The Brides of High Hill

By Nghi Vo

Book Overview

Nghi Vo's Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle returns with a standalone gothic mystery that unfolds in the empire of Ahn.

Featured in BookBub Book Riot Gizmodo Amazon Best SF&F of 2024 So Far pick An NPR Best Book of the Year

"A remarkable accomplishment of storytelling."--NPR on The Empress of Salt and Fortune

"Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today."--Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen

The Cleric Chih accompanies a beautiful young bride to her wedding to the aging ruler of a crumbling estate situated at the crossroads of dead empires. The bride's party is welcomed with elaborate courtesies and extravagant banquets, but between the frightened servants and the cryptic warnings of the lord's mad son, they quickly realize that something is haunting the shadowed halls.

As Chih and the bride-to-be explore empty rooms and desolate courtyards, they are drawn into the mystery of what became of Lord Guo's previous wives and the dark history of Doi Cao itself. But as the wedding night draws to its close, Chih will learn at their peril that not all monsters are to be found in the shadows; some monsters hide in plain sight.

The Singing Hills Cycle has been shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Award, the Locus Award, and the Ignyte Award, and has won the Crawford Award and the Hugo Award.

The novellas are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune
When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain
Into the Riverlands
Mammoths at the Gates
The Brides of High Hill

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250851440
• ISBN13: 9781250851444
• Release Date: May 2024
• Publisher: Tordotcom
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

It was worth the wait!

I read a review of The Brides of High Hill in late March. I loved all of the earlier volumes, so I pre-ordered this one. This time Cleric Chih of Singing Hills Abbey has joined the merchant Master Pham and his wife as they and their retinue are taking their lovely daughter, Pham Nhung, to an old estate dating from the defunct Ku Dynasty so the girl can marry the current owner. Lord Guo is strong but he must be 60 if he's a day. His son, Zhihao, would be more suitable for Nhung, if he weren't said to be insane. Sane or not, why did Zhihao suggest that Nhung ask his father how mant wives he's had, and tell Chich that they're not in Shu? Are we dealing with a Bluebeard? Nhung herself is nervous and keeps asking Chih to check out buildings for her. After all, there's an old legend about the estate of Dio Cao and monsters. The more things that happen during the first two days and nights, the more worried Chih becomes for Nhung's fate. If only Almost Brilliant, her neixin (memory spirit in the form of a talking hoopoe bird), were with her to explain things! For example is Zhihao insane or merely suffering from a lockjaw curse that prevents him from telling the truth about what's going on? What's with those creepy shadows, anyway? I got just as spooked as Cleric Chih as I kept reading. I didn't see the climax coming at all, but once I thought about the earlier chapters, I realized that there were plenty of clues I had missed. I think this is the best volume yet! I'd love to see this story adapted into 2-d animation.