The Broken Kingdoms

N.K. Jemisin is fast becoming one of my favorite fantasy authors. Her books are rich, intense, and utterly unique. The Broken Kingdoms picks up the story after The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but while the original cast make a few cameos, the bulk of the story is an entirely new set of characters. We follow Oree, a woman who is blind except where magic is concerned, and learn of her adventures in the land created by Yeine's ascension.

I think what I enjoy most about Jemisin's work is how she deals with relationships. She recognizes the complexity of caring for another being, both in a romantic and platonic sense. She isn't afraid to show relationships evolving, and even though she has a female and a male protagonist, the story never devolves into the trite “will they or won't they” storyline. In this sense, the book is even more intriguing than HTK.

I'm also a sucker for any story which takes the mystery out of faith. So much of religion in our world in based on “This is what I believe.” In Jemisin's world, Gods are a fact. There's one right there. It's how they interact and deal with the mortal world that makes it interesting. The stories are similar to Greek Myths in that, but their content is modern and fresh. I also like the way Jemisin subtly addresses issues of race and prejudice without ever feeling preachy, just honest. One of my favorite parts is when Lady Serymn first realizes Shiny is Itempas, and her first comment is "He's Maro." That's what you took from this, lady?.

The Inheritance Trilogy is so far right up there on my list of Fantasy favorites. I just ordered the third installment and can't wait to read it. If you like HTK, it definitely is worth continuing on to The Broken Kingdoms.

4 1/2 stars

The Broken Kingdoms had everything I loved about the first book in this trilogy ??? an absorbing story, an intriguing setting and world mythology, and a likable narrator with a compelling voice. I cannot wait for the third book (especially since it is Sieh's book!).

Full Review

If I like this book less than [b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms 6437061 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy, #1) N.K. Jemisin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1303143211s/6437061.jpg 6626657], in all honesty it is by a fraction of a star. The Broken Kingdoms is a little less focused than its predecessor – but there was more action, more twists. It also struck me as a little indecisive about what kind of story it intended to be. Also, I missed Naha, just a little bit.While the first book focused on the relationship between Yeine and the Nightlord, this one focused on the other side of this story's triumvirate of gods, Bright Itempas. The god of light and reason, now imprisoned in mortal form for his crimes against his siblings and children, somehow manages to gain the sympathy of a blind artist named Oree. Naturally, their convolution of naivete and latent magical abilities ends up causing all kinds of trouble. I like Oree, I like that she's passionate and trusting. I did wonder how many chapters were going to start with her waking up and stuff happening to her. Granted, Yeine was in a similar bind in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, but I feel like she was a much more active decision maker. Nonetheless, Oree is an interesting take on the “girls afraid of themselves” trope, that even though she shows some trepidation and guilt about the destructive potential of her abilities, the fact that her magic is so closely tied to belief (in herself, and in her troubled faith) allows her to always think of it as something that is her own, not anyone else's.Reading about Itempas, or as Oree calls him, Shiny, reminds of the Son in Paradise Regain'd. Godly figures are by their nature absolute. It's like talking to a brick wall. Which is essentially what Oree has to go through, even as she and Shiny warm to each other he remains as resolute and impossible as ever. That's an extremely complicated task to pull off as a writer, to make someone with a mind of stone who is still sympathetic. (When people talk about John Milton being sympathetic to Lucifer in his epic poems, it's not because he philosophically sided with him, it's just an easier perspective to take as a writer, because Lucifer has much more in common with the reader than God does). Jemisin does it marvelously, in fact, I think this is a challenge she regularly takes on, as Shiny reminds me a little bit of Ehiru in [b:The Killing Moon 11774272 The Killing Moon (Dreamblood, #1) N.K. Jemisin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335835254s/11774272.jpg 14757893].The Broken Kingdoms manages to use certain tropes, and skip lightly over others. As much faith as I had in Jemisin, I was seriously worried that somehow Itempas' punishment would end by the end of the book, a mere ten years after his sentence was handed down for a crime that lasted for two thousand years. I need not have worried, however his story and Oree's definitely goes in an interesting direction. I was surprised at how into their relationship I was. Not as much as I was into Yeine and Nahadoth, but still they had their moments. Because these books are fundamentally relationship based, the point of view always trained inward, despite the political machinations or murder mysteries going on at the same time. If you don't love the characters, if you don't care about the things they care about, the story doesn't work. And I do love them, despite all their flaws.