Reviews with content warning for Death - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

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The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

41 reviews

anniehayez's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I am so obsessed with N.K. Jemisin. I think this book really cemented her as my favorite author. Even thought it’s not my favorite of hers it shows just how masterful she is at all kinds of world building. My favorite genre is high fantasy and this gave me everything I needed. The politics had me hooked as did the mystery aspect. Somehow the very unique and cool magic was the least interesting thing in the book (and it was still awesome). You can tell it’s her debut because there are hints of the way she plays with the narrative perspectives and styles. It is done well but no where near what she is able to achieve in the broken earth trilogy. For anyone else this book may have been their masterpiece but this was just her first draft. I am in awe and can’t wait to see how the rest of this story plays out.

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queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

4 ⭐ CW: violence, death, suicide, incest, child sexual abuse mention, torture, enslavement, sexual content

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin is book one in the Inheritance trilogy. This book is hard to describe. It's a secondary world adult fantasy that is very complicated. As with all Jemisin's works, I'm left feeling like I'm not smart enough to read it, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

We follow Yeine, who is telling the story by recalling it as if in a memory, but it doesn't become clear to whom until much later. She has been summoned to Sky (the palace) by her grandfather to become one of the heirs alongside her twin cousins Scimina and Relad. Sky is a dangerous place for someone unused to the ways of the Arameri, between treacherous relatives and the enslaved gods who live there. Yeine is pulled into a political and godly battle where she is a pawn for both.

This book was so involved. Jemisin does an excellent job of building cultures. I loved the creation story she weaves with the Three: Itempas (day), Enefa (dawn and dusk), and Nahadoth (night). I don't know how else to describe what is happening in this story than to just say it is complex. Similar to her Broken Earth Trilogy, you don't really know what is going on until you're most of the way through the book, but I couldn't put it down. Her writing is so beautiful that you are transported

This is a story about free will, freedom, forgiveness, and agency. It also sets up a redemption arc for one of the characters. I really liked Yeine as a character. I loved that she isn't just one thing (iykyk). She is angry and fearful, loving and ruthless. Her relationship with Nahadoth is also complex and compelling. Sieh definitely stole the show for me though. A god who embodies childhood, and he's just so sweet. Like Yeine, I couldn't help but love him.

If this review confuses you, you'll just have to read the book and be even more confused 😂. I'm looking forward to book two l, since it will have a lot more world-building and focus on different characters.

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biobeetle's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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eclipse799's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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barda's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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jenmcvay's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lorendia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m not entirely sure what I think about this book. I’m not entirely sure what happened or what it means, but just like NK Jemison’s other stories, it is unbelievably unique. It was fairly slow for a while(more human drama than I’m used to) but then it picked up and I couldn’t put it down. Also: very graphically violent.

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filipacmiranda's review against another edition

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3.75

This book was a recommendation and the first book by N.K. Jemisin that I read. The way the book is narrated captivated me from the beginning, and I enjoyed following the unfolding events from Yeine's point of view. Although I can't quite pinpoint what made the reading process so intriguing, acquiring knowledge about the city of Sky and its functioning as Yeine adapted to new customs and the city's demands made for a great form of world-building.

Even though I thought Yeine was an interesting character, it was difficult for me to care about the story and most other characters in the book. Although I'm not sure why, it was only in the last third that the reading process became much easier, and I truly started to care what happened to the gods.

The final chapters were undoubtedly my favourite part, as they surprised me repeatedly - especially regarding the fate of some characters. I believe that the following volumes of the trilogy have the potential to surpass the first one!

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squids_can_read's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

This book was horrible. I thought this was going to be about a young woman who is thrust into politics and is fighting for the throne. Instead, I got a weird amalgamation of half-baked science fiction and incestual gods. The main character is about as interesting as watching paint dry. The world-building is nonexistent. The rest of the characters are no better. This could have been a brilliant book about how love makes us complete but no it's just about sex. Honestly, why push the point that the gods are siblings if you are going to make their whole relationship just about sex? It's gross. Do you know what else is gross, pushing that this god character is fundamentally a child and then referencing people having sex with said child? Honestly, I don't know how I pushed my way through this. It was terrible. Maybe some people will like it but it just wasn't my cup of tea. I will probably not be reading anything else by this author.

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