Mammoths at the Gates

April 1, 2023

Returning to the Singing Hills Abbey after nearly three years of wandering, Cleric Chih discovers that their mentor has died and that Mammoths at the Gates come bearing the mentor's granddaughters, clamoring to retrieve their grandfather's body for burial; from Hugo Award winner Vo (100,000-copy first printing). Prepub Alert.

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Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 12, 2023
Hugo Award winner Vo’s lovely standalone fourth Singing Hills Cycle fantasy (after Into the Riverlands) is the most personal adventure yet for travelling Cleric Chih. It begins with them returning to the Singing Hills abbey, their childhood home and a sacred temple to stories and memory, full of rumors, ghosts, and magical neixin, or memory spirits who never forget. Chih is shocked to discover the abbey’s usually bustling halls are nearly deserted, and that their mentor, Cleric Thien, is dead and interred in the manner of all respected clerics. This becomes a problem when two mammoth-riding northern soldiers charge the gates of the abbey, claiming Cleric Thien as their grandfather and demanding the release of his remains. Now Chih must navigate conflict with the riders and their own grief in a home that will never again be what they remember. The worldbuilding isn’t the focus, but Vo’s mythologically infused alternate Southeast Asia draws readers in just enough to keep their attention and elevate her characters as they move through the plot, which gets off to a slow start but picks up the pace in later chapters. This timeless story of grief and growth is sure to resonate. (Sept.)
Correction: An earlier version of this review misspelled a character’s name and misidentified the setting.

August 1, 2023
Vo's novella series, the Singing Hills Cycle, continues with another story about Cleric Chih and the stories they collect as they travel throughout the land. This one is more connected to Chih's overarching story than the others were. Chih returns to the abbey itself to lay down what they've archived so far and check in with their home but quickly finds that all isn't well--their mentor has passed away, and their granddaughters insist that they have the right to Cleric Thien's body. Meanwhile, the cleric's neixin companion, Myriad Virtues, is mourning in ways that borderline on the shocking. This volume grounds the series and Chih in a foundation, a place and system of archivists and storytellers, while offering a compelling debate over who gets to speak for a life after it has ended. As in all books in the Singing Hills Cycle, the novella is short but meaty, with rich language and small details and stories that flesh it out into feeling much longer than it is. It's a quick, satisfying read.

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Starred review from July 1, 2023

The steps of wandering Cleric Chih have turned towards home. They expect to find the monastery much as they left it, but they return to mammoths blocking the gate and their oldest friend in mid-argument with the commander of the force. Chih learns that their mentor is dead, the clerics and apprentices have rushed to the site of a new discovery, and the home they expected to be a haven is nearly a battleground. Expecting peace, instead Chih finds chaos and change, but amid the depths of mourning and regret there might just be a space where the nearly warring forces can meet in an uneasy middle. Chih finds themself an outsider in the place they call home and grieves for not just the loss of their mentor but also the changes in themself and their once closest companion. But grief proves to be bittersweet as their late mentor's experience continues through one profoundly grieving bird. VERDICT This fourth entry in the "Singing Hills Cycle" series, after Into the Riverlands, is every bit as beautiful and thought-provoking as its predecessors. Highly recommended for fans of the previous books in the series and for anyone who loves their fantasy colored with myth, legend, and bittersweet truth.--Marlene Harris

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.