Into the Riverlands is the third novella in the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo.
Finished on: 25.12.2023
[Here are my reviews of the other books in the cycle.]

Plot:
Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant are traveling in the Riverlands to collect new stories. Since the territory is under dispute, traveling is not so easy and Chich finds themself finding traveling companions. One of them, the martial artist Wei tells stories about the Hollow Hand, a group of bandits once active in the Riverlands. And it appears that they still are active.

Into the Riverlands is another beautiful novella by Vo. All of the novellas in the Cycle so far are not only wonderfully written, but incredibly insightful takes on storytelling, each of them considering another aspect. Into the Riverlands might be the most challenging of those takes so far.

Into the Riverlands takes a few turns that took me quite by surprise and that were simply beautifully executed. Those twists were not there to trick the reader (and maybe other readers weren’t surprised, I don’t know), but to actually serve the story which was nice for a change. This way, Vo kind of illustrates the way history becomes story becomes legend, trying to determine the difference between the three.

But if you’re not interested in diving deep into narratology, Into the Riverlands gives you simply a good story, or rather stories within story. Even if the stories within are probably the main event, Chih and their mission is not just a framing device though, but get their own development. Plus, I love their relationship with Almost Brilliant who is a fantastic character in her own right.

In short, Into the Riverlands was just awesome, insightful, thought-provoking and touching. I’m so glad that there are more novellas with Chih.

Summarizing: great.