When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

sanae reviewed When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

When the Tiger Came Down

4 stars

4 stars: loved this book, would recommend

Very different from the first novella I read. It's very folktale-themed, with a fairly short and straightforward framing story encompassing two conflicting stories being told. Much less plot-driven, some musings on what a story is and what it means for a story to be true. I like how the worldbuilding hints at a much larger world without spelling it out. Like the other one, set in a vaguely East/Southeast Asian setting in much the way some other fantasy stories are often set in a vaguely Europe inspired world.

enne📚 reviewed When the Tiger Came down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

4 stars

I wasn't sure at all where the rest of this series was going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised that rather than aiming for some continuity in the story of the world, or even in character development, instead this book was a continuity of theme. This second (and third book) are both also stories about telling stories, although each of which comes with their different own framing and perspective.

This story is more adjacent to a classic Scheherazade setup, but there's more depth in the layering of the frame story here. I really enjoyed this book's negotiation over the truth of stories; there isn't one privileged truth, but rather different storytellers with their own audiences, as well as disagreements over what makes a good tale. Rather than this creating an unsatisfying ambiguity, I felt like the back and forth over how to tell the story created characterization and made …

I wasn't sure at all where the rest of this series was going to go, but I was pleasantly surprised that rather than aiming for some continuity in the story of the world, or even in character development, instead this book was a continuity of theme. This second (and third book) are both also stories about telling stories, although each of which comes with their different own framing and perspective.

This story is more adjacent to a classic Scheherazade setup, but there's more depth in the layering of the frame story here. I really enjoyed this book's negotiation over the truth of stories; there isn't one privileged truth, but rather different storytellers with their own audiences, as well as disagreements over what makes a good tale. Rather than this creating an unsatisfying ambiguity, I felt like the back and forth over how to tell the story created characterization and made the frame story more enjoyable.

loppear reviewed When the Tiger Came down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

a lovely bite

3 stars

Storytelling layers and drama packed so neatly, but this didn't have the depth of the first one for me.

Martin Kopischke reviewed When the Tiger Came down the Mountain by Nghi Vo (The Singing Hills Cycle, #2)

Highly recommended

4 stars

I wasn’t quite sure how Nghi Vo would continue after her Empress of Salt and Fortune – after all, her main character Chih, the recording monk, is hardly fit to carry sustained narratives. I needn’t have worried: this never tries to burden them with that task.

Instead, we are treated (and what a treat it is) to another take on the magic of storytelling and the nature of truth. If Empress was all about the true story lying hidden, this is about how the truth of stories is negotiable. Formally consistent with, and sharing the same rich world building as its predecessor, this second instalment is as enjoyable as the first, a wonderful feat of complex storytelling happening without any of the usual fanfare.

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