The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo – Book Review (spoiler free)

I do like a novella.

Short stories are often too short for me. They only offer a peek into a new world, rather than the grand tour I prefer.

A novella lives somewhere between these two mediums, and I find the length gives the story more room to breathe, whilst also offering a sharper and more concise narrative.

Enter The Empress of Salt and Fortune. A wonderful story of a banished empress and a servant who becomes her confidante.

The prose is lyrical and beautiful – and the story takes off as soon as we meet a character known as ‘Rabbit’. Every time she spoke I was entranced, her story told in snippets, sometimes exact and precise, other times she leaves the reader to form their own opinion as to what had happened.

The world is magical – filled with ghosts and magical animals, and while they didn’t feature overly in the story, they still gave the world a unique and beautiful quality.

If anyone is in a reading slump, or wants to read a story with lyrical prose, or to read a fantasy book that has a different feel – this is the novella for you. Certainly fans of Tasha Suri would enjoy this.

I absolutely adored The Empress of Salt and Fortune, and will be continuing with the series. I believe Nghi Vo has written three novellas in this world and they can be read in any order.