The Broken Kingdoms
NK Jemisin
I will do my best to avoid SPOILERS for book one, but there will be some small hints as to how book one ended, so read at your own risk. Because they're more companion novels than direct sequels it is easier to review this book without referencing the first one as much as might be necessary with other series.
I loved book one in this series, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. LOVED it. And while I liked this one very much I did not love it. Now, I will say the writing is still beautiful and gorgeous as in the first one, but it did lack some of that lyrical, non-traditionally linear, storytelling that THTK had. I suppose that's a reflection on the narrator as a character, and on the necessity of the plot, but I missed that aspect, which made it so unique. The world, too, was not as original as I had felt it was in book one, though I do think this may be do to the fact that I have spent quite a bit of time reading in that world and have become somewhat used to it.
Speaking of world building, though, immediately this world (it's the same place as book one except ten years later and from a completely different perspective) felt real. Shadow, the city featured in this book, reminded me instantly of all the cities I've ever been to, and while I've never lived in any of those cities, I've certainly dreamed of it, as had Oree, our protagonist. In that regard I really connected with her, and Shadow as a place. I also really appreciated all the new godlings, though I wish we could have spent more time with them. They were all so interesting that I wouldn't mind reading a novel dedicated to each of them individually, and also learning more about the cults and religions that formed around all these new gods that seemed to suddenly appear for these people. After finishing book one I hadn't put much thought into how this new development would play out, but I thought it was incredibly well done. There are a lot of smaller strands of plot carried over from the previous novel, but they're all done wonderfully and I think readers will be pleasantly surprised by more than a few things.
What I waxed on about for book one, though, were the characters. While I appreciated and liked and even connected with the protagonist, Oree Shoth, of this book, I couldn't love her as much as I loved Yeine. First of all, Oree is blind, BUT she's not really 100% blind because she can see magic. It's cool but I found that this distanced me from her character. It was a book without much visual element because of this, though, and that also worked to distance me from her narration. As for Shiny, well, I have thoughts about him and his character, but I certainly don't like him as much as I liked Nahadoth in THTK. Not to say that Oree and Shiny are romantically involved (I mean, read and find out if they are but I will tell you there isn't nearly as much kinky sex in this book as the first one had and I think that's a shame because those were good and tasteful scenes), but I would consider them the two protagonists. ALSO props to Jemisin for writing a book that, in part, tackles slut-shaming in such a subtle but profound way.
To touch on plot quickly- it's definitely not the plot I expected. I liked it, certainly, but I did feel like it had a tendency to wander more than the previous book did. However, I read this book in large chunks with larger breaks in between reading than I did the first one and I've found that when this happens I tend to have a harder time enjoying plot. Really, I had no problems with it, except that it was just a little lackluster. And that's it, that's really why this book didn't live up to the predecessor- coming of the high of THTK this one was a shade or two more colorless and I, as the reader, suffered for it.
TL;DR? Not as good as book one partly due to the characters and partly due to the plot but still an incredible, and unique from the rest of the market, epic fantasy. Not only does it feature another WOC in power but it tackles many social issues quietly and beautifully while introducing the reader to a magnificent world populated by even more magnificent gods, which were easily the highlight for me.
In the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a homeless man who glows like a living sun to her strange sight. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city.
Oree's peculiar guest is at the heart of it, his presence putting her in mortal danger -- but is it him the killers want, or Oree? And is the earthly power of the Arameri king their ultimate goal, or have they set their sights on the Lord of Night himself?
N. K. Jemisin lives and works in New York City.Cover, description, and author bio taken from Goodreads.
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