soumwise's review against another edition
5.0
Ehm…I mean…this is mind-bogglingly good. And original. And groundbreaking. I’m late to the Jemisin bandwagon so I can only echo what many have said: this is the kind of voice that was much, much needed in fantasy.
What I found most crafty in the Inheritance trilogy is that it’s cutthroat in the way most political fantasy is - but it’s also deeply spiritual given the nature of its gods and godlike creatures.
You have gods in their all-encompassing powerful form and you have them brought down to vulnerable, flawed, sometimes mortal, forms, so close to the human experience. I feel like this trilogy was like looking at the spiral shape of a galaxy and the same cosmic pattern on a nautilus seashell, all at once. Jemisin does a masterful job of convincing us these gods are just as much a part of everyday life as they are commanders of their universe.
And alongside all that, you have the scheming and politics that affect both human and god. Sorry to make an ASoIaF comparison here - we have way too many of those and honestly, Ms. Jemisin wins anyway - but I think I read somewhere on a GoT back cover that it has ‘characters that could eat the Borgias’. Well, the Arameri could chop Cersei Lannister into pieces and toss her into their smoothie. Jesus. What an evil family! And their overall mirroring to the USA’s role (and white supremacy’s role on a world stage more generally) in international politics is something I welcome to be represented in canon fantasy/sci-fi, especially when it’s done this well.
Having said all that, I do have some gripes.
Jemisin has been praised many times for her excellent worldbuilding and in terms of politics and pantheons I can completely see why. But there was something about the…aesthetic? of this world that didn’t quite gel with me - and probably purely for lack of description. I will admit here that I am one of those fantasy fans that enjoys lengthy descriptions of settings. But even then, these were just too succinct for my taste. It was just hard getting a real vibe of the different locations, although that vibe was definitely there for the different peoples that populate this world.
Then, there are the many, many one-on-one conversations and confrontations. In book one this really adds to the tension of the plot but somewhere along book two this format quickly loses momentum. Many of these conversations didn’t add anything - even on the spiritual or character-building front. I would gladly have traded some of this in for more etching out of the settings.
But yeah, on the whole, this one is definitely a solid 9 to 9.5 on a 1-10 scale. Ms. Jemisin, thank you for making some of us out there feel seen.
What I found most crafty in the Inheritance trilogy is that it’s cutthroat in the way most political fantasy is - but it’s also deeply spiritual given the nature of its gods and godlike creatures.
You have gods in their all-encompassing powerful form and you have them brought down to vulnerable, flawed, sometimes mortal, forms, so close to the human experience. I feel like this trilogy was like looking at the spiral shape of a galaxy and the same cosmic pattern on a nautilus seashell, all at once. Jemisin does a masterful job of convincing us these gods are just as much a part of everyday life as they are commanders of their universe.
And alongside all that, you have the scheming and politics that affect both human and god. Sorry to make an ASoIaF comparison here - we have way too many of those and honestly, Ms. Jemisin wins anyway - but I think I read somewhere on a GoT back cover that it has ‘characters that could eat the Borgias’. Well, the Arameri could chop Cersei Lannister into pieces and toss her into their smoothie. Jesus. What an evil family! And their overall mirroring to the USA’s role (and white supremacy’s role on a world stage more generally) in international politics is something I welcome to be represented in canon fantasy/sci-fi, especially when it’s done this well.
Having said all that, I do have some gripes.
Jemisin has been praised many times for her excellent worldbuilding and in terms of politics and pantheons I can completely see why. But there was something about the…aesthetic? of this world that didn’t quite gel with me - and probably purely for lack of description. I will admit here that I am one of those fantasy fans that enjoys lengthy descriptions of settings. But even then, these were just too succinct for my taste. It was just hard getting a real vibe of the different locations, although that vibe was definitely there for the different peoples that populate this world.
Then, there are the many, many one-on-one conversations and confrontations. In book one this really adds to the tension of the plot but somewhere along book two this format quickly loses momentum. Many of these conversations didn’t add anything - even on the spiritual or character-building front. I would gladly have traded some of this in for more etching out of the settings.
But yeah, on the whole, this one is definitely a solid 9 to 9.5 on a 1-10 scale. Ms. Jemisin, thank you for making some of us out there feel seen.
giana_vitale's review against another edition
5.0
My favorite fantasy author to date, and this series is easily one of my favorite of all time. Incredible world building, complicated and interesting characters, exciting plot, it has it all. If I could pick any series to forget so I could re read the magic for the first time, I wouldn’t hesitate to pick this one. I only wish I knew a way to make Jemisin write faster so I could read more of her work.
hr00's review against another edition
The character development was just too insufficient for me
But the plot was interesting
But the plot was interesting
mixedsigneals's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
evelinateran's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have never read anything like this before. I mean I'm not even sure how to describe it. Each book is from a different person's POV but those POVs are spread out across centuries. You get to experience this world for centuries and how the consequences in book one affect things throughout the rest of the series. I thought the inner struggle of the characters throughout this novel was just amazing. Plus there is a lot of representation here. I mean I have never read a book written from the prospective of a blind person and it was absolutely fascinating. Plus the whole Darr society taking the patriarchy and flipping it on it's head?! I loved the prospective and hopefully it will provide some insight for people reading it. The relationships between characters is also so interesting. The fluidness regarding sexuality and gender. The reflection of self. It was so captivating.
babs_jellymuck's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoy N.K. Jemisin's worldbuilding because of the way she pushes against the way we think about relationships and social hierarchies. I think the second book was my favorite because I loved Oree Shoth's character. I also enjoyed the short story about Shill. I wouldn't necessarily put all books in my favorite category, but the immersion into Jemisin's creation story and how each book connected was worth the read through them all.
mckernae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
kecresser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
rynncity's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
catpingu's review against another edition
5.0
[b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms|6437061|The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303143211l/6437061._SY75_.jpg|6626657]: 4 Stars
I'm choosing 4 stars because all this book needs for me to give it 5 stars is just a little more action. We're world-building here! We need to get through all of this political tension in succession, the backstory of the gods and their conflicts, and then character development! Honestly though this book is incredibly well-written considering the amount of heavy-lifting it's doing for the rest of the series.
Not long after the death of her mother, Yeine Darre is summoned to the palace Sky, where the most noble of nobles resides to meet with her grandfather. Her own poor country struggling to survive, Yeine hopes that even if nothing good can come of meeting her maternal family, maybe she can at least help her countrymen. She doesn't expect to be locked within the palace to be part of some contest between her grandfather's heirs. However, this becomes her chance to unravel the mystery behind her mother's poisoning and help Darre rise from poverty. Stakes rise when she becomes entangled in the schemes put in motion by her mother and the gods trapped in servitude to her mother's family. Then, it becomes of question of how to leave the contest alive without being able to rely on anyone, not even herself.
To comment on the love story aspect of this, if you've ever read the disaster known as [b:An Ember in the Ashes|27774758|An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)|Sabaa Tahir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519425615l/27774758._SY75_.jpg|39113604] and thought that the dynamic between Laia and the Nightbringer is horrendous, I sincerely urge you to read this book. There's no emotional complications here, just unveiling the real truth; the history that isn't propagated by conquerors. We emphasize balance and true love and acceptance of each other, keeping in mind that while distance and time make the memory fonder, it also provides the means for insanity.
Yeine peels back all of these untruths about the gods, because she's now part of the family that owns these gods. She uncovers her mother's past, one which no one spoke of because racial tensions: her dark-skinned father's family was always suspicious of her mother's intentions knowing how conniving her race and family are, while her pale-skinned mother's family refused to acknowledge her existence because her mother chose a "barbarian" over the luxuries and extravagance of their own. We see how dual identities influence much of Yeine's relationships with others, always being distrusted because of her parents and her family.
I'm extremely interested in what's going to happen in the later series. Presumably more family succession because it is the "Inheritance" trilogy, or will it be about inheriting
[b:The Broken Kingdoms|7904453|The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance, #2)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1282522268l/7904453._SY75_.jpg|11165787]: 5 stars
Absolutely blown away by how this book ended. I thought the glory and tensions of the first book would be the topper, but I do love how a disability is a girl's superpower in a time when gods and demigods are being killed left right and center. Also that TWIST at the end!
It's been ten years since the birth of the Grey Lady, the Great Tree sprouted from the palace of Sky, and the Nightlord is rumored to be unleashed. Oree Shoth, a blind artist selling her wares in the Artist's Row under the East Shadow of the Great Tree comes across a mysterious godling sitting in the muck and takes it upon herself to care for him until he snaps out of whatever trance he's under. Staying as her houseguest, Oree continues her day-to-day life for several months until a nice godling suddenly winds up dead in a nearby alley, and she's the one who's discovered her body. Under investigation by the Order of Itempas, Oree's houseguest suddenly snaps into action as Oree calls upon her own godling friends to keep her out of the priests' hands. Things take a turn when Oree is kidnapped by a secret cult dying to find out her secret power and Oree fights to stay alive and escape with the truth of the godling disappearances.
Oree's godling boyfriend is Madding and he's adorable. He's basically an Underworld Boss, but he falls for the sweet innocent blind artist until he reaches the point where he breaks up with her because he doesn't want to watch her die. Actual spoiler:
We're expanding on the events from the previous book. Things are just as we expected, but others aren't. This second book really knows how to get a girl fired up about vengeance and destruction. But whereas the previous book focused on love, acceptance, and balance, here we're preventing anarchy and stopping Jack the Ripper of Godlings from, you know, destroying the world. Cultists, man.
Spoiler rant section:
I was rooting for Madding because I thought he and Oree had great chemistry in their interactions, and they both still love each other but Madding's stubborn. I was so sad when Madding died! I thought he'd summon Nahadoth and Yeine and they'd immediately fry Dateh's ass! Huge yike when he got shot...
Oree being a demon, didn't really expect that. I thought she'd be like a long-lost godling, but then came the detail that children of god/-lings and mortals are "demons". Thanks, Itempas priests, for spreading so much misinformation that names are having a huge impact on how we're perceiving these bloodlines through the centuries.
Luckily with Oree getting more control of her power because she's been held prisoner and Itempas figuring out his restrictions, that last end when he blasted Dateh was so cathartic. I was confused why Itempas was like "let my children go"...I guess some of the godlings managed to evade Dateh in the Empty? Like how Lil almost killed Dateh so he fled, so Lil was still alive and kicking, but still trapped in the Empty?
Oree makes a comment that how the godlings determine their parentage is a convoluted. I concur. I didn't think it mattered which god parented the demon line, but somehow it matters that Dateh is a child of Nahadoth and Oree is a child of Enefa? About how it affects their powers? Yet Dateh is 200% delusional and Oree is 100% rational.
Buuuuuut now that Oree's pregnant with a child of Itempas *winky smiles* WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?! The blood of Enefa and Itempas mixes again in the demon bloodline, how powerful is this child going to be! And like hwo Oree speculates at the end, was this the will of Yeine? To let this baby live? Because Itempas deserves some sort of happiness if he's being forced to leave another mortal he's loved as punishment? Honestly OMG so much happened in the last two chapters it's shocking and I need at least a day to digest.
What's going to happen in the next book?!! Must know, but also needs time to digest the information brought by the second book!
...
It's been a day. Here is new food for thought:
Taking a moment to reflect here on Itempas' POV of how the Gods' War began. But it leads to the question: who are mortals to question the actions of gods?
I reviewed Yeine's terms for Itempas' mortal punishment. “Your sentence can end sooner,” I said, and my words, too, curved and linked and became hard around him, “if you learn to love truly.” But it's not said specifically who or what Itempas is supposed to learn to truly love.
Does this imply, then, that
[b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms|6437061|The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303143211l/6437061._SY75_.jpg|6626657]: 4 stars
Minus 1 star because it hurts so wonderfully! Sieh, our beloved Trickster for the past books,. It's that bittersweet heartwarming. No, no, I can't discuss this here!
Since the death of T'vril Arameri, godlings and mortals have lived somewhat peacefully in Shadow (the city formerly known as Sky). Sieh has withdrawn from mortal interference, but the Trickster god hates boredom and ventures make for one more play. Now that Yeine's adjusted to being a goddess and Itempas continues his mortal sentence, Sieh feels that age-old yearning return to him. He inadvertently befriends two young Arameri in the lower abandoned basements of Sky where he resided for two thousand years, but something changes. Something changes in him, and something is changing outside as well. Dangerous secrets are revealed and Sieh falls faster and faster until there's only one way to end it all.
I thought that Oree's ending would hurt me the most because Itempas leaving but the birth of new life. But really, it's still the passage of time that hurts. Knowing that T'vril is dead, knowing the world has changed since Yeine became a goddess. We'd all hoped that the Arameri would somewhat change to be less...racist, but still maintain some order of peace without godlings enforcing their will. With great evil, comes tenuous but long-lasting "peace", after all.
Spoiler rant section:
Oree and Itempas' daughter is named Glee, she's some sort of bad-ass who can wield a fraction of Itempas' power probably because she is a demon-child descended from Enefa and Itempas, and she's now the lover of Ahad (formerly known as "Hado" formerly known as the Naha, the mortal prison of the god Nahadoth). Threes come up everywhere!
Including, the fact that Sieh, eldest godling and son of Nahadoth and Enefa is in love with Shahar and Dekarta Arameri, grandchildren of Ahad and very obviously demons at this point. These Three have the potential to remake reality, turning Sieh mortal, and that's why....*BIG SPOILER*Sieh will have to leave the nest created by the Three Nahadoth, Itempas, and Enefa. Because he's always had the capability to be one of the Big ones, but balance allows only Three. Three Big Gods, Three levels of godling hierarchy...Triangles are my favorite shape for a reason! To paraphrase [b:Iron Widow|52459864|Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1)|Xiran Jay Zhao|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617986668l/52459864._SY75_.jpg|77901205], "Triangles are strong". So now...I guess Sieh is officially the lord and oldest of his own little world, with Deka and Shahar with him. I just wish his parents could see him...*END BIG SPOILER*
Also, I always knew who Kahl was. It was so, so obvious. If you didn't get it after reading book 2, you were not reading carefully enough.
Okay, time to suck up all this emotion and sentimentality and read the novella.
[b:The Awakened Kingdom|23763447|The Awakened Kingdom (The Inheritance Trilogy, #3.5)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418988589l/23763447._SY75_.jpg|41344636]: 4 Stars
A cute, cute story following up 300 years after -- the previous book. The birth of a new godling, the birth of a new cycle. If you absolutely got wrecked after The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, this novella will heal your soul. I read the ending of the trilogy and finished this book the same day. Trust me. It'll still hurt but it's a patch-up.
This series is awesome and I'm so happy I spent time reading this. I can see why The Inheritance Trilogy is so highly praised. I might like this even more than The Broken Earth Trilogy. Both involve jaded grown-up individuals making the difficult choices, and both involve children maturing and becoming independent and discovering the truth about the world. Enforcing age-old wisdom and supernatural forces, this is how civilization developed.
I'm choosing 4 stars because all this book needs for me to give it 5 stars is just a little more action. We're world-building here! We need to get through all of this political tension in succession, the backstory of the gods and their conflicts, and then character development! Honestly though this book is incredibly well-written considering the amount of heavy-lifting it's doing for the rest of the series.
Not long after the death of her mother, Yeine Darre is summoned to the palace Sky, where the most noble of nobles resides to meet with her grandfather. Her own poor country struggling to survive, Yeine hopes that even if nothing good can come of meeting her maternal family, maybe she can at least help her countrymen. She doesn't expect to be locked within the palace to be part of some contest between her grandfather's heirs. However, this becomes her chance to unravel the mystery behind her mother's poisoning and help Darre rise from poverty. Stakes rise when she becomes entangled in the schemes put in motion by her mother and the gods trapped in servitude to her mother's family. Then, it becomes of question of how to leave the contest alive without being able to rely on anyone, not even herself.
To comment on the love story aspect of this, if you've ever read the disaster known as [b:An Ember in the Ashes|27774758|An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes, #1)|Sabaa Tahir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1519425615l/27774758._SY75_.jpg|39113604] and thought that the dynamic between Laia and the Nightbringer is horrendous, I sincerely urge you to read this book. There's no emotional complications here, just unveiling the real truth; the history that isn't propagated by conquerors. We emphasize balance and true love and acceptance of each other, keeping in mind that while distance and time make the memory fonder, it also provides the means for insanity.
Yeine peels back all of these untruths about the gods, because she's now part of the family that owns these gods. She uncovers her mother's past, one which no one spoke of because racial tensions: her dark-skinned father's family was always suspicious of her mother's intentions knowing how conniving her race and family are, while her pale-skinned mother's family refused to acknowledge her existence because her mother chose a "barbarian" over the luxuries and extravagance of their own. We see how dual identities influence much of Yeine's relationships with others, always being distrusted because of her parents and her family
Spoiler
not even talking about how she's a dual-soul with the goddess Enefa, as part of the bargain her mother made with the gods to save her father's life and continue her revengeSpoiler
Knowing how the god Itempas was basically overthrown as Yeine becomes a new goddess born from Enefa's soul and power,Spoiler
the gods' legacies?[b:The Broken Kingdoms|7904453|The Broken Kingdoms (Inheritance, #2)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1282522268l/7904453._SY75_.jpg|11165787]: 5 stars
Absolutely blown away by how this book ended. I thought the glory and tensions of the first book would be the topper, but I do love how a disability is a girl's superpower in a time when gods and demigods are being killed left right and center. Also that TWIST at the end!
It's been ten years since the birth of the Grey Lady, the Great Tree sprouted from the palace of Sky, and the Nightlord is rumored to be unleashed. Oree Shoth, a blind artist selling her wares in the Artist's Row under the East Shadow of the Great Tree comes across a mysterious godling sitting in the muck and takes it upon herself to care for him until he snaps out of whatever trance he's under. Staying as her houseguest, Oree continues her day-to-day life for several months until a nice godling suddenly winds up dead in a nearby alley, and she's the one who's discovered her body. Under investigation by the Order of Itempas, Oree's houseguest suddenly snaps into action as Oree calls upon her own godling friends to keep her out of the priests' hands. Things take a turn when Oree is kidnapped by a secret cult dying to find out her secret power and Oree fights to stay alive and escape with the truth of the godling disappearances.
Oree's godling boyfriend is Madding and he's adorable. He's basically an Underworld Boss, but he falls for the sweet innocent blind artist until he reaches the point where he breaks up with her because he doesn't want to watch her die. Actual spoiler:
Spoiler
Oree ends up having to watch him die.We're expanding on the events from the previous book. Things are just as we expected, but others aren't. This second book really knows how to get a girl fired up about vengeance and destruction. But whereas the previous book focused on love, acceptance, and balance, here we're preventing anarchy and stopping Jack the Ripper of Godlings from, you know, destroying the world. Cultists, man.
Spoiler rant section:
Spoiler
I was rooting for Madding because I thought he and Oree had great chemistry in their interactions, and they both still love each other but Madding's stubborn. I was so sad when Madding died! I thought he'd summon Nahadoth and Yeine and they'd immediately fry Dateh's ass! Huge yike when he got shot...
Oree being a demon, didn't really expect that. I thought she'd be like a long-lost godling, but then came the detail that children of god/-lings and mortals are "demons". Thanks, Itempas priests, for spreading so much misinformation that names are having a huge impact on how we're perceiving these bloodlines through the centuries.
Luckily with Oree getting more control of her power because she's been held prisoner and Itempas figuring out his restrictions, that last end when he blasted Dateh was so cathartic. I was confused why Itempas was like "let my children go"...I guess some of the godlings managed to evade Dateh in the Empty? Like how Lil almost killed Dateh so he fled, so Lil was still alive and kicking, but still trapped in the Empty?
Oree makes a comment that how the godlings determine their parentage is a convoluted. I concur. I didn't think it mattered which god parented the demon line, but somehow it matters that Dateh is a child of Nahadoth and Oree is a child of Enefa? About how it affects their powers? Yet Dateh is 200% delusional and Oree is 100% rational.
Buuuuuut now that Oree's pregnant with a child of Itempas *winky smiles* WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE FUTURE?! The blood of Enefa and Itempas mixes again in the demon bloodline, how powerful is this child going to be! And like hwo Oree speculates at the end, was this the will of Yeine? To let this baby live? Because Itempas deserves some sort of happiness if he's being forced to leave another mortal he's loved as punishment? Honestly OMG so much happened in the last two chapters it's shocking and I need at least a day to digest.
What's going to happen in the next book?!! Must know, but also needs time to digest the information brought by the second book!
...
It's been a day. Here is new food for thought:
Taking a moment to reflect here on Itempas' POV of how the Gods' War began.
Spoiler
Could it possibly be all blamed on the mortal woman for manipulating him? Or was she helping him stand up for himself and making himself visible when Enefa and Nahadoth were together?I reviewed Yeine's terms for Itempas' mortal punishment. “Your sentence can end sooner,” I said, and my words, too, curved and linked and became hard around him, “if you learn to love truly.” But it's not said specifically who or what Itempas is supposed to learn to truly love.
Does this imply, then, that
Spoiler
even when Itempas doesn't truly love Oree? Or does "until you experience true love" as in "you need to learn to love and accept how the Three will love each other"?[b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms|6437061|The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1303143211l/6437061._SY75_.jpg|6626657]: 4 stars
Minus 1 star because it hurts so wonderfully! Sieh, our beloved Trickster for the past books,
Spoiler
GROWS UP AND DIESSince the death of T'vril Arameri, godlings and mortals have lived somewhat peacefully in Shadow (the city formerly known as Sky). Sieh has withdrawn from mortal interference, but the Trickster god hates boredom and ventures make for one more play. Now that Yeine's adjusted to being a goddess and Itempas continues his mortal sentence, Sieh feels that age-old yearning return to him. He inadvertently befriends two young Arameri in the lower abandoned basements of Sky where he resided for two thousand years, but something changes. Something changes in him, and something is changing outside as well. Dangerous secrets are revealed and Sieh falls faster and faster until there's only one way to end it all.
I thought that Oree's ending would hurt me the most because Itempas leaving but the birth of new life. But really, it's still the passage of time that hurts. Knowing that T'vril is dead, knowing the world has changed since Yeine became a goddess. We'd all hoped that the Arameri would somewhat change to be less...racist, but still maintain some order of peace without godlings enforcing their will. With great evil, comes tenuous but long-lasting "peace", after all.
Spoiler rant section:
Spoiler
Oree and Itempas' daughter is named Glee, she's some sort of bad-ass who can wield a fraction of Itempas' power probably because she is a demon-child descended from Enefa and Itempas, and she's now the lover of Ahad (formerly known as "Hado" formerly known as the Naha, the mortal prison of the god Nahadoth). Threes come up everywhere!
Including, the fact that Sieh, eldest godling and son of Nahadoth and Enefa is in love with Shahar and Dekarta Arameri, grandchildren of Ahad and very obviously demons at this point. These Three have the potential to remake reality, turning Sieh mortal, and that's why....*BIG SPOILER*Sieh will have to leave the nest created by the Three Nahadoth, Itempas, and Enefa. Because he's always had the capability to be one of the Big ones, but balance allows only Three. Three Big Gods, Three levels of godling hierarchy...Triangles are my favorite shape for a reason! To paraphrase [b:Iron Widow|52459864|Iron Widow (Iron Widow, #1)|Xiran Jay Zhao|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617986668l/52459864._SY75_.jpg|77901205], "Triangles are strong". So now...I guess Sieh is officially the lord and oldest of his own little world, with Deka and Shahar with him. I just wish his parents could see him...*END BIG SPOILER*
Also, I always knew who Kahl was. It was so, so obvious. If you didn't get it after reading book 2, you were not reading carefully enough.
Okay, time to suck up all this emotion and sentimentality and read the novella.
[b:The Awakened Kingdom|23763447|The Awakened Kingdom (The Inheritance Trilogy, #3.5)|N.K. Jemisin|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1418988589l/23763447._SY75_.jpg|41344636]: 4 Stars
A cute, cute story following up 300 years after -- the previous book. The birth of a new godling, the birth of a new cycle. If you absolutely got wrecked after The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, this novella will heal your soul. I read the ending of the trilogy and finished this book the same day. Trust me. It'll still hurt but it's a patch-up.
This series is awesome and I'm so happy I spent time reading this. I can see why The Inheritance Trilogy is so highly praised. I might like this even more than The Broken Earth Trilogy. Both involve jaded grown-up individuals making the difficult choices, and both involve children maturing and becoming independent and discovering the truth about the world. Enforcing age-old wisdom and supernatural forces, this is how civilization developed.