The Empress of Salt and Fortune

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo was the 153rd Official Sword and Laser Book Club selection.

Reading Period: February 1st, 2022 to February 28th, 2022

How/Why was this book chosen: Veronica picked this book based on a Quick Burns recommendation from Seth on the Jan. 12th podcast Episode (S&L #428)

Sword and Laser Goodreads Group Discussion of The Empress of Salt and Fortune

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage in an empire reminiscent of imperial China. Her brothers are dead, her armies and their war mammoths long defeated and caged behind their borders. Alone and sometimes reviled, she must choose her allies carefully.

Rabbit, a handmaiden, sold by her parents to the palace for the lack of five baskets of dye, befriends the emperor's lonely new wife and gets more than she bargained for.

At once feminist high fantasy and an indictment of monarchy, this evocative debut follows the rise of the empress In-yo, who has few resources and fewer friends. She's a northern daughter in a mage-made summer exile, but she will bend history to her will and bring down her enemies, piece by piece