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A review by existentialhell
The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
lighthearted
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
3.0
A relatively light, mostly enjoyable read set about 10 years after the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
Though the plot feels a bit slapdash at points, the worldbuilding and overall structure kept me more or less engaged. Oree is a smart, compelling protag that periodically falls pray to narrative-induced cluelessness. It's irritating the first few times. It's maddening by the last chapter. Not nearly enough for me to DNF but be prepared to see the back of your eye sockets pretty consistently.
Back to the plot a moment, my main complaint is that so much care is given to Oree and her "strange homeless man"'s relationship that the storyline sometimes feels more like a vehicle for their connection than a fully fleshed entity in its own right. The back cover's blurb promises mystery, a "nightmarish conspiracy". "Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecration bodies all over the city." That's a great pitch! How can anyone killing a godling? Why? And, implied, how the hell do we stop them? The problem is that we only spend meaningful time with one of those murders (the first) and the rest the rest of the discoveries are accidental, incidental as we're swept along from crisis to crisis. It's not completely formless, but the revelations felt hollow and unsatisfying as a reader. The writing's bouncy enough keep the audience moving through the empty and this is it's saving grace.
I feel confident recommending The Fifth Season and The Broken Earth trilogy over this for your N.K. Jemisin longings (and who amongst us doesn't long for Jemisin's brilliance), but if you like some romance tendencies in your fantasy, I think this would make a nice, quickish read. Maybe tucked in the shadow of a beautiful tree?
Though the plot feels a bit slapdash at points, the worldbuilding and overall structure kept me more or less engaged. Oree is a smart, compelling protag that periodically falls pray to narrative-induced cluelessness. It's irritating the first few times. It's maddening by the last chapter. Not nearly enough for me to DNF but be prepared to see the back of your eye sockets pretty consistently.
Back to the plot a moment, my main complaint is that so much care is given to Oree and her "strange homeless man"'s relationship that the storyline sometimes feels more like a vehicle for their connection than a fully fleshed entity in its own right. The back cover's blurb promises mystery, a "nightmarish conspiracy". "Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecration bodies all over the city." That's a great pitch! How can anyone killing a godling? Why? And, implied, how the hell do we stop them? The problem is that we only spend meaningful time with one of those murders (the first) and the rest the rest of the discoveries are accidental, incidental as we're swept along from crisis to crisis. It's not completely formless, but the revelations felt hollow and unsatisfying as a reader. The writing's bouncy enough keep the audience moving through the empty and this is it's saving grace.
I feel confident recommending The Fifth Season and The Broken Earth trilogy over this for your N.K. Jemisin longings (and who amongst us doesn't long for Jemisin's brilliance), but if you like some romance tendencies in your fantasy, I think this would make a nice, quickish read. Maybe tucked in the shadow of a beautiful tree?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence
Minor: Body horror