The Broken Kingdoms

by N. K. Jemisin

English language

Published Sept. 5, 2010 by Orbit.

ISBN:: 978-0-316-04396-0
OCLC Number:: 503596010

The Broken Kingdoms is a fantasy novel by American writer N. K. Jemisin, the second book of her Inheritance trilogy. It takes place ten years after the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and centers around a young woman named Oree Shoth, who lives in the World Tree-shrouded, godling-inhabited city of Shadow.

9 editions

jdavidhacker1 reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

None

3 stars

This was definitely an improvement over the first book in the series. It probably should have been the first book in the series...nothing from Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was necessary to understand or engage in this story, and quite frankly the characters and their development was a lot more interesting. There was also considerably less romantasy and ya vibes in this one. The world felt more detailed and alive interesting. We still don't really get enough detail to make some of the political/religious intrigue as engaging realistic as it could be, but again, definitely an improvement over hundred thousand kingdoms...which in hindsight feels like it should have been a shorter prequel to this released sometime after the fact.returnI'd say, if you want to read the Inheritance series at all, start here.

Wild Woila reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Most notable for the protagonist's blindness

3 stars

A woman gets caught up in the manoeuvring of gods, godlings and grasping humans. Most notable for the protagonist's blindness, except for her ability to see magic.

We're gonna get there reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Great continuation of the trilogy

5 stars

While in some ways different than the first book in the trilogy, it still features: - great characters - interesting plot - cool world-building

Axl reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I love the creativity of N.K Jemisin, this one also has gods and humans interactions/dynamics that I find so interesting^^

DThoris reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Well-written, as always. Not as good as the 1st book, imo. Still an interesting story and vibrant world.

Books That Burn reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

The Broken Kingdoms is damn good. It's driven by relationships and conversation in a way that could slow down a lesser book, but here every interaction is filled with the weight of the past, whether spoken or unspoken. It knows when to rest and to move

Everyone has a past in a way that makes them feel real, like we have a snapshot of their lives and they were here before and will continue on afterwards. This, to me, is a hallmark of a well-written story with complex characters. Oree and Madding had a relationship in the past which has echoes now, but their current dynamic is clearly different than what it must have been before the story started. Shiny knows various people and gods in ways that speak to past relationships, whether casual or intimate, and we have enough information to inform our understanding of what is unsaid, but without constantly explaining backstory.

In trilogies, especially in series that are intended as trilogies by the time book two is written, there is usually a problem where book two isn't complete enough to stand on its own. Even in series I love, I've noticed this problem, and usually book three makes up for it in terms of the strength of the trilogy as a whole. But not here, book three won't have anything to atone for; The Broken Kingdoms is rich, complex, full enough to stand on its own while also building on the history from The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Oree feels like a distinct voice from Yeine, in book 1. Her focus is different, her concerns are different, and her approach to obstacles is grittier, more direct. She is functionally blind, and I appreciated how her comparison between the magical sight she does have and what she guesses ordinary sight must be like made sense in context. It would have been easy for her (as a character written by a sighted person) to continually opine on what seeing must be like, but instead she only discusses it when she has magical sight and uses parts of the language around ordinary sight to try and get a better description of the unique manner of her sight.

It felt so good to read this book. I loved every minute of it and I'm very excited for The Kingdom of Gods.

Steen Christiansen reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Great sequel that is still completely different. Entrancing.

nex3 reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

None

4 stars

perfect example of the midpoint of a trilogy: an arc that stands on its own but is also made possible by the first book, and in turn evolves the world just enough to end in a different place than it started

Cassidy Percoco reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Overall, this is a great book. In a lot of ways it feels like "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but a second time" - which is good, because HTK was a very good book, but at the same time, it loses a star from me because it still feels like, well, a bit of a retread.

Sean Gursky reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

A song is the door, but belief is the key that unlocks it.

The trilogy rolls along but the story picks up in a spot where you didn't expect it to, and this change makes Inheritance #2 more enjoyable to read.

I will continue on reading and complete the trilogy but the story hasn't grabbed my attention enough to warrant a a proper review.

Jim Rion reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

As a follow to the wonderful "The Hundred Thousand Kindgdoms," this was a book that was, perhaps, necessary. It gave a good glimpse at the repercussions of the climax of the previous book and examined even more deeply the effects of the particular cosmology of The Inheritance Trilogy's world. So there is some satisfaction in seeing more of the interesting mythology that Ms. Jemisin began in her last novel.

However, however...the book itself is fairly lackluster. The main character, Oree, is (much like Yeine from THTK) a complex, real and likable character. But the MacGuffin here, the murder of Godlings and the reason behind them is particularly unengaging. Characters are killed that we barely know, that we do not care for, and the real resolution seems to happen as an afterthought. It feels as if the book began as an escape adventure and became a Bidungsroman at the end.

The emotional life of Gods and mortals presented here is not uninteresting, but the events that lead us into the story (The murder of godlings, the consiparacy to murder a God) are given short shrift and their conflict is indeed resolved basically off screen. So...why have them? Why not just make a romance novel about a woman and her immortal lovers?

In the end, I like Ms. Jemisin's wordcraft and her mythology. Her characters are human, living, and believable. But the plotting and pacing of this one seem off kilter to me, and I was ultimately unsatisfied. That being said, I will be finishing up the trilogy and I do look forward to starting the third book shortly.

Katherine Villyard reviewed The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin (The Inheritance Trilogy, #2)

Review of 'The Broken Kingdoms' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Four and a half stars. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about the end.

1. And then Shiny stood up for Oree and she got away from the Arameri, the end.
2. Oh, wait, it's not the end! Doteh came and took them prisoner, and she briefly freed Shiny to be Itempas. They killed the bad guy, the end.
3. Oree and Shiny fall in love and live happily ever after. The end.
4. Oh, wait, they don't, Shiny isn't allowed to be happy. Yeine and Nahadoth won't allow it. The end.

The book would have five stars if I wasn't so ambivalent at the end.

Of the four places she could have ended the book, well. I think it was Oscar Wilde who said that you can always have a happy ending if you just choose where to stop reading. ;) That said, the moral ambivalence of Yeine …