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A review by billblume
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
5.0
Perhaps the biggest treat in reading THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS comes from the unique voice N.K. Jemisin delivers. Epic Fantasy tends to rely on a multiple point-of-view, third person formula that's formal and distant. Jemisin hits readers with a very in-your-face, first person trip through a fantastic reality with a single point-of-view that's schizophrenic. And damn, does it work!
The closest comparison I can make with Jemisin's storytelling style within this book is the film "Memento," which tells its story from the point-of-view of a man with a severe case of short term memory loss. HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS is told from the point-of-view of Yeine, the young ruler of a small kingdom who is thrust into the political squabbles of Sky when named heir by her estranged (understatement!) grandfather who is the current ruler of all rulers in this world. From the beginning of the book, it's clear that the organization of Yeine's memory of these events is not exactly court recorder perfect for a reason that is just as unclear at the start. This is all explained through the course of the tale. Despite some abrupt asides, which can be very jarring, the story never suffers for it. In fact, I think this approach is what makes the book work so well and even adds to the plot twists. My favorite plot twist, which came near the end of the book, was the true reason behind Yeine's grandfather bringing her to Sky. It's not an earth-shattering twist, but it's a revelation that hits the reader with a new perspective on everything that has happened in the book up to that point.
What's really impressive and also goes against the epic fantasy norm, is that Jemisin has written a story that is little more than political intrigue. Never does Jemisin bore the reader with a stereotypical journey through strange lands to get from "Point A to Point Evil-Lives-Here-and-Must-Die." She also avoids the cliche of some epic battle between two armies. That's not to say there isn't any violence or major battles, but it's all focused on politics, sometimes politics among mortals and, at other times, among gods.
Speaking of gods, Jemisin does not deliver what one typically expects of dieties. She provides a pantheon that walks among mortals, and even more interesting, they aren't the ones in control. The gods are the slaves. How they became enslaved and their efforts to be freed are what truly drive this book. They also dictate Yeine's struggle to figure out who to trust in Sky and learn what is really at stake. For Yeine, her personal stakes are clear from the very beginning: survival, because there are two other heirs in competition for her grandfather's throne.
There are a few rough spots, but I think most of those complaints are very subjective things. For me, I was a little bored by portions of the "romance" (if it can be called that) between Yeine and the dark deity Nahadoth. This culminates in a big, "cosmic" sex scene between the two which became somewhat boring, but I can also see how for some readers this would be the highlight. To Jemisin's credit, she sneaks in a fair amount of plot and character development into that scene, something that isn't easily done with sex scenes. By this point, I was quite hooked into the story anyway, so it wasn't like it was going to make me stop reading.
I'd seen a lot of praise on other Goodreads profiles for this book, including from some of the fantasy writers I respect. I'll be adding Jemisin to that list of fantasy writers. She more than lived up to the hype. One thing I really liked about this book was that it stands alone and very complete. Even though it's the first book in her "Inheritance Trilogy," it's a complete story by itself. Nothing is really left unresolved, which is difficult to find in epic fantasy.
While I am curious about the sequel to HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, I think the next time I read a book by Jemisin, I'm more likely to try out one of her more recent novels. THE KILLING MOON is also the first in a series and was just released in May with the second book, THE SHADOWED SUN, released earlier this month.
The closest comparison I can make with Jemisin's storytelling style within this book is the film "Memento," which tells its story from the point-of-view of a man with a severe case of short term memory loss. HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS is told from the point-of-view of Yeine, the young ruler of a small kingdom who is thrust into the political squabbles of Sky when named heir by her estranged (understatement!) grandfather who is the current ruler of all rulers in this world. From the beginning of the book, it's clear that the organization of Yeine's memory of these events is not exactly court recorder perfect for a reason that is just as unclear at the start. This is all explained through the course of the tale. Despite some abrupt asides, which can be very jarring, the story never suffers for it. In fact, I think this approach is what makes the book work so well and even adds to the plot twists. My favorite plot twist, which came near the end of the book, was the true reason behind Yeine's grandfather bringing her to Sky. It's not an earth-shattering twist, but it's a revelation that hits the reader with a new perspective on everything that has happened in the book up to that point.
What's really impressive and also goes against the epic fantasy norm, is that Jemisin has written a story that is little more than political intrigue. Never does Jemisin bore the reader with a stereotypical journey through strange lands to get from "Point A to Point Evil-Lives-Here-and-Must-Die." She also avoids the cliche of some epic battle between two armies. That's not to say there isn't any violence or major battles, but it's all focused on politics, sometimes politics among mortals and, at other times, among gods.
Speaking of gods, Jemisin does not deliver what one typically expects of dieties. She provides a pantheon that walks among mortals, and even more interesting, they aren't the ones in control. The gods are the slaves. How they became enslaved and their efforts to be freed are what truly drive this book. They also dictate Yeine's struggle to figure out who to trust in Sky and learn what is really at stake. For Yeine, her personal stakes are clear from the very beginning: survival, because there are two other heirs in competition for her grandfather's throne.
There are a few rough spots, but I think most of those complaints are very subjective things. For me, I was a little bored by portions of the "romance" (if it can be called that) between Yeine and the dark deity Nahadoth. This culminates in a big, "cosmic" sex scene between the two which became somewhat boring, but I can also see how for some readers this would be the highlight. To Jemisin's credit, she sneaks in a fair amount of plot and character development into that scene, something that isn't easily done with sex scenes. By this point, I was quite hooked into the story anyway, so it wasn't like it was going to make me stop reading.
I'd seen a lot of praise on other Goodreads profiles for this book, including from some of the fantasy writers I respect. I'll be adding Jemisin to that list of fantasy writers. She more than lived up to the hype. One thing I really liked about this book was that it stands alone and very complete. Even though it's the first book in her "Inheritance Trilogy," it's a complete story by itself. Nothing is really left unresolved, which is difficult to find in epic fantasy.
While I am curious about the sequel to HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, I think the next time I read a book by Jemisin, I'm more likely to try out one of her more recent novels. THE KILLING MOON is also the first in a series and was just released in May with the second book, THE SHADOWED SUN, released earlier this month.