The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Given the significant hype around the author in general, I was expecting a little more here. Though I gather some of her other work (The Cities) is probably considerably different. returnThe book is not bad, I picked up the series on clearance for about three bucks and will likely finish it before passing them on, but I was expecting a little more epic fantasy with extensive world-building influenced heavily by non-white/western European cultures, the fantasy equivalent of afro-futurism, something truly new and different. And maybe that was just from the hype. What I got was...a little of that, though an unfortunately small amount of detailed world building (just my preference in epic fantasy I suspect though), a decent amount of romance, a lot of the politics is really glossed over. It feels a bit more like a YA fantasy than I really anticipated. Not a criticism per se, just not what I anticipated going in. There are certainly themes of colonialism and racism, but again I feel like they really take a back seat to the YA romance and very light politics of it all. Which is a shame as I do really like what little we get of the Darre matriarchal, warrior, culture. I'd have liked to get a lot more, maybe a number of the other of the 'hundred thousand kingdoms' (which I'm still not sure if not a euphamism/hyperbole, something you'd think would get addressed). returnI get the impression maybe the worldbuilding is irrelevant to the story the author is trying to tell, but it seems a shame to couch it in what could potentially be such a rich world if we're really only supposed to care about the immediate family and interpersonal relationships of five or six people.returnMost of the weakness here is that it just doesn't fit what I'm looking for in fantasy. If you're into mainstream (ugh...I hate using this word) 'romantasy', a lot of the best sellers you see at stores, and kind of 'light' fantasy, I think this will be a find, fast read.

This is more of a fun read than the Broken Earth series. Probably correspondingly less rewarding in the end. I think it could almost qualify as YA, as long as your idea of YA includes some (tasteful) sexual content.

Race and privilege are part of the setting in a way that feels quite natural. One thing I liked is that the mechanics of magic and interaction with gods also feels quite natural. It can be challenging to construct plots with such powerful characters who still face challenges and conflicts. It does get a bit Deus Ex Machina at the end (the plot device, not the video game). On the other hand, at least the rest of the book was about gods, so it is less jarring than it could be.

While this book deals with many of the subjects I thoroughly enjoyed in the Broken Earth trilogy I just didn't enjoy it nearly as much. Some of the characters were compelling along with some of their relationships, but I didn't care for them and their stories nearly as much as I did in Broken Earth. I might even go so far as to say I would reread the Broken Earth trilogy for a third time before I finish this trilogy. All that said, I did enjoy the book and it's not terrible by any measure, even compared to Broken Earth.

Yeine is raised in Darr, a matriarchal society.  Her paternal grandmother is from the ruling family and her mother was formerly the heir to the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.  She was raised to be a warrior and has been named the leader of the country.But when her mother mysteriously dies, she is ordered to come to Sky, the capital Kingdoms and compete to be the heir to her grandfather.  Yeine's mother was her grandfather's only child and her abdication to marry a lowly Darr man set up a power struggle that Yeine is now a victim of.Yeine isn't prepared for the brutal politics of Sky.  Thousands of years ago there were three gods in the land.  A war between them killed one, elevated another, and enslaved the third and their offspring.  Now the rulers of Sky can command the captured gods to do their will and their will is usually monstrous.  Yeine knows that she is a pawn in the game between her cousins for control of the kingdom.  She doesn't want to play their game but doesn't want to see either of them win leadership.  She doesn't know that she is a pawn in a long plan of the gods to win their freedom also.N.K. Jemisin is an author that I've been planning on reading for a long time.  I told myself that I was absolutely going to read one of her books during #Diversiverse this year.  I'm glad I held myself to that.










What I Liked

The world building was wonderful in this book.  You slowly learn the limits that have been put on the captured gods and how the people use them for their own entertainment.Yeine is an outsider.  She was raised by a mother that she remembers as kind but who everyone in the capital remembers as being wonderfully cruel.  She is trying to understand her mother's life objectively and not through the eyes of a child.  She also wants to help her small country but every move she makes to help is countered by her cousins who are more used to playing political games.  She was trained as a warrior and it shows in her interactions with people.  She comes from a matriarchal society and is used to being powerful. The implications of that society come through in passages like this where she realizes the depth of Darr's vulnerability to attack when she hears that the men are being armed.

What Could Have Been Better

For all the incredible elements this isn't a book that is going to stay in my mind for a long time.  I can already feel details slipping and I just finished it yesterday.  It is an interesting read but isn't deep enough to be a favorite.I will be reading more of her books though.This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story--------------------------------------------------------------Oh my God. I just reread this book. I had absolutely no remembrance of reading it or writing this review. I guess I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't remember it for long. Still didn't really like this time either.

3.75

Adult fantasy centered around a young woman head of tribe, thrown into political family affairs after the death of her "royalty" mother, throwing in with some gods and deities..
The first half of this felt slower than the latter half, and the writing is pulling me out of the story at times, but as always with N.K Jemisin the story, worldand characters are very well made ! (It can also be read as a one shot)

I kind of dropped out of reading new fantasy fiction, and this was a great book to get back in with!It sits nicely at the junction between YA and adult (are they still using the term "New Adult" or did it never catch on?) and is much more about social dynamics and culture than is typical.

I struggle through the audiobook twice, and made it about halfway the second time. This comes across has more paranormal romance than fantasy to me, which is off putting. I'd really hoped to enjoy this one as I'm a fan of the author and her work at on Escape Artists podcasts. In the end I think it's just not for me.

I would like to put a bit more enthusiasm in this review but the book was merely okay. Nothing stood out as being exceptional but there was enough to keep me going.

I enjoyed how you understood the world through Yeine's perspective. The beauty of Sky turned to strangeness as you understood who was involved in the political power struggles and that God's were using mortals as play things. Yet it was just okay.

I am familiar with Jemisin's work and this story wasn't enough to turn me off on the trilogy so I'll continue head first in to the next book and see if it picks up.

The "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you" device felt a bit clumsy, but the rest of the novel was bright and lovely. I look forward to the rest of the series.

I think it's a solid 3.5/5 on its own, I'll round up.

Having not read the whole of the Nemisin oeuvre yet, I can only compare this to The Fifth Season, which I found to be better. The similarity in style is immediately apparent , but I think her voice has become more distinct in later books. I didn't really care for the ending, and I though Yeine's attraction to Naha was a bit overdone.

A great first book, but not an excellent one.