2012 Book Review #7: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

[jethrien]

Title: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Genre: High fantasy
Thingummies: 4

Synopsis: Yeine Darr's mother was disinherited before Yeine was born. But now Yeine has abruptly been made an heir of a global empire who uses fallen POW gods as weapons, and pulled into a power struggle not only between her ruthless cousins but between the gods themselves.

Thoughts: The world-building of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is intricate and fascinating, full of loveliness and horror. The gods are rather similar to those from Greek legends--petty, impulsive, and as flawed as the humans they created in their own image. I loved the conceit that everything is the aftermath of a cataclysmic war, where the victor is now worshipped alone and the losing gods have been enslaved by the victor's priests.

The relationships between the people are deeply complex, although perhaps a bit too complex. Yeine has one image of her mother, everyone else declares a different one. While I can follow the leaps that led to how her mother became what she was, I think it would have been nice to resolve some of those conflicts a little more firmly. I don't think the competing visions quite jelled.

I should not have been surprised by the ending, but was--I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it, but I respect the choice. There are two more books in this series, I know. I'm not sure how cataclysmic the ending will be, as things are wrapped up fairly firmly here, and furthering the story might well destroy the world.

Jemisin's voice is an interesting one. At times, I feel like it's needlessly digressive, and perhaps more informal than I would prefer. I can see why she made the choices she did. I'm not totally sure I understand where flashback syncs up with present, though.

It's a lovely, graceful book with some searing images. There's a couple bits that leave me scratching my head, but not so much as to ruin the effect.

Disclosure: I've never met the author, but I do know people who know her.

Comments

[puella_nerdii]

I think we share a lot of the same thoughts on this book. It's interesting; the book was pitched to me as political fantasy, but the politics got completely overshadowed by the gods -- and I was more than okay with that, because the gods are great. (I also got thrown by the narrative style at times, though, mostly when Yeine initially omitted certain events that took place during the book's timeframe and went back to talk about them later.)

Also, I just finished up the sequel to this one, if you want to borrow my copy when next we meet. (Haven't gotten my hands on the third book yet, but I want to.)

[jethrien]

Yeah, I was rather bothered by the abrupt flashbacks, too. I suppose the conceit that she's mad and dying allows her to do that, but it felt lazy and confusing to me.

Yes, I'd love to borrow the sequel. Although I've got quite a stack of books I'm working through at the moment.

[ecmyers.livejournal.com]

I'm hardly the most impartial person in the world, but the next two books are very different while building on the events and characters of the first book. I was really very impressed by them and think they're just as good, if not better, than the first. I particularly like the third one, which focuses on one of my favorite characters. If more fantasy were like this series, I would probably read a lot more of the genre than I do.