Wonderful readers, the moment has arrived! Toss confetti, make some noise, and settle down to the first ever review of the 2011 Women of Fantasy Book Club. Every WoF post will have the above image to keep things familiar and easy to identify. Read the review (or not), see what else this post has to offer and comment below to begin discussion with other readers. I expect a lot of trial and error with the formatting of these posts. Suggestions are appreciated.
In the first of The Inheritance Trilogy, there is mystery in abundance as the former Darre leader turned heir to her grandfather’s throne searches fervently for information about the inexplicable death of her mother. Yeine’s inquiries take her deep into Arameri politics, family squabbles, and the dangerously complicated relationships between gods and mortals. The limited first person perspective might not have worked entirely well for me (it is a tricky method of storytelling that I don’t always prefer), but after having finished, I’m curious where the story has to go and whether there is yet more to be revealed about the events that happened in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.
N. K. Jemisin is an author whose reputation precedes her. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has received a lot of positive attention from readers and critics alike. The only difficulty with having a book become so popular is the risk any reader takes when picking up something new, compounded now by the potential foreknowledge of its popularity. While I thought this was a very interesting debut, I felt it fell just shy of reaching its full potential. There were, however, many positive qualities—namely toying with the idea of gods being made into servants, a fallen god burdened with three personalities, and a convoluted plot that doesn’t lose itself in dense exposition.
The prose is accessible and the narration easy to follow with some lovely turns of phrases. The structure had brief interruptions from a future Yeine that sometimes worked to the narrative’s advantage and sometimes didn’t. Passages were reworked and put out of place for no clear purpose I could find other than having something for future Yeine to forget and later remember for her audience. I could find little insight that benefited from those moments being rearranged. They were, however, very few and far between.
I even enjoyed some of the world-building, despite how little is said of Sky (aside from its bland lack of color) and Darre. Rather, I believe these brief descriptions are meant to convey atmospheres of warring ideals and cultures in opposition. Yeine has been raised in a female dominant society steeped in dark traditions. Darre has never shaken off the savage reputation this garnered; many still see it as a barbaric culture. Ideally, Yeine would carry this burden to Sky with her as a child of mixed heritage identifying strongly with only her Darre people. In reality, the only Darre-ness we see out of her is in her bluntness, nothing of the prejudices that might be ingrained in her psyche (there is one very brief instance where she speaks down to an Arameri male). Either this means the Darre people are not as bad as everyone assumes, or there is something missing that could have truly made her transition to the Arameri political family a deeper struggle—even something as simple as incredulity at seeing a man in the highest seat of power. As it was, Yeine’s resistance and rudeness are built around her own assumptions and disgust of the Arameri, which I do believe are cold and careless (the hints toward this are eventually convincing), which have everything to do with Arameri reputation and nothing to do with her being Darre.
But the theme of opposition, of polarities, throughout the novel was interesting, especially when two of them (Arameri vs gods) began paralleling each other in strange and fascinating ways. The gods seek to use humans as much as the humans use the gods. Despite their casual brutality, the Arameri played the bored elite quite well. Finding new ways to entertain themselves in increasingly bizarre and perverse scenarios was a bit stomach churning, if only implicitly, but my imagination tends to fill in the gaps well enough. I wish I had a better grasp of how Yeine’s Darre nature is supposed to be opposed to this, rather than (as a reader) feeling Darre history mimicking Arameri culture (or vice versa) with the only difference being one is unapologetically brutal—the other simply masks with justifications of culture and tradition.
The politics are almost incidental to Yeine’s developing relationships between the gods (Nahadoth and Sieh in particular) and to a lesser extent, two Arameri (T’vril and Viraine). Of these relationships, the strongest seemed to be the childishly vulnerable and cruel Sieh. I found the struggling Nahadoth to be too vague when I needed clarification. A god with three sides to his personality in constant conflict with each other is entirely fascinating. With the way the book ended, it seems nearly impossible to study those dynamics further. I did, however, appreciate how Jemisin created an entirely different and inexplicable set of rules for the gods, who think nothing of incest because they operate on levels beyond human comprehension, far removed from our morals. The allusions to Greek gods was apparent in their petty jealousies, love, and need for revenge. Although I enjoyed their human flaws (also very Greek), I would have liked to see more godliness out of Sieh (aside from gimmicks) and Nahadoth (aside from being told he’s acting incredibly menacing by staring down Yeine).
Yeine is, however, drawn to one side of Nahadoth: the dark, seductive, and dangerously unpredictable side who also happens to be good in bed (the sex scene—which was all metaphysical abstractions involving space and the cosmos—was a bit too ridiculous for me, all things considered). In short, I believed this book to be divided between something of a budding romance novel and that of a fantasy political thriller in which the only real danger is two weeks away (when Yeine is to choose the succeeding Arameri ruler and die in the process); how Yeine spends the intervening days fills the remainder (asking about her dead mother and denying lustful feelings toward an unhinged god).
As it was, I found myself too distanced from Yeine, whom I felt was a bit uninteresting (her POV was pleasant enough, but unremarkable). For someone uprooted from a culture that operates under different gender politics and expected to adjust quickly in order to survive, she rose to the occasion surprisingly well. She’s a bit conflicted, yes (the Arameri method of changing eye color was fairly grotesque; I probably would have reacted the same way!), and I thought the investigations into her mother’s death was intriguing. But I found the contest of succession lacking any real moral complexity. Her rival and cousin, Scimina, is a two dimensional villain and someone easy to dismiss, as was her drunken competitor, Relad. I actually found his substance abuse interesting, considering his life may have been leading up to this point, but he was unfortunately overshadowed by predictable Scimina.
Overall, many elements of this novel worked well, but not quite to where I found myself completely satisfied. I am encouraged by the end (which I thought brought promise to the sequel) and would love to see Jemisin grow as an author. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was a good debut. It will no doubt continue to impress many readers with its contemplations of the mundane vs the divine and the cyclical nature of the universe that affects everyone—even those whom we believe to be immortal. There is something in the attempt to create a kind of beauty out of tragedy that struck me. I look forward to reading the sequel.
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Reviewed Format: Trade paperback
Discussion
Rules
1. Expect spoilers.
2. Commenting is not necessary! Lurk if you like, but comments are very welcome.
3. Remember to act gracious and courteous toward fellow participants. Negative tones will only get you sent to the spam folder.
Links
If you happened to review this month’s selection, let me know and I will add it below.
1. Pling
3. ibeeeg
Vague Topics With The Potential To Be Used As Points of Discussion
Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Can’t think of anything to say? Try the topics I’ve outline below. Answering them directly is not required. Feel free to discuss anything pertaining to the book, even if I don’t mention it here.
1. It becomes apparent that Yeine has done some things in her life that her Arameri ancestors would be proud of—namely killing her aggressor in her coming of age ceremony. Does the contradiction in this surprise you or does it suit her character as one who is discovering she is equally Darre and Arameri? Did being raised Darre help her better cope with adapting to Arameri culture?
2. Nahadoth is a complex character. One of his most interesting traits is how receptive he is to the human urges around him. How do you think this benefited him as a whole god, especially considering how it affects him as a broken one?
3. There was some drama with Yeine’s homeland. Do you think its troubles are over or is war unavoidable?
4. Jemisin was careful to include the physical differences as well as the cultural ones between the Northern folk of Darre and those living in Sky. How different do you feel the cultures actually are? Or are the two more similar than the distinction appearances Yeine persists in noticing?
5. There was a creation myth in this novel. Did this work for you or did it merely explain the history of the God’s War?
Follow along with the other Women of Fantasy book club selections. Download a .PDF or visit the announcement post outlining the basics.
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I really enjoyed this book but it is kind of hard to describe why
I think primarily its because Ive never read a book where I felt that the character was really in control of the novel and not the writer! This is Yeines tale and when she is confused, crippled, angy or passionate we feel it in the narrative especially in the end when she comes into her power.
You did very well managing to put that into words, I’d say.
The narrative is pretty fluid with Yeine’s reactions. I would argue that many novels do this, but that would definitely dismiss the first narrator of the book: Yeine as a god, from the future. Even if she loses track of what happens and when, she does try to relate events to the reader as they occurred and to remember her reactions and emotions, which is probably the most important element readers need to make a connection. I didn’t feel as strongly as you did, but I love hearing what made this book work so well for you.
I finally read all the comments! LOL I finished the book today, so I allowed myself to read the post and comments finally!
I really enjoyed the story. I wasn’t blown away but I though it was a solid debut. Maybe the hype got to me and my expectations were too high but I was really expecting to love the book. I really loved the gods, the religion and even the idea of a Hundred Thousand Kingdoms however the title was really misleading. I was confused by the whole Yeine commenting thing, it took me awhile to realize it was between two different people. And the time jumping annoyed me personally
I would have loved the whole “Yeine trying hard and nothing works for her” thing too, actively trying to win. It felt half-hearted the entire time and that disappointed me. Sieh and Naha really made the book for me, as well as the history. I wanted more than hints of other cultures too.
That’s dedication! There are so many comments, I’ve had trouble keeping up with all of them myself (if I’ve missed any, this is why).
Yeine lacks agency throughout much of the novel and really, that’s through no fault of her own. She’s been thrust into an awful lose-lose situation, but I would have liked to yearn for her—to feel something for a character that was always meant to “die” rather than feel disinterest. But I think the way she handled the entire affair ultimately was her way of asserting control where she could. She did choose to accept the god’s proposal and die one way rather than another. That’s something. It wasn’t quite enough for me to appreciate the character, but it was something.
Just finished last night–hope I’m not too late to jump on the reviewing train.
I read both laudatory reviews and a particularly snarky, scathing one, so I went into this novel not entirely sure how much I would like it. I was both mildly disappointed and pleasantly surprised.
I don’t typically like first person narration. I think it’s tricky to do well, and while I don’t think this book suffered too much, it didn’t add anything. Yeine didn’t strike me as a very compelling character; in fact I found myself wishing it was about her mother, Kinneth. I have a feeling her story of being a cultural transplant would have made for more entertaining reading.
I liked the first few chapters of the book. The world the author set up was interesting. Strong central family with a system to not only ensure their continued power but also to maintain the religious structure. I thought the way Arameri power and Itempas’s superiority as god were dependent on each other was fascinating. And the idea that the gods were made slaves as punishment fit well into that world–though I thought the idea was stronger than the execution (the same could be said about much of the novel).
The book really began to lose me for a large chunk in the middle. I never got a sense of how the other kingdoms related to each other beyond being dominated by Sky. I would have especially liked to have seen more of Darre. We are told it is a matriarchy, but it never seemed that different from any place else…or maybe Yeine never seemed that different from those around her. The interruptions in narration were a tiny bit distracting until I realized what Jemisin was doing (then I wanted to go back and reread from the beginning!). And, though I consider myself a patient reader who can absorb hints and foreshadowing and wait for an author to explain events, the role of Enefah’s soul, the rock-thingy, the succession ceremony and transfer of power, etc was not explained well, leaving me confused and annoyed.
I’m glad I stuck with it because the last third was great reading. Couldn’t stand to put it down. All the dueling/common interests, Yeine’s slow understanding of the forces that created her destiny, the betrayal, the action. Really, really well done. I certainly plan to pick up the second book in the series. I look forward to seeing more of this world and how Jemisin as grown as a writer.
The title is misleading, I agree. Sky is the focus of the novel and to a lesser extent, Darre (I keep thinking I am spelling this incorrectly), not the other kingdoms. Even then, Darre felt peripheral. Then again, I don’t believe this was the author’s decision, so I haven’t spent too much time on that. The name of the trilogy, however, is more apt. It works well with this book, but we’ll have to wait and see how it works for the three as a whole.
I think with Darre vs Arameri culture, I didn’t see enough of a difference (other than how they perceive themselves and each other) to convince me that one was really so much more different than the other.
I liked it enough to move on, though, like you, I didn’t empathize very much with the protagonist. However, I felt the second was a much better read with more empathetic characters, personally, so good read overall
My review is here:
http://beth-noel.livejournal.com/tag/the%20hundred%20thousand%20kingdoms , with the sequel a little lower (and a snippet of a review.)
I’m looking forward to reading the sequel! I do have it here and you’re not the first to recommend it more highly than this one.
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Well, darn, missed the discussion as it took place. Will have to work my way through the comments on my own now.
Briefly: I loved it, was completely caught up in the world, the heroine, the conflict, the drama, the IMHO excellent writing. The absolute best part? Nahadoth.
Halfway through ‘Broken Kingdoms’ now and really liking it also, though it’s a very different story.
Really looking foward to Sieh’s story
I’m glad to hear you liked it so much! The differences several commenters mentioned between this and the sequel are helping me look forward to reading The Broken Kingdoms. I was planning on reading it anyway, but it never hurts to hear positive recommendations.