Publishers Weekly gave the novella a starred review, calling it a 'masterfully told story. It was nominated for the 2021 Locus Award for Best Novella and won the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novella. The worldbuilding of the story meshes elements from various real-life Asian cultures and languages, including China and Vietnam. Because Rabbit has her own motivations which are revealed through the story, the reader must determine if she is leaving anything out. The story of In-yo is relayed to Chih by Rabbit, an unreliable narrator. Chih records others' stories but not their own. Additionally, her relationship with In-yo is complicated by their disparate wealth and social status. Rabbit never shares her given name, and much of her background remains a mystery. The novella also explores disenfranchisement, oppression, and classism. Though she is a peasant girl, her relationship with the empress provides an emotional core to the novella.

Although In-yo might be considered the protagonist because her actions move the plot forward, Rabbit's life story is given equal prominence. The novel subverts the reader's expectations regarding the importance of 'side characters' and the 'protagonist'. Rabbit disappears, and Chih leaves Thriving Fortune to attend the coronation of the new Empress. She has recently passed away and has been succeeded by Rabbit's daughter.

She leads an army to the capital, the Emperor is killed, and In-yo takes the throne. Rabbit gives birth to Sukai’s daughter In-yo presents the daughter as her own. In-yo’s servant Sukai, Rabbit’s lover, is executed. Her caravan of pilgrims is infiltrated by northern warriors, allowing her to escape Empire custody.

She stages a pilgrimage, an excuse for leaving her exile in Thriving Fortune. In-yo secretly communicates with her kin in the north, hoping for revenge.

The emperor has her sterilized and banished. In-yo is a northern princess married to the Emperor of Pines and Steel for diplomatic purposes. She tells Chih about Empress In-yo’s life as they catalogue the contents of the palace. They meet Rabbit, an elderly woman who was once the Empress’s servant. They are accompanied by a talking hoopoe named Almost Brilliant. It won the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novella and was nominated for the 2021 Locus Award for Best Novella.Ĭleric Chih of the Singing Hills Monastery visits an abandoned palace, Thriving Fortune, after the death of the Empress. The plot focuses on a cleric who listens to stories about the recently deceased empress. It is the first book of the Singing Hills Cycle and was followed by a sequel, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, in 2021. The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a 2020 fantasy novella by Nghi Vo.

The empress of salt and fortune