Into the Riverlands

Into the Riverlands is a 2022 fantasy novella by Nghi Vo. It is the third published entry in the Singing Hills Cycle. Each novella can serve as an entry point to the series or as a standalone tale.

The novella explores questions of authenticity, truth, and storytelling. It received critical acclaim, winning the 2023 Ignyte Award for Best Novella and earning nominations for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novella and Nebula Award for Best Novella.

Plot
Cleric Chih journeys into the contested territory of the riverlands with their talking bird, Almost Brilliant. They travel with marital artist Wei Jintai; her sworn sister, Mac Sang; a middle-aged woman named Lao Bingyi; and Bingyi's husband Mac Khanh.

As they walk, Wei tells stories about the riverlands and their history. The stories include tales of the Hollow Hand, a group of bandits which once controlled the area. They once attacked a young bride from the Nie family by cutting her throat, and the infuriated martial artist the Shaking Earth Master then destroyed the Hollow Hand. Sang, a self-proclaimed “ugly woman”, tells stories about heroines who don't follow traditional standards of beauty. At a rest stop, the group discovers a mutilated body with a white handprint on its chest, indicating that the Hollow Hand has returned. They bury the body and set a watch.

That night, Khanh tells Chih a story about Wild Pig Yi, a fearsome brawler. In this story, she and her companions, Gravewraith Chen and Princess Nie, defeated the Hollow Hand. Chih and their companions leave their campsite the next morning and are attacked by bandits on the road. Lao, Khanh, and Wei fight them off.

They arrive at Betony Docks to find the town is being attacked. Chih shelters with the elderly and the town's children in a temple. The bandits break into the temple, confront in the town's leader Master Nie. Nie triggers a booby trap, collapsing part of the temple and defeating the bandits. Nie reunites with his old friend Bingyi and Khanh. As they help repair the town, Chih notices that Bingyi has a large scar across her throat. The two travelers discuss the concept of telling stories; Bingyi states that her story is her own and she will not share it. Chih agrees to wait, knowing that the truth will be revealed in the future.

Major themes
Ai Jiang of Strange Horizons writes that Into the Riverlands "highlights the duality of reality and stories, the ways in which stories are told, experienced, and consumed, their truths and falsehoods, and how they help piece together the past". The review further states that:

"The difference between witnessing legends as they are created firsthand and simply passing them on as retold stories, recording them as heard from others, is further emphasized by Chih’s thoughts: “I’ll remember that I was terrified […] I’ll remember what it was like to see a battle between people who don’t fight like people, who are what legends come from” (p. 93). Again, Chih reflects further on this by saying, “‘Maybe you get told about it two or three times, and you just don’t know what you’re hearing’” (p. 105). There is a shift in the passing-on of stories and legends from the oral form to written when Chih decides to record by hand the stories they hear rather than have Almost Brilliant store them by memory, which brings us to contemplate the way we store, experience, and talk about memories now."

Reception
Publishers Weekly gave the novella a starred review, calling it a "pitch-perfect series installment" and praising Vo's characterization, offering "a deeper understanding of Chih themself, a character who may have been left as a framing device in lesser hands". A review in Cyprus Mail praised the installment for its themes of authenticity and storytelling, writing that Vo explores "how far others have any right to one’s personal histories. Is it more important to preserve truth or privacy and personal integrity?" The review states that this is a "lesson worth learning, and a book worth reading." Gary K. Wolfe wrote in his review for Locus that "there seems to be a much larger narrative lurking just beneath the surface, as Chih’s world continues to unfold in often unexpected ways". Wolfe states that "Chih and Almost Brilliant are a delightfully engaging pair, and I’d be glad to revisit them anytime."

Into the Riverlands won the 2023 Ignyte Award for Best Novella. It was a finalist for the 2023 Hugo Award for Best Novella and the 2023 Locus Award for Best Novella.