Mammoths At The Gates by Nghi Vo

For all that each novella in this series is touted as a standalone, I do very much think that readers would benefit from reading at least a few of the earlier books first. I was struck with Nghi Vo’s propensity for giving almost no backstory to readers in Book One, preferring to immerse us directly in the action instead. That’s forgivable in a first book, but by Book Four, it feels less intentional than lazy, especially given the assurances that each book can be read on its own. I wonder if critical eyes that were fresh to this series were ever applied to this novella: that would definitely help with the standalone claim.

Anyway, Mammoths At The Gates starts with series protagonist Cleric Chih finally making it home to the Singing Hills Abbey, to find a literal pair of mammoths at the gates. A straitlaced, pissed off advocate is camped out by the abbey walls, while her younger sister, the actual commander of the battle steeds, is trying to keep her calm. They don’t attempt to block Chih’s entry into the abbey compound but do warn the returning cleric that they won’t leave without what they came for.

Chih enters the compound to discover that their beloved mentor Cleric Thien has recently died. The sisters camped outside are Thien’s granddaughters, who insist on taking their body home to be buried with the honors due to Thien’s prior existence as a renowned advocate from a prominent family. The few clerics in the abbey are aghast: to give up Thien’s body would be the equivalent of disrespecting their choice to forsake their old life in order to embrace the simpler ways of the Singing Hills. The abbey is thus trapped in an uncomfortable detente with the sisters, who refuse to take no for an answer.

As Chih and the acting Abbot attempt a delicate negotiation with the sisters, the neixin — the sentient, talking hoopoes with perfect recall who serve as each cleric’s companion in recording everything they come across without fear or favor — are enduring turmoil of their own. Myriad Virtues, Thien’s neixin, is in grievous mourning, and demands a place at Thien’s upcoming memorial service. With disaster looming on the doorstep, the acting Abbot doesn’t have time for this disruption of etiquette. Will Chih be able to smoothe everything over before the unthinkable happens?

It’s weird: rehashing the plot here makes it all sound oddly low stakes, as two, maybe three, sets of traditions clash against one another, driven by the grief of three different interests. There are a lot of erratic characterizations here, and a lot of expectation that readers will be able to keep track of who’s who despite some rather murky differentiation — again, I think this novella would have benefited greatly from being edited by someone who wasn’t already familiar with this fictional universe. Yet the denouement is pretty spectacular, and the lessons, about grief, about giving up the past, about complexity and forgiveness, are all excellently done. I just wish I hadn’t spent the first eighty percent or so of this book feeling vaguely annoyed at having to hazard guesses at things that everyone in the book’s universe seemed to take for granted as being so obvious they didn’t need explaining.

I do like this better than Seeds Of Mercury, the other entry I’ve read so far in the Best Novella category for the 2024 Hugos. I’m just hoping one of the other nominees grabs me and makes me feel enthusiastic about voting, as this book certainly didn’t.

Mammoths At The Gates by Nghi Vo was published September 12 2023 by Tordotcom and is available from all good booksellers, including