The Brides of High Hill
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4.5 • 13 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
Nghi Vo's Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle returns with a standalone gothic mystery that unfolds in the empire of Ahn.
"A remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."—NPR on The Empress of Salt and Fortune
"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen
The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride's party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord's mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.
As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo's previous wives and the dark history of Doi Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.
The Singing Hills Cycle has been shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award, the Locus Award, and the Ignyte Award, and has won the Crawford Award and the Hugo Award.
The novellas are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
Mammoths at the Gates
The Brides of High Hill
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Hugo Award winner Vo's evocative fifth Singing Hills Cycle novella (after Mammoths at the Gates), opulence and ancestry unravel to reveal dark secrets. Cleric Chih returns, this time without their partner in crime, memory spirit Almost Brilliant, to accompany the fallen Pham family as they visit the mysterious estate of Doi Cao, where the Phams seek a union between their daughter Nhung and her wealthy older suitor, Lord Guo. The estate is filled with vacant buildings guarded by protective relics, and the servants refuse to engage with the guests any more than necessary. Unease surrounds the visitors as they explore the spiraling grounds and learn more about the fates of Lord Guo's past wives. Even as Cleric Chih and the Phams are treated to extravagant banquets, they grapple with the ominous atmosphere and unsettling warnings from Lord Guo's afflicted son. In her signature lyrical style, Vo creates a haunted house where nothing is as it appears, unraveling magical threads at a spellbinding pace. This eerie and intricate entry keeps the series going strong.
Customer Reviews
Nothing is as it Seems in Doi Cao!
“The Brides of High Hill” is the newly released fifth novella in the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo. It is a fantasy, set in a Asian-inspired alternate world. Like its predecessors, this novella tells a number of stories nestled within the larger story.
In the beginning of the story, Chih, a Cleric of the Singing Hills Temple is traveling with a young bride-to-be and the Pham family retinue to the walled town of Doi Cao. There a wealthy lord plans to marry her, in spite of the significant difference in their ages. Her family supports this union as it will reportedly solve their financial difficulties.
Things seem odd from the beginning. The servants at Doi Cao are very reserved, and seem to be keeping strange secrets. The lord’s son is said to be mad, and indeed acts oddly. Nothing seems right, and Chih wants to understand what is going on in Doi Cao…
The world in which this story is set resembles a medieval Asia of our world, but has a few supernatural and alternate historical differences. One difference that is exhibited in these tales are the cleric’s avian companions. These beings look like a Hoopoe, but are intelligent and conversational beings with perfect memory. Very helpful for clerics who collect stories.
These novellas are all great stories, and I look forward to future tales in the Singing Hills Cycle. Goodreads list at least three more untitled novellas in the series.