Siren Queen

By: Nghi Vo

Narrated by: Natalie Naudus

Length: 8 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

FROM AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR NGHI VO COMES A DAZZLING NEW NOVEL WHERE IMMORTALITY IS JUST A CASTING CALL AWAY

"Natalie Naudus's skilled narration adds to the luminous and otherworldly qualities of Vo's historical fantasy." -AudioFile on Siren Queen

It was magic. In every world, it was a kind of magic.

"No maids, no funny talking, no fainting flowers." Luli Wei is beautiful, talented, and desperate to be a star. Coming of age in pre-Code Hollywood, she knows how dangerous the movie business is and how limited the roles are for a Chinese American girl from Hungarian Hill—but she doesn't care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid.

But in Luli's world, the worst monsters in Hollywood are not the ones on screen. The studios want to own everything from her face to her name to the women she loves, and they run on a system of bargains made in blood and ancient magic, powered by the endless sacrifice of unlucky starlets like her. For those who do survive to earn their fame, success comes with a steep price. Luli is willing to do whatever it takes—even if that means becoming the monster herself.

Siren Queen offers up an enthralling exploration of an outsider achieving stardom on her own terms, in a fantastical Hollywood where the monsters are real and the magic of the silver screen illuminates every moment.

A Macmillan Audio production from Tor.com Books.

©2022 Nghi Vo (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2022 Buzzfeed Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
2023 Ignyte Award, Short-listed
2023 Wisconsin Library Association Literary Awards, Short-listed
2022 Audible.com Best of the Year, Long-listed
2022 NPR Best Book of the Year, Long-listed
2022 Amazon.com Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
2022 Time Magazine Best Books of the Year, Long-listed
2022 Hudson Booksellers Best of the Year, Long-listed
Locus Awards - Nominee, Short-listed
World Fantasy Award - Finalist, Short-listed
2022 NYPL Best Books of the Year, Long-listed

Meh

There was some beautiful scene building but overall the story was lacking. I did like the characters and the themes. I struggled to get into the story, it felt like it was building up to something that just never came to be. I really wanted to like this book but ultimately would not recommend.

Truly Lovely

I highly recommend this one! The world she gives us is lush and strange and beautiful.

Damn good

Something a bit different and wonderful, part fae fantasy, part horror, part memoir, I loved it.

Amazing concept, but didn't quite land for me

I think I liked this book?
The writing was delicious, every sentence lulling you in with its beauty. But when I think about the actual content, I’m left a bit confused and underwhelmed. I would have liked for the magic system to get a bit more explanation, there’s a whole lot that’s thrown at you and you never really quite know why or how, but you just kind of have to roll with it the whole way through.
I thought it was beautiful and charming, but I wonder if the book would read just as well if all of the magic was taken out. It certainly makes for interesting symbols and comparisons, but I don’t think it landed quite right with me.

Dark magic masterpiece

This book. Where do I even begin?

“No maids. No funny talking. No fainting flowers.” Chinese American Luli Wei has strict criteria for the roles she will take. She knows the roles for a girl like her are limited but she doesn’t care. She’d rather play a monster than a maid. Luli is a rising starlet in Old Hollywood, a place where monsters are real and not in a metaphorical sense. There’s a dark underbelly to the glamor here, blood magic and old gods and sacrifices made to devils.

This book was a revelation. A glittering dark fantasy story with just the right blend of real world glitz and fantastic horror. This book blurred the lines between reality and fiction in the best possible way. This was a magical queer racially charged horrific fairytale…

Naudus’s narration powerfully brings this story to life, the richness of the story playing against the innocence and power of Wei’s experiences.

This was yet another Nghi Vo masterpiece.

Needed more depth

I love the idea of this story and this world: Movies are literally created from magic with stars achieving immortality while trading in their souls.
But it all lacked depth. I wanted more world building. It was clear all of the characters involved were aware of the existence of the magic in this world, but it was never fully realized or harnessed. For most of the story it simply sat in the background existing with little actual impact on the world or the characters. The characters suffered from a similar lack of background and depth, most of them flitting in and out of the story with little to make them more than props. I wish the writer would have spent the same sort of time with the details of character development and world building as she did with the romantic scenes.

Thank the gods!

Fiction is alive! This book proves it. Fantastic story told incredibly well. Thank you anyhow Vo!

A great listen if you like the surreal

I did not have any idea what this book was about….but I liked it. It had Night Circus type vibes. Hollywood as a playground for the immortal and damned in the 30s. Excellently read and performed!!

Opportunity missed

The setting and setup promised a good take that didn’t come. All setting no story- a good premise that the author failed to do much with

A silken splendor…

By pure chance I came across this book… I am so happy that chance looked my way! Nghi Vo is magical with her storytelling! She is able to pluck the exactly needed words to paint the picture of the stories she is sharing with this world!
I fell in love and adoration with Luli/TheSiren Queen!
Natalie Naudus’s silken voice lends a decadent sweetness to this breathtaking fantasy.
I’ve definitely found a new author and voice actor