Synopsis
Every story begins somewhere.
On the banks of the Ya-lé River, the town of Luntien gathers to celebrate the start of the rainy season, but the celebration is marred by the arrival of refugees from the sea. Everyone has a story about the foreigners newly in their midst—lazy, violent, unwanted—while the refugees themselves grieve the loss of the home they loved.
Cleric Chih, very recently still Novice Chih, is also a stranger in Luntien. A moment of carelessness and bad luck leaves them waiting tables as they struggle to establish themself as a real cleric. A cleric’s job is to listen and record, but the stories emerging in Luntien are ugly and violent, as hard to predict as the river itself. With their hoopoe companion Almost Brilliant by their side, Chih must help the refugees while also unraveling a mystery that may have roots in their own faraway home in the abbey of Singing Hills.
In the seventh entry of the award-winning Singing Hills series, we meet Chih and Almost Brilliant just beginning their journey together as Chih assumes their place on the road and in the world.
The novellas of the Singing Hills series are standalone stories linked by the Cleric Chih, and may be read in any order.
Review
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
The Singing Hills cycle is one of my all-time favourite series. They’re like small dishes you go into for rich flavour and depth, and leave the table feeling a little wiser for it.
This entry is sort of a prequel, with Chih still being a novice, rather than a fully-fledged Cleric. They make a lot of mistakes, but continue to try hard and not give up. Almost Brilliant, their neixin companion is with them (thankfully) as they try to wait tables and collect stories from the townsfolk and war refugees.
There is a festival, there is rain (and hail), there are new gods and temples, and plenty of colourful characters as is the norm in this series.
After a few very dark novellas, this one was much lighter (almost a breath of fresh air) with the innocence of youth and naivety as driving points. This entry felt much more focussed on the stories and storytelling, how they can change with travel, war, and geography, and how important is is for Singing Hills to collect them all. Immigration, perception, and identity are at the heart of these characters more than ever in this entry.
Though not my favourite of the series, it was a fabulous entry and wonderful to see the earlier days of Chih and Almost Brilliant!
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