As a child who grew up on Aesop's fables and stories of tricksters like Anansi of West African folklore, this novella healed something in me.

I just love the world presented and how it plays into our treatment of animals as symbols. It does a wonderful job of capturing that feeling while attributing it to stories that answer a lot questions brought on by modern dilemmas.

For some readers it might be a little too on the nose with its morals and messaging, but those like me will feel a nostalgia beyond compare.

I'll light many candles to the Fox after reading this, and I hope others will too.

I usually find stories about trickster gods really entertaining, and while this one is no exception it also proves to be deeper and darker than I expected, and is the more richer for it.

In this short novel, our main character Nesi auditions to be an acolyte for the Fox, but of course a trickster god's tests will prove to be nothing like what Nesi expected.

The worldbuilding is shaped slowly but expertly, giving us enough information to immerse ourselves in the story but also letting us know there is more to this world than what we’ve discovered. The fables between chapters are a great addition for us to learn more about the Fox and the rest of the gods.

An enjoyable read with great pacing. I hope to read other full length novels from this author in the future.

I liked a lot of the individual elements here. The world had a lot of potential, and the characters had clear goals that I wanted to see them achieve. Unfortunately, I felt there was a disconnect somewhere between those two elements. I wasn’t getting why this story needed to take place in this world, or why in this world, this was the one story the author would tell. I think a big reason for that disconnect was a lack of obstacles and conflict in the narrative. The main character sets out to do something, and despite having failed in her life so many times before, achieves it this time fairly easily. There was no real tension, and so I wasn’t as invested. And while I did enjoy the interludes—the parables every other chapter—I wished that real estate had been used to add complexity to the main story.

This was great! Well paced, a few different styles of storytelling, uplifting, fun and likable characters.

I was drawn in by the cool cover, but I stayed for the original and lovely story. We follow the temple-worker Nesi who is supposed to find a patron among the Ninety-Nine Pillars of Heaven but was already rejected by Ninety-Six of them. Her options are down to the Pillars of War, Assassination, and Tricks, so she enters the audition for T’sidaan, Fox of Tricks. The Fox promptly sends her back in time and gives her the task of securing the course of history, and so Nesi finds herself 300 years away from her own time in a labor camp during an occupation of her lands. I really got the feeling that this little novella took place in a vast world with rich history, to the point where I was a little lost between all the names of countries and regions. But I do appreciate the effort, and it just shows how much the author created for this story. My favorite part was the mythology itself, and I loved to learn about the different Pillars (they're basically gods) and especially about the Fox, of course. They were such a great character, being a trickster, mischief-maker and shapeshifter with a silly side, but they're also patient and kind, and ready to teach a lesson when necessary. Nesi was a good main character too. I really felt for her with all the rejections she had to endure, having the feeling that she's not enough although she is actually very passionate. It's a story about finding one's place in the world and about how a little trickery can stand against tyranny and violence. It's very original and hard to compare to other things, but parts were almost fable-like and the focus on storytelling reminded me a little of the "Singing Hills" Cycle by Nghi Vo. A lovely novella that's pretty on the outside and on the inside. There's also pretty art between the chapters, so I'm sure the finished version will be stunning. Highly recommend!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Tachyon Publications for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

Gosh I absolutely loved this book. It felt like such an original story and I wasn’t sure where it was going most of the way through. The ending was equal parts emotional and satisfying. My only wish is that it was longer and we got more information on Nesi, her background, more interactions between her and Una (who was a fantastic character) and of course some more stories from the Fox. I would love to see more from this set of characters.