The two previous novellas in the Singing Hills cycle have both been delightful and this third offering is no exception. Following cleric Chih as they travel around the land finding and recording stories for posterity, we encounter some fascinating characters along the way. I thought the plot of this installment was particularly strong while still retaining the 'story within a story' structure that has worked so well in the past. I also enjoyed the description of place that we got in this novella - Nghi Vo paints a beautiful picture of the land in which the Singing Hills monastery sits and the journey to Betony Docks takes us through some evocative landscapes that I really appreciated. I hope that there are more books to come in this series and I will continue to read them with delight.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Another really beautiful addition to the Singing Hills Cycle.
I found the mix of characters in this one really lovable and enjoyable. The way Nghi Vo writes makes the imagery so clear and I can really picture the story unfold as I read. I would recommend this series to anyone who enjoyed Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot Duology.
I can’t wait for the next book in this series, really cosy and soothing reading.

Absolutely love Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant and Vo has such a good way of spinning a story, it always feels like I'm right there with them on their (mis)adventures

Thank you to Nghi Vo, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tordotcom, and Netgalley for a free reader copy of Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle, #3) for an honest review.

I continue to love everything about the further adventures of cleric Chih of the Singing Hills, on their path to continue the collection of true stories from the world, I was ABSOLUTELY tickled pink to have the return of Almost Brilliant, because the two of them working together in tandem brightens up my heart.

I love the continued message in these bite-sized one-day read novellas that there is so much wisdom and advice layered in the lore of stories, but also the undercurrent that one may not be entirely aware that they are, just by living their life, in the act of writing their own legend, too.

A phenomenal novella of intrigue and suspense and tight as bowstring storytelling. Nghi Vo does it again!

This 3rd in the Singing Hills fantasy series takes Cleric Chih and talking bird Almost Brilliant into the Riverlands, notorious for its martial artists.

After travelling with 2 couples they encountered, Chih sees 'a battle between people who don't fight like people, who are what legends come from.'

This is a brilliant series, well worth following!

Essa continuação não foi o que as minhas expectativas esperavam quando peguei para ler, achei que seria no mesmo nível do segundo volume. Infelizmente, não foi. Mas, isso não quer dizer que esse volume é "pior", porque não é.

Senti esse volume mais "lento" e mais "parado" do que os outros volumes, acredito que tenha sido isso que me deixou com as expectativas sem ser atingida, porque esse volume pareceu uma ponte de transição para algo ainda maior.

Tirando as minhas expectativas que não foram atendidas de lado, um dos pontos mais do que positivos é que continua o desenvolvimento da personagem acrescentando ainda mais camadas, além das camadas acrescentadas no desenvolvimento e na expansão do mundo.

O que me deixa ainda mais surpreso é como pode ser feito tanta coisa em poucas páginas. Isso só reforça a força da escrita da Nghi Vo.

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*Agradeço a Tor e ao NetGalley por ter me fornecido uma copia do eARC.

Into the Riverlands is the third entry in Nghi Vo’s excellent series of novellas chronicling the adventures of Cleric Chih, a non-binary monk from the Monastery of Singing Hills, whose mission is to collect stories for preservation so that cultural memory might extend beyond the passing of the participants of the stories and those who tell them. As with the previous entries, there is just the right balance of introspection and action, of listening and doing, propelling the story along and leaving questions for the reader to ruminate on.

Chih and their Neixin travel-mate Almost Brilliant (do not call her a bird, thank you very much) have dined with the former lover of an empress and faced down sentient tigers, usually using a combination of storytelling and careful questioning to resolve conflict. This time, a chance encounter in a remote inn brings Chih into contact with fellow travelers straight out of a Wuxia film: a talented young martial artist of the “Southern Monkey” school, the martial artists’ traveling companion and sworn sister, and a husband and wife pair who know the Riverlands and its history better than anyone Chih could hope to encounter but who may have secrets of their own. The trip of course is not without excitement thanks to the apparent resurgence of a legendary bandit group. The travel scenes are full of excellent stories-within-the-story and characters disagreeing with each other on some details. The fight scenes, when they happen, are beautifully choreographed and come with a palpable sense of danger. I genuinely wondered if everyone we met at the beginning of the book would survive. (No spoilers as the that.)

We learn a bit more about Chih’s personality (not vain, but aware of how a Cleric should appear; not overtly religious but aware that sometimes their duty is to perform religious ritual; not a fighter by nature but willing to stand up for what’s right and protect those who can’t protect themselves) in this book, and a better sense of the relationship between Chih and Almost Brilliant (who comes across as more bossy and egotistical and less patient than in the first book in the series (having been absent from the second)).

As usual, Vo’s dialogue is crisp and full of hidden meaning for the reader to prise out as the story develops. Characters have depths not apparent when they are first introduced – and the line between the personal, historical, and legendary is not always clear. Vo also trusts her readers to put the pieces together and doesn’t spell everything out by the end of the book, which I greatly enjoy. I found myself, days after finishing the book, thinking about the connections between the characters, the stories they told about themselves, and the history/legends they shared.

Even though this is the third book in the series, the story is completely stand-alone and can be enjoyed/understood without having to have read The Empress of Salt and Fortune or The Tiger Came Down from the Mountain. In fact, I can’t recall any obvious references to either book. If they were there, they hopefully will intrigue readers starting with this book to pick up the previous two.

I truly hope Nghi Vo has many more tales of Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant to share with us.


I received an advance reading copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This review is very late. Into the Riverlands published on October 25, 2022

I am always amazed at the world building Nghi Vo achieves in their novellas. I am always transported Ahn and into the stories Chih tells and hears. I cannot wait for the next one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!

This is definitely my favorite installment of the Singing Hills Cycle so far. Cleric Chih feels like their character is finally starting to grow a bit more beyond their prescribed role as an observer and receiver of stories. I also really enjoyed the action here, which feels like a natural escalation from When The Tigers Came Down the Mountain and provides the story with a bit more beyond an exchange of different folk stories within the world Nghi Vo has created. Into the Riverlands reveals the nature of stories and folklore as both historical and living events.... how certain actions become legends spread far and wide and how certain actions that are crucial to understanding the truth of those legends can be lost.

I'm excited to see where the next novella in this series takes Chih and Almost Brilliant!

Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I will never not enjoy these Singing Hills novellas. There is so much storytelling, action & humour packed into so few pages; yet it leaves you just as satisfied as if you’ve read 400 pages. I love Cleric Chih, but let’s be honest, I’m here for Almost Brilliant (so happy they are back!) I love the fact that these novellas are focused on the importance of storytelling, & how those stories get passed down through the ages to become the history of the land. That without those stories, what would become of the lands history & the knowledge that comes with it.

I can’t wait for Singing Hills novella number four!

Into the Riverlands does a good job of continuing the story of Chih as they travel to the Riverlands. I enjoyed the way in which this story explored its themes of the unreliability of stories and how difficult it is for any of us to truly know someone. These are of course the themes which are followed in all of the books within this series. All of the characters were interesting and fun. This story is more similar to the first book as opposed to the second one with it having less action and danger. Overall if you've enjoyed the other books within this series, I would recommend this one. Additionally if you enjoy stories about stories and how little we can know about others solely from their stories, this is a book I would recommend you picking up.

"Chih didn't spend very much time with children, but they lived in stories, and for a little while, they could invite the children of Betony Docks into the house they made, offering them the fragile shelter of a story they had all built together."

The third installment in the Singing Hills Cycle did not disappoint! As always, I loved Almost Brilliant and Cleric Chih. The writing style itself was closer to When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain than The Empress of Salt and Fortune, beautiful yet very accessible. This one focuses more on women who are strong, powerful warriors and who might not be considered the most beautiful as a result.

This is a series of companion novellas, so you don't need to start with The Empress of Salt and Fortune if you like the sound of any of the other books better.

Thank you to Tor Dot Com and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I adore this series of books, and honestly they feel like a love letter to the art of storytelling. If there's a dozen more I will read each one.

3.5 stars
I wanted to love this book, the first book in this series was an instant favourite and I enjoyed the second one a lot, but unfortunately Into the Riverlands did not live up to the rest of the series for me.
I love the quiet an introspective nature of The Singing Hills Cycle, but it's really the rich tales interwoven with these slower moments that make me love the series, and this instalment really did not focus as much on that to my disappointment.
The characters did not stand out much to me, which is a shame as I really thought they had a lot of potential, it all just felt underdeveloped. Especially Wild Pig Yi, I think her story could have been worked into a larger aspect of the novella which would have piqued my interest more.
Overall though, I still had a fun time with this book, primarily due to the way that Nghi Vo has with words, it's stunning! Her descriptions paint a stunning world, and it feels totally vivid and real. I'm still looking forwards to future instalments in this series, I just hope there's a bit more action to them.

I loved this book, which is the third in an incredible series. Nghi Vo writes with such fluidity and every chapter feels compelling. I loved the folklore stories mixed with the action.

I loved the first book in this series, felt kind of ambivalent about the second one, and enjoyed this third one. Having Almost Brilliant back was lovely, and I loved that Chih played a more active role in this one than they have in previous installments (normally just listening and guiding the story). All the characters here are interesting, and I just wish it had been a little longer!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the ARC of Into the Riverlands.

Cleric Chic wanders into the riverlands to record tales of the notorious near-immortal martial artists who haunt the region. On the road to Betony Docks, they fall in with a pair of young women far from home, and an older couple who are more than they seem. As Chih runs headlong into an ancient feud, they find themselves far more entangled in the history of the riverlands than they ever expected to be.

I have enjoyed this book in the Singing Hills Cycle the best so far. The companions Chic meets in this book are very interesting as well as the notorious martial artists. I listened to the first two as audiobook but I think I should read the fourth the fifth books because I feel like the audiobook goes too quickly to fully enjoy this series since they are so short.

I didn’t realize this was a book series until I started reading this so I was a little confused with the characters and plot but that is not to say I didn’t enjoy reading this. I am fascinated by how the story played out.

This novella follow Cleric Chih and Almost brilliant as he travel around the Riverlands to collect stories. I really enjoyed the story within a story concept and some of these stories were definitely nostalgic as they cover wu xia tales that I have grown up reading about. There are elements of myths and folklores that added a beautiful, whimsical vibe to the story.

I will definitely be on the hunt for the first two series now so I can understand and enjoy the story better. Thank you Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the arc.

Nghi Vo strategically weaves tales and folklore through the story at hand, managing difficult topics with grace and dignity for those who have been wronged. The writing style is unlike any other I have read and I cannot recommend it highly enough. It removes your brain from western-centric fantasy rhetoric and forces you to think, in the best possible way.