It doesn’t really surprise me that N.K. Jemisin’s debut fantasy novel The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, has been nominated/shortlisted for just about every SF award possible, including the Hugo and Nebula.
It’s a beautifully written tale not in the common style; in fact, the author breaks a few taboo rules and gets away with it. Yeine, a young woman dragged into a political battle for her life, is clearly telling her story to ‘someone’ and backtracks when she forgets things, addresses her audience, inserts backstory and setting info dumps at whim, and even lapses into dialogue with some unknown listener at times. The result is a darkly romantic first-person narrative that jumps around, but the writing is sparse and elegant and I found the whole construction intriguing and lyrical.
The story itself doesn’t try to get too complicated: Yeine first has to figure out the society into which she’s been injected (the amazing floating palace of Sky) and then survive it. At the heart of the story is a god (and three godlings) imprisoned in mortal flesh, and as Yeine becomes entwined in his/their battle for freedom, her life is irrevocably changed.
The setting is interesting too. While I would definitely classify it fantasy, it almost strays into science fiction at times: the palace of Sky, where 95% of the novel takes place, has almost a SF feel with its ‘ladies rooms’, running water, glowing walls, massive panes of glass, and its location on the top of a narrow column. All of this is explained vaguely as ‘magic’ but it works.
About my only complaint is that the climax and denouement fell away for me. Somehow the last few chapters seemed a little rushed and the ends too neatly tied, which is a shame considering the meticulous build-up.
But this is by no means a deal-breaker. It’s a lovely, darkly atmospheric novel, with a memorable and unique heroine in Yeine, and the supporting cast is well drawn too. Moreover, the romance between Yeine and the god Nahadoth is far from cliched and doesn’t dominate. I’m now looking forward to reading the second in the Inheritance Trilogy, The Broken Kingdoms, which evidently goes in quite a different direction . . .
Sounds interesting…I’ll have to keep an eye out for this one next time I’m browsing for books.
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Yes it’s good! What made you find this post? The fact I categorised it as a book review yesterday?
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Ahh…that must be it. Yeah, Google Reader made it look like it was posted yesterday, so I dropped by without realizing it it was from 2011. Then when I went back to Reader and found another book review posted yesterday, I figured it out π
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Oh – gee didn’t know Google Reader would do that. Never mind. I retagged them coz I think they’re worth reading anyway π
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They are…it’s new content for me, anyway π
And I’m looking into alternatives to Google Reader, since they’re shutting it down and all.
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Make sure you read my passionate rave about The Doomsday Book. π
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Yep…saw that one too π
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π
Lucky I didn’t retag a heap of stuff or you’d be up all night. Heh.
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Well, I probably would’ve saved some for later. It’s cool, though…I didn’t know your blog has been around that long. I guess I assumed everyone started up around the time they took the WANA112 class.
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Nah, I’ve been blogging for years, although this one only since start of 2011. My Forge and Brew blog started mid 2006, but is a bit dormant at present.
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I imagine it’s tough to keep up with more than one blog. Just one blog is challenging at times.
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Yes – they initially had different focuses, but increasingly the content has merged… Love my old blog though. But yes it’s tough to find time and energy for both.
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