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A review by klarial
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
5.0
For me this is one of those books. I stayed up far too late to finish it, I fell asleep thinking about it, I am fairly certain I had dreams about it, and now it is well into the next day and I still cannot get it out of my head. So what else is a girl to do but write a review?
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has a setup that may feel familiar to many fantasy fans. Yeine, still reeling over the recent death of her mother, is summoned by her estranged maternal grandfather to the seat of the kingdom, where he rules with ruthlessness and a set of very powerful weapons. There he names her as one of his possible heirs. Intrigue, political maneuvering, betrayals, and ultimately self discovery follow. Include a mythology about the Three Gods and what ultimately happened to them (a war, one dead, one enslaved, one left to rule alone), with those gods being central characters in the story, and you have The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I am greatly simplifying here, but those are truly the key points you need in order to know if you will be on board with the story, and also the key points necessary for this review.
What is it about this novel that did it for me? There are many things, but I will try to keep it to a short few. First, there is the writing, both the prose itself (which includes lovely passages like, “I am not as I once was. They have done this to me, broken me open and torn out my heart. I do not know who I am anymore. I must try to remember”.) and the structure of the narrative. The story jumps backwards and forwards in time and is told in a mix of styles, plot narrative, childhood stories, and inner thoughts. It all comes together in such a beautiful way, it seems as though you are sitting across from Yeine hearing her tell the story, but she tells it so adeptly you feel it as if you were there. The worldbuilding specifically, an element so crucial to fantasy, is dealt with mostly in the form of childhood stories or myths, combined with Yeine discovering the truth of what she has been told all her life.This is what pulled me in immediately, the lovely writing combined with intense, first person storytelling.
Next, this story is sexy. No, sexy isn’t the right word, perhaps sensual is better. Whatever you would like to call it, it really works. The love story, though it seems too simple to call it that, is wonderful. It wasn’t what I was expecting and it was quite different than anything else I have read, even in fantasy.One of the reasons this sensuality and romance works so well is the characters. Yeine is a great protagonist and audience surrogate. She is a good combination of strong and smart, but also lost and trying to find her way in this world. The cast of side characters add a wealth of depth both to the world and to Yeine’s character (especially Sieh, the centuries old godling who takes the form of a child). Then there is Nahadoth, the Nightlord, who is probably the most compelling character. I won’t say more than that he is both hero and villain, and I found myself devouring each of his scenes. Plus there is the bending of gender roles and defiance of heteronormative culture embedded in the DNA of this story. Add all of this up, and you have one sexy, or sensual, tale.
Some may find the structure of this novel confusing or distracting, but if you are willing to dive into this world I think the way the story is told will only add to your enjoyment of the novel. The only disappointment I felt was near the end of the story, when it became apparent that this set of characters would likely not be central to the next chapter of the series (though I am certain/hopeful that they reappear in the final installment). I find myself wanting more of them, to pick up exactly where this story left off. Nonetheless, I will be eagerly picking up the next installment, hoping it can recreate the magic of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has a setup that may feel familiar to many fantasy fans. Yeine, still reeling over the recent death of her mother, is summoned by her estranged maternal grandfather to the seat of the kingdom, where he rules with ruthlessness and a set of very powerful weapons. There he names her as one of his possible heirs. Intrigue, political maneuvering, betrayals, and ultimately self discovery follow. Include a mythology about the Three Gods and what ultimately happened to them (a war, one dead, one enslaved, one left to rule alone), with those gods being central characters in the story, and you have The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I am greatly simplifying here, but those are truly the key points you need in order to know if you will be on board with the story, and also the key points necessary for this review.
What is it about this novel that did it for me? There are many things, but I will try to keep it to a short few. First, there is the writing, both the prose itself (which includes lovely passages like, “I am not as I once was. They have done this to me, broken me open and torn out my heart. I do not know who I am anymore. I must try to remember”.) and the structure of the narrative. The story jumps backwards and forwards in time and is told in a mix of styles, plot narrative, childhood stories, and inner thoughts. It all comes together in such a beautiful way, it seems as though you are sitting across from Yeine hearing her tell the story, but she tells it so adeptly you feel it as if you were there. The worldbuilding specifically, an element so crucial to fantasy, is dealt with mostly in the form of childhood stories or myths, combined with Yeine discovering the truth of what she has been told all her life.This is what pulled me in immediately, the lovely writing combined with intense, first person storytelling.
Next, this story is sexy. No, sexy isn’t the right word, perhaps sensual is better. Whatever you would like to call it, it really works. The love story, though it seems too simple to call it that, is wonderful. It wasn’t what I was expecting and it was quite different than anything else I have read, even in fantasy.One of the reasons this sensuality and romance works so well is the characters. Yeine is a great protagonist and audience surrogate. She is a good combination of strong and smart, but also lost and trying to find her way in this world. The cast of side characters add a wealth of depth both to the world and to Yeine’s character (especially Sieh, the centuries old godling who takes the form of a child). Then there is Nahadoth, the Nightlord, who is probably the most compelling character. I won’t say more than that he is both hero and villain, and I found myself devouring each of his scenes. Plus there is the bending of gender roles and defiance of heteronormative culture embedded in the DNA of this story. Add all of this up, and you have one sexy, or sensual, tale.
Some may find the structure of this novel confusing or distracting, but if you are willing to dive into this world I think the way the story is told will only add to your enjoyment of the novel. The only disappointment I felt was near the end of the story, when it became apparent that this set of characters would likely not be central to the next chapter of the series (though I am certain/hopeful that they reappear in the final installment). I find myself wanting more of them, to pick up exactly where this story left off. Nonetheless, I will be eagerly picking up the next installment, hoping it can recreate the magic of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.