When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain

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.

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.