The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

I loved the world building and was interested in the many characters in story and look forward to learning more about the mythology and the stories of the other gods in this world.
I didn't LOVE it, I like my fantasy stories to have more action and intense moments, but since I am so used to reading fantasies based on European folklore/mythology this was a refreshing change of pace. I hope in the next two books in the trilogy we see more of the one hundred thousand kingdoms.

Jemisin has this trick of writing books that harness the tropes of speculative fiction, such that if you try to describe one of her books it sounds like a generic fantasy novel. However, within that she manages to not just invert or subvert the cliches, but actually build something entirely new, while maintaining enough of an homage to classic fantasy that it feels thrilling the way your first introduction to SF/F was. What can I say about the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms to really capture that? The setting of Sky was refreshing, the Arameri truly cruel & the characters nuanced.

I didn't realize that this was N.K.Jemisin's debut novel until later on during my reading, so I guess it was too much of me to expect a brilliant book like The Fifth Season. This book was enjoyable enough, especially the world building and some good characters.

This book is the story of Yiene Darr, the outcast granddaughter of the ruler of the hundred thousand kingdoms who has been summoned to the capital city of Sky as named one of the three heirs. We understand early on that this is going to turn into a tale of political intrigue, scheming and plotting. What surprised me is that I got more than I bargained for. In bits and pieces, we get to know the story of the God's war, the winners and losers and the enslaving of the Night Lord and his godling children who now serve the ruling Arameri family. How their lives get interconnected with Yiene and her quest for truth and freedom forms the remainder of the book.

Yiene is equal parts fierce, timid, impulsive and cautious whereas the Night Lord comes across as a clichéd brooding bad turned good hero of a romantic novel. The childlike godling Sieh is probably the most fascinating and fun in the book. This book is clearly established as the first of a trilogy and it looks like the intention was for extensive mythical world building, which is done quite well rather than well developed characterizations. The series shows promise and I hope the sequel is much more satisfying.