by Nghi Vo
Royal mammoth, Chih’s mind supplied. They crossed the Ko-anam Fords. One just like this broke the gates of the Palace of Gleaming Light, letting the winter into Anh . . .
Chih froze as the one that Hyun-lee had called the Great Star—he must be going to stud at the stables in Borsoon, I wonder if they would let me go see—stamped one last time at the edge of the clearing, snorted, and then wandered up to Chih. They stood stock still as the royal mammoth leaned down and his trunk came up to knock back their hood and sniff curiously at Chih’s head. The bull’s touch was surprisingly delicate and now Chih could see the phlanges, one above and one below the flaring nostrils, mobile enough to wrap around branches and grab and pinch. Up close, the bull was overwhelming, a wall of solid muscle and fur that could trample an empire flat.
“Hello,” Chih said softly. “I wish Almost Brilliant could see you . . .”
The bull abruptly decided that Chih was fine, and turned to patrol the edge of the clearing again, and after one last look to reassure themself that there were no tigers around, Chih went into the way station.
Acknowledgments
First, thank you to Ruoxi Chen, editor extraordinaire, who gets my work like few ever have and who unfailingly cheers me on, and to my agent, Diana Fox, who has always encouraged me to be my best and least restrained self.
The team at Tordotcom Publishing has been amazing—so much love to Lauren Hougen, Mordicai Knode, Caroline Perny, Amanda Melfi, Sanaa Ali-Virani, Christine Foltzer, Lauren Anesta, and Irene Gallo!
Alyssa Winans, of course, continues to knock it outta the park with this cover, and I couldn’t stop staring or smiling when I saw it for the first time.
Thank you as always to Cris Chingwa, Victoria Coy, Leah Kolman, Amy Lepke, and Meredy Shipp!
And of course, once again, thank you to Shane Hochstetler, Grace Palmer, and Carolyn Mulroney. I couldn’t ask for a better set of humans to call my own.
Life’s weird and only getting weirder by the day. I’m so grateful that I have the right people to share it with.
About the Author
NGHI VO was born in central Illinois, and she retains a healthy respect of and love for corn mazes, scarecrows, and fifty-year floods. These days, she lives on the shores of Lake Michigan, which is less a lake than an inland sea that she is sure is just biding its time.
Her short fiction has appeared in Strange Horizons, Uncanny Magazine, PodCastle, Lightspeed, and Fireside. Her short story “Neither Witch nor Fairy” made the 2014 Otherwise Award Honor List. Nghi mostly writes about food, death, and family, but sometimes detours into blood, love, and rhetoric. She believes in the ritual of lipstick, the power of stories, and the right to change your mind.
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Also by Nghi Vo
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune
“Dangerous, subtle, unexpected and familiar, angry and ferocious and hopeful . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a remarkable accomplishment of storytelling.”
—NPR
“A stunning feminist fantasy . . . The subtlety and nuance of Vo’s evocative storytelling lend the novella an epic, timeless feel. Equal parts love and rage, this masterfully told story is sure to impress.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Vo’s debut has it all: from sapphic love to cruel betrayals; from political intrigue to lakes that glow red to ghosts that continue to walk old paths. . . . The Empress of Salt and Fortune will appeal to all fans of epic fantasy.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“A quiet, wrenching tale of resistance, resilience, and court intrigue.”
—R. F. Kuang
“An elegant gut-punch, a puzzle box that unwinds itself in its own way and in its own time. I cannot recommend it highly enough. Gorgeous. Cruel. Perfect. I didn't know I needed to read this until I did.”
—Seanan McGuire
“A tale of rebellion and fealty that feels both classic and fresh, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is elegantly told, strongly felt, and brimming with rich detail. An epic in miniature, beautifully realised.”
—Zen Cho
“Uncovers a nuanced history of how the disenfranchised shape history, and can come to rule it, though at great cost.”
—Buzzfeed
“Rich details and emotional prose captures readers from the first page of this imaginative and powerful novella. Spun through reflections of the past, in archived objects of love and hate, the tale of Rabbit and In-yo lights up the dark history of monarchy and turns it into a delightful feminist fantasy.”
—Library Journal
“Nghi Vo’s gorgeous debut novella . . . follows two women defying traditional gender roles with striking results.”
—Paste
“At once epic and intimate, this story of revenge, power, and the weight of history is a small, masterful jewel.”
—Aliette de Bodard
“A glorious, beautifully written tale that is both tragic and triumphant, unfolding a secret history through the ordinary artifacts of everyday life.”
—Kate Elliott
“A masterpiece of understatement and implication. This is the little black dress of books: it gives the impression of effortlessness while being quietly meticulous in every stitch. And it’s for everyone.”
—Nerd Daily
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Also by Nghi Vo
Praise for The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Copyright Page
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novella are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
WHEN THE TIGER CAME DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
Copyright © 2020 by Nghi Vo
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Alyssa Winans
Cover design by Christine Foltzer
Edited by Ruoxi Chen
A Tordotcom Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271
www.tor.com
Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
ISBN 978-1-250-78616-6 (ebook)
ISBN 978-1-250-78613-5 (trade paperback)
First Edition: December 2020
Our eBooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
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