The Singing Hills Cycle, Part Two
by Nghi Vo
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted September 28, 2023
Edits and Addenda on May 14, 2024 & October 18, 2025
4. Mammoths at the Gates
5. The Brides of High Hill
6. A Mouthful of Dust
Refer back to this page for my comments on the first three stories in this sequence.
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The fourth Singing Hills novella sees Cleric Chih returning to the abbey after several years traveling and gathering stories, most recently without the aid and companionship of their hoopoe Almost Brilliant, who had returned earlier to nurture her new offspring. Chih is still several miles away when they spot two large mammoths near the abbey gates, something completely unexpected. They had encountered mammoths before (in the second story), but that was in the northern territories, far from Singing Hills. Two other unexpected things are discovered once they manage to get around the mammoths and enter the abbey. It is almost empty, the majority of the other clerics and novices miles away aiding a village evacuation, and their mentor, the Divine Cleric Thien, had died. The Acting Divine is their close childhood friend Ru. The mammoths are there because their two riders are granddaughters of Thien, come to take his body back to their village, which Cleric Ru opposes. Chih had already met the mammoth riders and their beasts, and had an amicable conversation, but they had not told them about their reasons for being there. Later, Chih is surprised and frightened at the prospect the mammoths will be used to break down the abbey gates. Something must be done to appease them without allowing them to take Thien's body.
One thing that puzzles both Chih and Ru is the mammoth riders never knew their grandfather, he had left his village to become a cleric before either were born. Neither of the stories they tell at the remembrance ceremony indicate they valued him as an ancestor. Other revelations involve Chih and Ru's memories of what Thien had taught them, the how and why they became clerics, along with resentments and rivalries between the two. Chih had become a traveling chronicler of stories, while Ru remained at the abbey due to a disability, although it wasn't clear if that was the result of an accident or not, and if so if Chih had been at least partly responsible. We do learn more about the heirarchy of the hoopoe aviary, with one story told at the Divine's remembrance ceremony coming from their faithful bird, Myriad Virtues, who is in deep depression. Legends told of how hoopoe became neixin, learning human speech and being able to remember everything. One hoopoe was transformed into a neixin, another into a human cleric, that sacred bond formed and then expanded once the abbey was established. Several of the birds repeated that neixin were not beasts, since they had more in common with humans than any other animal. And if a hoopoe had become a human before, why could that not happen again? After a contentious standoff with the mammoth riders, Myriad Virtues returns with them to their northern village, to honor Thien's late wife.
Another thoughtful speculation on memory, loyalty, and tradition. Even though they at times appear to be a religious order, the clerics of Singing Hills are mainly historians. They collect stories, archive them, but sometimes also discard those they feel are not necessary to remember. Besides, one or more of the neixin will remember even if a cleric's notes are destroyed. Something decidedly not religious, some of their archives include military information, which comes in handy against large mammoths. I still don't know how many more stories we can expect about Cleric Chih, or others from Singing Hills, but I do know there will be at least one more, with The Brides of High Hill due out next May. You can be sure I will be reading it, and perhaps even re-reading the others before then. This series is highly recommended.
Mammoths at the Gates was a finalist for the 2023 Nebula and 2024 Hugo awards for Best Novella, as well as for World Fantasy, Locus, and the Le Guin Prize, although it did not win any..
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Posted May 14, 2024
My comments on this title will be very brief. It would be too easy to spoil the action. Cleric Chih seems to be confused about what is going on right from the start, waking uneasily from a disturbing dream. They are in the back of a wagon, accompanied by a young woman, Pham Nhung, who has to remind them of when and how they met. Apparently Chih had run into her on the road, dropping all of their books, Nhung helping pick them up, then she offered to let Chih ride with her. Master and Madame Pham are taking their daughter to the Doi Cao estate, to present her to her betrothed, Lord Guo. Through most of the story Chih keeps thinking about telling Almost Brilliant one of their ideas, or wanting their hoopoe's insight into what is going on. Yet Almost Brilliant is not there, but Chih gives no indication of why, or where their hoopoe is.
Chih continues to be confused about why Nhung wants them with her all the time, and why they are attracted to her. Chih is non-binary, using they/them pronouns, and while they may not be asexual, there has never been any indication of their sexual orientation. Why then are they attracted to Nhung? Chih has no answer for that, just one more bit of confusion. Are they under a spell, and if so, who placed the spell on them? Also, why do they continually forget that Almost Brilliant is not with them? Another person also seems to be under a spell, or a curse. The son of Lord Guo is said to be demented, dangerous to be around, and when Chih and Nhung are around him it seems he wants to tell them something, warn them, but something keeps stopping him from doing so. More than any of the other stories, this is a mystery that proves difficult to unravel. While not wanting to give you any more details as to what is going on, I will say that in addition to it being a mystery, it is also a horror story, which is new. Suffice it to say everything becomes clear by the end, Chih is reunited with Almost Brilliant, and some semblance of order is established at Doi Cao, even if not what Chih would have preferred.
The Brides of High Hill was a finalist for Hugo and Locus awards. I am hoping that one day Singing Hills is eligible for a Best Series Hugo. The requirement for that is at least three titles, the latest published in the year of eligibility, but they have to total at least 240,000 words. By my calculation that would mean at least two or more novellas, or a novel. I have no idea what Nghi Vo has planned, but you can be sure if there are more Singing Hills stories I will read them..
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Posted October 18, 2025
And now we have the sixth entry in the series. A Mouthful of Dust was published October 7, and I got it from the library yesterday. Like the previous story, this also includes a horror element. Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant are travelling to Baolin to gather stories about the famine the region suffered years before. A small, white kitten appears in their path, leading them to an area off the road, where Chih finds several bones. At first, they are not sure they are human bones, but there are human teeth underneath, and shreds of what was probably a garment. Chih wraps them up and carries them, but also offers the appropriate prayer to the Thousand Hands. Baolin had recovered from the famine, barely, and once again was the home to a cafe famous for Baolin Pork, which Chih is anxious to try. They find the right place, and after a very good meal, they and the owner are about to agree on accommodations for the night, when guards arrive, telling Chih they have been summoned to appear before the magistrate. Sensing danger, Almost Brilliant had hidden in the rafters of the building, but follows from a distance to keep an eye on Chih. The magistrate is angry that Chih had not come to see him first, but Chih sidesteps that by saying they had been very hungry when they entered the town, but had intended to report to the magistrate as soon as they had fed.
Chih senses worry and anxiety all around them, from the magistrate, the guards, and other servants, and also the lady of the house when they finally meet her. They attempt to get everyone to relate their stories, of the famine if they had experienced it, or of any other event they cared to talk about. Chih senses there are things not said, but hinted at. When Almost Brilliant checks later, Chih's uneasiness leads them to tell the hoopoe to keep their distance, but to be prepared to fly to the nearest abbey for help if necessary. Everyone's stories about the famine are very dire, horrendous. Chih was aware of other instances of famine, that they were believed to be brought by a demon, the Great Hounshu, and that most inevitably led to cannibalism. The magistrate had survived an earlier famine in Zhan, which Chih had read about. He is reluctant to talk to Chih, but his wife eventually reveals some tragic news concerning her husband's secondary wife, and their child. Chih wards their room as best they can, since they sense a ghost. There are at least two actually, one they had encountered before entering the town. They finally discover both ghosts are connected. Chih is able to escape and make their way back to the cafe, and reunites with Almost Brilliant. The next day they return to the magistrate's compound to finalize their knowledge of what has been hsppening. The only good thing about this adventure was the Baolin Pork, which was the best Chih had ever eaten. Everything else was a tragedy, but even tragedies needed to be reported and remembered.
It is possible I will create a third page next year, since a seventh story has already been announced, scheduled for publication next May. A Long and Speaking Silence will be a prequel to everything else, so a new page for a new start would be appropriate. Again, I don't know how long this series might last, but I will follow wherever it goes, and I am anxious to read anything else Nghi Vo writes. Please see the link below to my other reviews of her books.
Related Links:
Go back to the beginning with Singing Hills, Part One, the first three novellas
The author's website
Index of all my reviews of Nghi Vo's work
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