Friday, June 8, 2012

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin

After reading Olduvai's enthusiastic review of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, I immediately put it on my library queue. I'm glad I did. I was not disappointed.
I don't read much high fantasy. But I did really love the world Jemisin built here. Yeine comes from an outlying provence to the capital of this world, Sky. Yeine has been summoned as she is an heir to the throne. Her mother was daughter of the current ruler. Sky is full of politics, magic, and intrigue. Yeine is completely out of her element. She's half Arameri and half Darre but she's been raised by the Darre and identifies with them. In Sky those against her are betting on her to rely on her Darre strengths (boldness, being forthright and agressive). But to succeed she'll need to get in touch with her Arameri side and be more cunning and backhanded.
So there are also these gods in Sky. Once great powerful beings are now forced to wear a human shell. They control much of the magic that keeps Sky running and they can also be controlled by the Arameri, the inhabitants of Sky. I was particularly intrigued by Nahadoth, the Nightlord. He really reminded me of the vampires in the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Sexy, dangerous, more than meets the eye. Nahadoth begged to be explored. I hope there is more of him in the next book.
Overall, I enjoyed The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It was a good read, very solid and engaging. Others who shared their thoughts on The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: Olduvai Reads, A Striped Armchair, The Written World, A Librarian's Library, Fyrefly's Book Blog, and Reflections of A Bookworm.

5 comments:

  1. This is a great book. I enjoyed it immensely but still haven't read the 2nd and 3rd ones in the trilogy. PLUS I've heard the first book in her new series is fantastic!

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  2. I've heard so many good things about this title as well, but I don't do so good with the high fantasy. although the different gods stuck in human bodies sounds pretty cool. great review!

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  3. I loved her style, it was just different. Bit sadly book 2 fell flat for me :/

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  4. Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  5. There are several people in my life that I know would enjoy this one!!!

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