terry pratchett #nghi vo #ann leckie #protector of the small

[literary-illuminati]

Book Review 41 - Into The Riverlands by Nghi Vo

This is the third novella I’ve read because it got a Hugo nomination, and the first that I’d probably have eventually gotten around to reading anyway. I’m generally a fan of Vo’s work, and the first two volumes of the Singing Hill Cycle have been great bite-sized comfort reads. This one basically continues that tradition; I’m frankly not super sure it deserves a nomination to the most prestigious award in the genre? But it was a really fun read to spread out over a couple days, and it’s hardly the worst offender in that regard anyway.

The book’s the third in the series, but they’re episodic enough that you could probably read them in any order with no real loss. The story follows Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant, their talking bird with an eidetic memory, as the pair journeys across the Riverlands. Which are basically wuxia-land, a region of steep hills and river values full of monsters, bandit clans, and marital sects whose practitioners have superhuman powers. Chih, a cleric of the Singing Hills monastery, has a holy duty to collect the stories and histories of wherever they travel, and the novella follows them travelling alongside some of those marital practitioners and listening to (and living through) their stories.

The previous two books were mostly built around Chih learning a specific story, with the circumstances of them learning it being more of a framing device and way to introduce some fun unreliable narration. Into the Riverlands feels like it reverses that. You see it even just looking at the titles of the series – The Empress of Salt and Fortune and When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain refer to the stories Chih is hearing, Into the Riverlands is what they’re doing. Not that they don’t still spend quite a lot of time listening to stories, but they’re digressions in or parts of the present narrative, not the reason for it.

Having multiple shorter stories relayed by different tellers lets the book lean much harder into having fun with unreliably narrators, even more than Tiger did (though, being entirely honest, on an aesthetic level I kind of have more fun with the different people arguing over how to tell the same story in Tiger). Different folktales which turn out to be about the same people, or the same tale with a different cast depending on whose telling, or someone with a half dozen different names and personalities depending on just how they appear. It’s a fun trick, honestly. And having fun with how reputations and legends mutate and change is just about the only sort of story about stories and the power of narrative I can easily stomach these days.

It’s never really explored or made a point of, but as a worldbuilding note I do rather love how ‘Clerics’ (vaguely Buddhist monks, aesthetically) as a class are socially agender? I saw a post a bit back describing another series’ setting as ‘playing with genders like lego blocks’ and like, yes, good. I love books with gender systems that aren’t just points on a scale between ‘ultraviolent gigapatriarchy’ and ‘suspiciously identical to consensus 2020s feminism’. Have some fun with it.

I’m not sure how much of it was the change in setting and how much of it was just that I came into this off reading some actual literature, but it does definitely feel like the setting is getting more sort of exaggerated and fantastical with each book? Salt and Fortune had magic and mammoths and ghosts, but the drama was all court intrigue and conspiracies. Tiger introduced, well, tigers, and generally monsters and heroes that operate on a superhuman scale and getting into mythic hero bloodbaths over their passions. And now Riverlands has a whole region where wandering superheroes are a load bearing part of society. Not really a complaint, but it’s an interesting change over time.

Relatedly – look, I know it is fifty percent the name ‘the riverlands’ and fifty percent the game being my first exposure to anything like the whole genre and trope-bundle, but I will admit that when the Riverlands’ whole deal became clear my first thought was 100% ‘oh, like Exalted!’.

It is kind of interesting to compare the Singing Hills stories to Vo’s other work (thinking here specifically of her 20th century urban fantasy stuff: Chosen and the Beautiful and Siren Queen). Not even with regard to theme or subject or genre or anything – just in terms of prose. Her urban fantasy stuff’s just very fond of poetic flourishes and very imagery/metaphor-heavy narration, which I personally usually quite enjoy but have heard mixed reviews from others (and does get a bit purple even for me at points). The Singing Hills stuff by contrast is, well, certainly not minimalist or anything, but the prose is a much less striking part of the reading experience.

Probably just a matter of being epic versus urban fantasy, but the role of the supernatural elements in the two sets of stories is also kind of interesting. By which I mean – in Riverlands, there are martial adepts with superhuman abilities and talking birds because it’s the kind of setting with stuff like that, and Chih’s interactions with them are, basically, a person interacting with things that exist. In Siren and Chosen the devils and fae and sorcery are much more weighed down with symbolism and thematic meaning. They are literalized metaphors as much as anything else, and affect the world accordingly. (If that makes any sense at all.)

Anyways, it’s probably just the fact that it’s my brains central case for ‘self contained episodic stories with a single recurring protagonist’, but even more than the rest of the series I was really struck reading this how well the pacing would work as an episode of a 40-minute or so animated tv serial. (animated because being able to change styles in the story-within-a-story section and stylize depending on the narrator would be a vital part). Which is, I suppose, another way of saying that I want another 12-19 of these things.

#book review #into the riverlands #singing hills cycle #nghi vo #sff #hugo nom

[transbookoftheday]

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo

With 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 empress of salt and fortune #the singing hills cycle #nghi vo #nonbinary #trans book of the day #trans books #queer books #bookblr #booklr