The Brides of High Hills by Nghi Vo
THE BRIDES OF HIGH HILL is the fifth novella in Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle. This series is a collection of stories following Cleric Chih on their journeys; thus, each work acts as a standalone title and can be read in any sequence. In previous installments, Chih is entrusted with stories and fables to record and pass on. Much like in this fifth story, the book switches perspectives between Chih and whoever the storyteller is.
As a Cleric, it’s Chih’s job to journey across the lands, collecting stories and tales from all who are willing to tell them. This ranges from high royals to women who transform into majestic tigers. Chih wanders through fantasy lands, alone except for their talking bird companion. When Chih is asked to learn and record the story of a frantic young woman, days before her marriage to a wealthy lord, they think recording a story is all they’re being asked to do. Yet Chih quickly learns there is more to the story than just a wedding and a nervous bride.
Lord Guo welcomes his soon-to-be-wife and her family into his majestic–yet unsettling–home, greeting them with lavish feasts and celebrations. The staff at the lord’s home are skittish and hesitant around a curious Chih, but they soon whisper that Chih’s new companion is not the first woman the lord has wed. His previous wives have all allegedly left their respective marriages for the comfort of their homelands, but the haunting atmosphere of the home—and dire warnings from one of its “mad” occupants, Lord Guo’s son—leads Chih to believe there’s more to this story than they were led to believe.
Eager to uncover the truth behind the lord’s wives and save another woman from suffering the same fate, Chih must intervene and become part of the story, a role they are unused to filling. As the story progresses, Chih quickly discovers that they’ve been playing a part in the story for longer than they realized, making them more determined to solve the mystery of the missing wives, an uncertain bride, and a haunted manor.
THE BRIDES OF HIGH HILL is perfect for fans of mysteries with gothic horror elements. A sense of foreboding settles over the reader almost immediately, setting up a satisfying twist and ending to the novella. I love reading the stories in this series by Nghi Vo because of how interesting, tightly plotted, and imaginative they are. They very much feel like modern-day fairytales, which makes a character such as Cleric Chih a perfect narrator for the stories.
THE BRIDES OF HIGH HILL was originally published on May 7, 2024 by Tordotcom
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