Short Book Review: Mammoths and Mystical Talking Birds

 Mammoths at the Gates, by Nghi Vo (Tordotcom)

What a gem this novella is! It’s a bouquet of reading delights with very cool premise, memorable characters—both human, avian, and elephantine—gorgeous use of language and dramatic tension.

Chih, a wandering cleric, returns home to the Singing Hills Abbey only to find…mammoths at the gate. It seems that after the death of their beloved mentor and head of the abbey, the mentor’s relatives want to bring the body to their ancestral home, a move that appalls the other clerics, as well as the “nexien,” magical talking hoopoe birds that preserve history. I loved the names of the birds, such as Almost Brilliant and Myriad Virtues. The author’s words painted a cloistered world so believable and vivid, it was hard to keep in mind this is fantasy.

I definitely want a nexien of my own! Can I name her Serene Chaos?

Highly recommended, and since it’s part of a series, there’s even more to savor.