Status
Available
Call number
Publication
Tordotcom (2023), 128 pages
Description
The wandering Cleric Chih returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey for the first time in almost three years, to be met with both joy and sorrow. Their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died, and rests among the archivists and storytellers of the storied abbey. But not everyone is prepared to leave them to their rest. Because Cleric Thien was once the patriarch of Coh clan of Northern Bell Pass--and now their granddaughters have arrived on the backs of royal mammoths, demanding their grandfather's body for burial. Chih must somehow balance honoring their mentor's chosen life while keeping the sisters from the north from storming the gates and destroying the history the clerics have worked so hard to preserve. But as Chih and their neixin Almost Brilliant navigate the looming crisis, Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien's own beloved hoopoe companion, grieves her loss as only a being with perfect memory can, and her sorrow may be more powerful than anyone could anticipate.… (more)
Media reviews
'At the same time, lean is not the same as lacking. The characters are effectively depicted. Their motivations, while not necessarily reasonable, are plausible. The dilemma is engaging. Readers will care about the outcome. I wanted an enjoyable hour or two of reading, and that is exactly what I
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got.' Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is the fourth book in The Singing Hills Cycle. I got a copy of this on ebook through NetGalley to review.
Thoughts: This book was just as wonderful as all of the previous Singing Hills Cycle books. I love that we got to journey to Chih's home of Singing Hills Abbey in this
This book finds Chih returning to their home abbey only to find that their mentor, Cleric Thien has died. As Chih works through their anguish they end up working with Almost Brilliant to help Myraid Virtues (Cleric Thien's hoopoe) navigate her grief. Things are complicated by the gates literally being stormed by mammoths as the Coh clan demands Thien's body for burial.
I continue to love this series' focus on the importance of stories and the legacy stories leave for the rest of humanity. Chih finds some healing in going through Cleric Thien writings and helping to decide which stories will be kept in the archives and which will be kept eternally in the hoopoe's minds. The hoopoes' unique ability to remember things forever across generations is fascinating and is really explored a lot in this book. This book also looks at how different the impact a person has is to different people; Cleric Thien obviously had a huge impact on the Abbey but he also had a huge impact on the Coh clan, but in a different way.
It was a lot of fun to hear about Chih and the trouble they got into growing up at the Abbey. This gave Chih even more history and depth for the reader and getting to know some of Chih's friends at Singing Hills Abbey was a lot of fun too. There are heavy themes of change in this book as well. With Almost Brilliant having her brood and the abbey leadership moving on, everyone is dealing with both the grief and hope that change can bring.
As with all of these books, this was amazingly well written and the story was very thoughtfully woven. This is entertaining while being thought-provoking. I am always in awe at how much I enjoy these books and how much I think about them afterwards.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing continuation of the Singing Hills Cycle. I believe (and hope) there is one more book planned for this series and I eagerly await it. I would recommend this series to everyone, but especially to those who enjoy stories about the importance of stories.
Thoughts: This book was just as wonderful as all of the previous Singing Hills Cycle books. I love that we got to journey to Chih's home of Singing Hills Abbey in this
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volume. This was a fascinating and heartfelt read with a lot of humor and some wonderful stories within the main story.This book finds Chih returning to their home abbey only to find that their mentor, Cleric Thien has died. As Chih works through their anguish they end up working with Almost Brilliant to help Myraid Virtues (Cleric Thien's hoopoe) navigate her grief. Things are complicated by the gates literally being stormed by mammoths as the Coh clan demands Thien's body for burial.
I continue to love this series' focus on the importance of stories and the legacy stories leave for the rest of humanity. Chih finds some healing in going through Cleric Thien writings and helping to decide which stories will be kept in the archives and which will be kept eternally in the hoopoe's minds. The hoopoes' unique ability to remember things forever across generations is fascinating and is really explored a lot in this book. This book also looks at how different the impact a person has is to different people; Cleric Thien obviously had a huge impact on the Abbey but he also had a huge impact on the Coh clan, but in a different way.
It was a lot of fun to hear about Chih and the trouble they got into growing up at the Abbey. This gave Chih even more history and depth for the reader and getting to know some of Chih's friends at Singing Hills Abbey was a lot of fun too. There are heavy themes of change in this book as well. With Almost Brilliant having her brood and the abbey leadership moving on, everyone is dealing with both the grief and hope that change can bring.
As with all of these books, this was amazingly well written and the story was very thoughtfully woven. This is entertaining while being thought-provoking. I am always in awe at how much I enjoy these books and how much I think about them afterwards.
My Summary (5/5): Overall this was an amazing continuation of the Singing Hills Cycle. I believe (and hope) there is one more book planned for this series and I eagerly await it. I would recommend this series to everyone, but especially to those who enjoy stories about the importance of stories.
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LibraryThing member fred_mouse
As with the other books in this series, this is a gentle, meditative story about how stories work, and how people make stories work for them. Particularly interesting was the series of stories told by multiple characters about Cleric Thien, which wove together ideas about what it means to have
It was interesting to observe Cleric Chih without Almost Brilliant (for a short while), as well as to get such a wealth of the world building about the neixin and the Singing Hills abbey. I loved that we don't get a single story, we get a smattering of stories, contradictory and potentially allegorical as they were.
It is obvious that a significant amount of time has passed - Cleric Chih has been away long enough for other members of the order to have changed dramatically. And as such, it is interesting to reflect on how little of Chih's story we get across the four books. Each of them is such a short period of time, although there are references to other happenings, and yet years have passed.
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walked away from a secular life, and have walked towards the abbeyIt was interesting to observe Cleric Chih without Almost Brilliant (for a short while), as well as to get such a wealth of the world building about the neixin and the Singing Hills abbey. I loved that we don't get a single story, we get a smattering of stories, contradictory and potentially allegorical as they were.
It is obvious that a significant amount of time has passed - Cleric Chih has been away long enough for other members of the order to have changed dramatically. And as such, it is interesting to reflect on how little of Chih's story we get across the four books. Each of them is such a short period of time, although there are references to other happenings, and yet years have passed.
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LibraryThing member quondame
Chih returns to their abbey to find it threatened by mammoths, a beloved mentor dead, the mentor's neixin deeply depressed, most of the scholars absent for special research and their childhood friend in charge which results in interesting challenges, not all theirs to address. Lively and textured
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with humor and sadness. Show Less
LibraryThing member beserene
As others have noted, this installment in the Singing Hills series lands a bit differently than the previous volumes, both because the structure we've become used to -- the cleric in a new place and adventure, the stories that feel like folklore -- are altered and because the theme of the whole
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book is profound loss and grief. While the others in this cycle have included serious themes, many balanced that with wry humor and here there is less of that. Even so, it is a beautiful book and I was so glad to read of the clerics' home and to connect with the central characters in a different way. If you aren't ready for the emotions, this might not be the book for you, but if you love this series with your whole heart, as I do, it is so worth it. Show Less
LibraryThing member niaomiya
I love the Singing Hills series, following the travels of wandering cleric Chih. In this book #4 in the series, Chih returns home to the Singing Hills abbey after years away and finds that their mentor, Cleric Thien, has died. Cleric Thien's granddaughters arrive on mammoths to collect their
This book was heartbreaking in its beautiful exploration of grief and loss. The emotional joy of being reunited with their neixin Almost Brilliant is tempered by Cleric Chih's deep sadness at the loss of his mentor. And Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien's devastated hoopoe companion, grieves in a way more moving and powerful than anyone in the abbey could have imagined.
The book ends on a hopeful note and conveys a poignant new beginning for Cleric Chih and their good friend Ru.
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grandfather's body for burial. The tension between the granddaughters and the abbey's clerics rises to a level that threatens to destroy the abbey.This book was heartbreaking in its beautiful exploration of grief and loss. The emotional joy of being reunited with their neixin Almost Brilliant is tempered by Cleric Chih's deep sadness at the loss of his mentor. And Myriad Virtues, Cleric Thien's devastated hoopoe companion, grieves in a way more moving and powerful than anyone in the abbey could have imagined.
The book ends on a hopeful note and conveys a poignant new beginning for Cleric Chih and their good friend Ru.
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LibraryThing member Shrike58
Having reached the fourth iteration of the adventures of Cleric Chih and their companion Almost Brilliant, this time the story is personal, as Chih returns to their monastery to discover that it's under siege by two disgruntled sisters with war mammoths at their command, that their best friend at
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said monastery is in charge, that their mentor has passed on, and there's a lot of messy emotional business to sort out. Frankly, this is now my second favorite story in this series, only after "The Empress of Salt and Fortune," if only because it really advances the character development of Chih. Show Less
LibraryThing member Belbo713
Finally seeing Chih’s home felt so cozy and wholesome. This continues to be one of my favourite series. Always manages to pack such a punch in so few pages.
LibraryThing member ladycato
I read this novella as part of the Nebula finalist packet.
I enjoyed the first two books in this series by Vo, and I remember them as lyrical and compelling, but I read them a few years ago and can't remember details. Therefore, I approached this novella as a fresh, stand-alone read--and I loved it.
I enjoyed the first two books in this series by Vo, and I remember them as lyrical and compelling, but I read them a few years ago and can't remember details. Therefore, I approached this novella as a fresh, stand-alone read--and I loved it.
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It's not as lyrical, but it's emotional and profound, following a nonbinary cleric who returns to their home monastery to find their mentor dead and the teacher's family demanding a return of the body, in a violation of the place's standards. The family's demand is reinforced by the presence of war mammoths. That use of an unusual animal with fantasy is interesting, but the true scene-stealers are the hoopoes, talking birds that are part of the clerics' work in preserving history and memory. Show Less
LibraryThing member AnnieMod
After 3 installments which saw Chih and Almost Brilliant collecting stories on the road, they finally head home. Except that things are never easy around those two and before long they end up dealing with a dead teacher, the granddaughters of the said teacher really wanting to get their beloved
The story could have been written in a much lighter manner, matching the tone of the series so far. Instead it leaned on the grief angle - both human and neixin (we already knew that these birds are special) - and the backstory of Chih and their friends. It is an exploration of families (both the ones you are born in and the ones you choose to be a part of) and loss. There are some bright moments so the story is not all dark and depressing and Chih shines without even trying - in the middle of personal grief, they somehow end up needing to safe the monastery and its way of life.
Almost Brilliant (and its baby!) provide the usual entertainment but even that is subdued. And of course there are the stories - for all in this world revolves around then so we get to see more of it.
The end may not have been surprising but it still manages to sound as if it may have been - there was really no other way to close that story without undoing all that was done and yet it feels like it only happened due to the stories who made it into people's heart and finally made them understand the others.
As with the rest of the series, it is a story of acceptance and of finding the way to understand the other. It probably won't work as a standalone (or it will lose a lot of its power without the rest of the series) but as a part of the cycle, it fits. And even if I appreciate the change of tone, I hope that we will be back on the road and in happier tales going forward.
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grandparent's body back and as the title implies, some mammoths. The story could have been written in a much lighter manner, matching the tone of the series so far. Instead it leaned on the grief angle - both human and neixin (we already knew that these birds are special) - and the backstory of Chih and their friends. It is an exploration of families (both the ones you are born in and the ones you choose to be a part of) and loss. There are some bright moments so the story is not all dark and depressing and Chih shines without even trying - in the middle of personal grief, they somehow end up needing to safe the monastery and its way of life.
Almost Brilliant (and its baby!) provide the usual entertainment but even that is subdued. And of course there are the stories - for all in this world revolves around then so we get to see more of it.
The end may not have been surprising but it still manages to sound as if it may have been - there was really no other way to close that story without undoing all that was done and yet it feels like it only happened due to the stories who made it into people's heart and finally made them understand the others.
As with the rest of the series, it is a story of acceptance and of finding the way to understand the other. It probably won't work as a standalone (or it will lose a lot of its power without the rest of the series) but as a part of the cycle, it fits. And even if I appreciate the change of tone, I hope that we will be back on the road and in happier tales going forward.
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Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novella — 2024)
Nebula Award (Nominee — Novella — 2023)
Locus Recommended Reading (Novella — 2023)
Denver Public Library Staff Picks for Adults (Fiction — 2023)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2023-09-12
Physical description
128 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
1250851432 / 9781250851437