The River Has Roots

The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar is a beautiful novella that reads like a folk tale. 

In the small town of Thistleford, on the edge of Faerie, dwells the mysterious Hawthorn family.

There, they tend and harvest the enchanted willows and honour an ancient compact to sing to them in thanks for their magic. None more devotedly than the family's latest daughters, Esther and Ysabel, who cherish each other as much as they cherish the ancient trees.

But when Esther rejects a forceful suitor in favor of a lover from the land of Faerie, not only the sisters' bond but also their lives will be at risk...

After being introduced to Amal El-Mohtar's writing in This is How You Lose the Time War, I will be reading everything she publishes! This is a gorgeous book with beautiful illustrations.

El-Mohtar, Amal. (2025). The River Has Roots. New York: Tor.

Mammoths at the Gate (Singing Hills Cycle #4)

Mammoths at the Gate by Nghi Vo is the fourth book of the Singing Hills Cycle - a collection of novellas that read like folk tales. 

Cleric Chih is going back to the Singing Hills monastery after four years of traveling and collecting stories. They are excited to see their neixin, Almost Brilliant, after she left to hatch eggs. 

When Chih arrives, there are two royal mammoths guarding the gate. Two sisters who want to reclaim their grandfather's body for their family, something that is not done once someone becomes a cleric. 

Chih talks his way past the giant mammoths with a promise to help talks between the sisters and the monks. They find that most of the monks are away collecting stories and that their classmate Ru has been left in charge. 

Vo's series is a collection of beautiful storytelling. These small books pack a lot in. Read these books!

Vo, Nghi. (2023). Mammoths at the Gate. New York: TOR.  

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water

The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho is a wonderful novella. (And perfect to become a series - hint, hint!) It has a similar feel to the Nigh Vo novella series.

A Bandit walks into a coffee house and stops a fight, starts another fight and leaves with a new member of his group. Or rather, the woman he got fired follows him to his camp in the woods and announces she is joining them.

Guet Imm was a votary of the Order but has been on her own since the tokong was burned. She is tracking some of the sacred artifacts that were stolen, hoping to return them to the goddess.

Cho has written a wonderful story of adventure, fighting, and humor. Read this so she will write more! 

Cho, Zen. (2020). The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water. New York: Tom Doherty Associates. 

This is How You Lose the Time War

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone is an epic tale in epistolary novella form.

Two agents, one on each side trying to shape Earth to a future that benefits their side, leave letters for the other as they roam the very strands of time. The first letter left is in an envelope that says, "burn before reading."

One side is called Garden. They are shaping the world to heal itself, planting seeds down strand that will blossom in the future.

One side is tech driven, often placed to alter the outcome of a war or election that will favor the development of technology.

 In spite of two sides, many times and versions this beautifully written and crafted love story is a must read for all book or poetry fans. Buy a copy today so you can read it over and over again.

El-Mohtar, Amal and Max Gladstone. (2019). This is How You Lose the Time War. New York: Saga Press.

The Empress of Salt and Fortune (Singing Hills Cycle #1)

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo is a story of epic proportions in a tiny package. This is the first novella in the Singing Hills Cycle.

Cleric Chih and their companion Almost Brilliant are taking a detour on their way to the capital to chronicle the coming eclipse. Land that has been closed off for years, most of the reign of the previous empress, is now open. They want to catalog the place where a young royal spent most of her marriage to the emperor - in exile. 

Chih is surprised to find an old woman at the cabin where the emperor's wife-in-exile lived. While they catalog the home, the old woman Rabbit tells them stories of her life as handmaiden to the emperor's wife. 

This is storytelling at its best. A complete fantasy novel in 120 pages! Vo is a wonderful writer. Buy a copy today.

Vo, Nghi. (2020). The Empress of Salt and Fortune. NY: Tom Doherty Associates Books.

To Be Taught if Fortunate (Wayfarers Prequel)

To Be Taught If Fortunate by Becky Chambers is a prequel novella to her Wayfarers science fiction series.

Years and years before the current Wayfarers series takes place, this novella is written by one of the early explorers of far space from Earth. It is a journal sent back to Earth from her both about their journey and what she hope has been happening on Earth in the 50 years she slept in transit.

Ariadne O'Neill and her three crewmates are on an expedition to survey four possibly habitable worlds. Her journal chronicles both the wonder and the danger of their mission as well as hope that someone on Earth is listening.

Chambers has written a beautiful novella of early space flight and exploration in her universe. It is all of the things one would think an explorer who will likely never see Earth again would want us to learn from her.

Chambers, Becky. (2019). To Be Taught if Fortunate. New York: Harper Voyager.