When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

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From Locus and Ignyte finalist, Crawford Award winner, and bestselling author Nghi Vo comes the second installment in a Hugo Award-winning series

“A stunning gem of a novella that explores the complexity and layers of storytelling and celebrates the wonder of queer love. I could read about Chih recording tales forever.”—Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

“Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen

The cleric Chih finds themself and their companions at the mercy of a band of fierce tigers who ache with hunger. To stay alive until the mammoths can save them, Chih must unwind the intricate, layered story of the tiger and her scholar lover—a woman of courage, intelligence, and beauty—and discover how truth can survive becoming history.

Nghi Vo returns to the empire of Ahn and The Singing Hills Cycle in When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, a mesmerizing, lush standalone follow-up to The Empress of Salt and Fortune.

The Hugo Award-winning Singing Hills Cycle

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

The novellas of The Singing Hills Cycle are linked by the cleric Chih, but may be read in any order, with each story serving as an entry point.

Reviews

A Hugo Award-Winning Series!
An ALA RUSA Reading List Selection!

“Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful. . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.”—NPR

“Dazzling. . . . Readers who missed Vo’s debut will have no trouble following the second leg of Chih’s travels, and those returning will be pleased to sink into another lush, sophisticated story of queer love and survival.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Nghi Vo is one of the most original writers we have today.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid on Siren Queen

“You don’t have to read Nghi Vo’s debut in order to follow this second short novel, but you’ll want to! Feminist, layered and queer AF, Nghi Vo’s storytelling will mesmerize you. You should probably just read them both.”—Ms. Magazine

“As a piece of fantasy literature, Vo’s worldbuilding is a command performance… We are in a golden age of the novella, and Vo knows how to make the most of the form, with short, propelling chapters and potent ideas. The world is scaffolded off real history and folk traditions but feels fresh and interesting, and Vo once again succeeds in using a scholarly, contemplative protagonist to tease deep emotion and significance out of old stories.”—The Chicago Review of Books

“So good I want to marry it.”—Martha Wells, New York Times bestselling author of The Murderbot Diaries

“Vo is my favorite fantasy debut of 2020.”—Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

“This lyrical story of the cleric Chih unraveling the story of a ravenous tiger is unforgettably original and gorgeously written.“—PopSugar

Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune

“Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful… The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.”—NPR

“Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect.”—Seanan McGuire

“A quiet, wrenching tale of resistance, resilience, and court intrigue.”—R. F. Kuang

“A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised.”—Zen Cho

About the Author

Nghi Vo is the author of the novels Siren Queen and The Chosen and the Beautiful, as well as the acclaimed novellas of the Singing Hills Cycle, which began with The Empress of Salt and Fortune. The series entries have been finalists for the Nebula Award, the Locus Award, and the Lambda Literary Award, and have won the Crawford Award, the Ignyte Award, and the Hugo Award. Born in Illinois, she now lives on the shores of Lake Michigan. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind.

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Books By Nghi Vo