The Empress of Salt and Fortune

Singing Hills Cycle, Book 1

By: Nghi Vo

Narrated by: Cindy Kay

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.

©2020 Nghi Vo (P)2020 Tantor

wonderful

just a gorgeous listen. truly. beautifully read and delicately structured. I really loved it and will continue on to the next one.

Well crafted, engaging story

At first I was a bit put off by the formal tone and halting unfurling of the story in the beginning, but I was quickly captivated by the world and the characters so deftly and efficiently built. By the end, I was enthralled!

wonderful .. when ready

I found it to start slow, but grow mesmerizing as secrets expanded and I fell into the rhythm of the storytelling.

A beautiful story

A beautiful poem like story set in a place similar to medieval China. It is about many things. it revolves mostly around the life of an empress and a servant girl who loved her. It would give away too much to say more. If you enjoy the lyrical style of this writing, you will love this story and it’s characters. It does start out slow, so be patient. It gets much better.

An Entrancing Experience

This is a rather short novella, but it is exactly as long as it needs to be. It’s truly a testament to Nghi Vo’s ability as a storyteller, and Cindy Kay’s ability as a narrator, that I spent every second of this book under a spell. It reminded me of listening to my mother tell me stories from our island late at night, about a time and place that can no longer be reached but must always be remembered. Every syllable seemed important, every reveal monumental, despite the quiet nature of the story itself. I loved this book more than I can describe, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys quiet fantasy, tales of resistance, and deeply immersive storytelling.

4.5 stars

It was like a fairytale, with amazing out of this world creatures, powerful women and beautiful writing.

Incredible Voice, Surprising Story

Did not expect the story, at all. I had no information going to it, but ended up liking it all the better for it. The narrator was mellow, well-paced and with gorgeous diction. Overall a wonderful time.

Really well written!

I really loved this book! The writing style made it sound like a fairy tale, which is very fitting.

Excellent

Listened in one day, with few interruptions. A beautiful, touching story that’s well written and amazingly descriptive. The narrator was wonderful, telling the tale with good pace and wonderful tone.

Empress of Salt & Fortune - Interesting book

I chose this story as a change of pace. It definitely was. I really had no idea where this story was going until the very end. Actually I hope I understood the ending but I am not sure. Very different but worth a couple of hours time listening before going back to my normal fare.