Review: A Mouthful of Dust by Nghi Vo

I think I’ve said this before, but I will risk saying it again: I will read any new installment to The Singing Hills Cycle. I love Nghi Vo’s writing, but I especially adore Chih and Almost Brilliant. Naturally, this means I dove headfirst into A Mouthful of Dust.

Quirky Cat

October 7, 2025

2–3 minutes

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Series: The Singing Hills Cycle #6
Author: Nghi Vo
Publisher: Tor.com
Released: October 7, 2025
Received: NetGalley
Find it on Storygraph | More Fantasy | The Singing Hills Cycle

Book Summary:

Cleric Chih and Almost Brilliant of Singing Hills are traveling the world again, and this time their journeys have taken them to Baolin, a river town infamously torn apart by famine. The famine may be over, but the haunting past has yet to be buried.

Humanity will go to many lengths to survive, and Chih is determined to hear all of those tales, the good, the bad, and the horrendous. Naturally, opening that door leads to more than one problem, especially as Chich is trapped within the magistrate’s mansion.

My Review:

I think I’ve said this before, but I will risk saying it again: I will read any new installment to The Singing Hills Cycle. I love Nghi Vo’s writing, but I especially adore Chih and Almost Brilliant. Naturally, this means I dove headfirst into A Mouthful of Dust.

Whew. I’ve loved every new addition to this series, but I honestly think that A Mouthful of Dust is probably the one that hits the hardest. Then again, that is probably obvious when it revolves around a town struck by famine.

To be clear, this novella does not shy away from the darker sides of starvation. You will learn the lengths these people went to, and that includes some horrifying discoveries. Chih takes it all in without judgment, which is actually fascinating to see.

A Mouthful of Dust combines oral storytelling with paranormal horror in a completely unexpected way. In that sense, it’s somewhat unlike the rest of the series, but it’s also brilliant (like the rest). The Singing Hills Cycle always finds new ways to surprise its readers, and this novella is no exception.

Highlights:

Award Winning Series
Fantasy Short Story
Can’t Run From the Past
Traveling
LGBTQ+

Trigger Warnings:

Starvation
Animal Death

Thanks to Tor.com and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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