valjeanval's review
5.0
I feel... guilty for liking this book so much.
On the surface, I really shouldn't like this book. It is a Chosen One story, and really I'm bored to tears of those. It also involves a romance between a millenia old god and a 20 year old woman. I mean... am I allowed to like that given how much I've made fun of vampires? I'm not sure that I am.
I can't deny it though. I devoured this book and am eager for more. Jemisin takes tropes like those stated above and plays them with a unique edge and serious craft that make this Story with a capital S. For starters, Yeine is certainly a Chosen One (and that's clear from her first encounter with Nahadoth), but she is very different from the typical archetype being a dark-skinned barbarian woman trained to think of men as fragile creatures in need of protection (If you've read Digger, Yeine is a Hyena and I love that). Yeine walks through the tropes (I have come to avenge my mother's death!) and grows out of them (Actually... maybe I have no idea who my mother is and should take a bit of stock in the situation before I start pointing fingers). Yeine is a woman struggling for control of her situation and making the choices allowed to her, learning that there are more choices than at first appear. Her dialogue with serves to elevate the story to a more cerebral, philosophical level. Yeine is young without being stupid, and she spends the story learning.
I also enjoyed the theology behind this story. Maybe it's due to having just finished The Curse of Chalion, but I really enjoy when the magic of a fantasy story is directly linked to a god. The gods here are a far more overt presence than in Chalion, but they are interesting adaptations of familiar concepts. The love triangle between Itempas, Nahadoth, and Enefa pulls from so many mythologies to become a thing all its own.
Nahadoth is a problem for me. Basically he's an impossibly gorgeous, tragically-flawed fixer-upper with a heart of gold. These people do not actually exist. That said, I kinda wouldn't have him any other way. The romantic scenes in the book are well-done, sexy, and not so numerous as to push the book into the Paranormal Romance genre. Nahadoth is an awesome, divine, and extremely fictional love-interest. That's how I'm going to justify loving his scenes. Sue me, I'm only human.
The ending is maybe a bit too perfect for my tastes, and again I have a little trouble with Yeine's messiah status, but I'll forgive it because the writing is so driven and solid.
Loved the book. Will definitely finish out the trilogy. Highly recommended to fans of Ellen Kushnr and anyone who likes well-written fantasy with a modern (and sexy) edge.
On the surface, I really shouldn't like this book. It is a Chosen One story, and really I'm bored to tears of those. It also involves a romance between a millenia old god and a 20 year old woman. I mean... am I allowed to like that given how much I've made fun of vampires? I'm not sure that I am.
I can't deny it though. I devoured this book and am eager for more. Jemisin takes tropes like those stated above and plays them with a unique edge and serious craft that make this Story with a capital S. For starters, Yeine is certainly a Chosen One (and that's clear from her first encounter with Nahadoth), but she is very different from the typical archetype being a dark-skinned barbarian woman trained to think of men as fragile creatures in need of protection (If you've read Digger, Yeine is a Hyena and I love that). Yeine walks through the tropes (I have come to avenge my mother's death!) and grows out of them (Actually... maybe I have no idea who my mother is and should take a bit of stock in the situation before I start pointing fingers). Yeine is a woman struggling for control of her situation and making the choices allowed to her, learning that there are more choices than at first appear. Her dialogue with
Spoiler
her Enefa soulI also enjoyed the theology behind this story. Maybe it's due to having just finished The Curse of Chalion, but I really enjoy when the magic of a fantasy story is directly linked to a god. The gods here are a far more overt presence than in Chalion, but they are interesting adaptations of familiar concepts. The love triangle between Itempas, Nahadoth, and Enefa pulls from so many mythologies to become a thing all its own.
Nahadoth is a problem for me. Basically he's an impossibly gorgeous, tragically-flawed fixer-upper with a heart of gold. These people do not actually exist. That said, I kinda wouldn't have him any other way. The romantic scenes in the book are well-done, sexy, and not so numerous as to push the book into the Paranormal Romance genre. Nahadoth is an awesome, divine, and extremely fictional love-interest. That's how I'm going to justify loving his scenes. Sue me, I'm only human.
The ending is maybe a bit too perfect for my tastes, and again I have a little trouble with Yeine's messiah status, but I'll forgive it because the writing is so driven and solid.
Loved the book. Will definitely finish out the trilogy. Highly recommended to fans of Ellen Kushnr and anyone who likes well-written fantasy with a modern (and sexy) edge.
monaube's review
3.0
The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but I was put off almost the entire time by the writing style (annoyingly disjointed at some points and verging into cringeworthy at others) and most of the characters, including the narrator. I don’t plan on continuing the rest of the trilogy, though I might begin one of the author’s other series, which won several Hugo awards.
lolajoan's review
5.0
Wonderful! Definitely more "high fantasy" that later stuff from Jemisin, and not quite as mind-blowing, but absolutely totally great. Starting the 2nd one right away.
lady_valhella's review
3.0
This was an interesting read. The story is good but I did struggle through some of the more abstract concepts. At times the story felt disjointed because I couldn’t quite pick up what the author was laying down. I think if you have the ability to comprehend things that are a little more abstract you will enjoy this tale.
bleedingrose's review
4.0
I raced through this entire book, from about chapter 2 it kept me so intrigued. I loved the flavourful characters and the vast world that was created. It reminded me somewhat of an anime series I love, the seven deadly sins. Perhaps it was the characterization and reverence/hatred of the gods. I just really enjoyed this book through and through, and though the ending was a bit crazy, I'm
Intrigued to know what will happen next!
Intrigued to know what will happen next!
jessgock's review
4.0
I bought the complete [b:Inheritance Trilogy|21481566|The Inheritance Trilogy (Inheritance, #1-3.5)|N.K. Jemisin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395099350s/21481566.jpg|40807844] ages ago and only got around to starting the first book in the series while on a plane a few days ago. I wish I hadn't waited so long, because I really loved The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and can't wait to keep working the rest of my way through the series.
The world of the Inheritance Trilogy was once created and ruled by three gods - the god of the moon, the god of the sun, and the goddess of dawn and twilight. At some point long in the past, the gods had a war in which the goddess was killed and the god of the moon was enslaved. In the present day of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the world worships Itempas, who is the god of sun and of order, while Nahadoth, the god of the moon and of chaos, is enslaved to the family who rules all the human nations. The heroine, Yeine, is the daughter of the heir to the ruling family, but her mother had married someone from another nation and renounced her claim as heir. Yeine suddenly finds herself summoned to Sky, the home of the ruling family, where she learns that she has been declared one of three possible heirs for the family - though as she learns more she finds that her role there is really to die as part of the ceremony that enables her grandfather to pass his powers on to whichever of the heirs is truly chosen to replace him.
My only complaint about this book is that Yeine didn't really feel believable - she learns too much too easily, everyone seems to fall in love with her, and she turns out to be basically The Chosen One. I loved the world and the situations Yeine ended up in enough that I could forgive this, but it did make the difference between this being a four- or five-star story for me. That said, though, I will definitely be continuing on to read the rest of this series!
The world of the Inheritance Trilogy was once created and ruled by three gods - the god of the moon, the god of the sun, and the goddess of dawn and twilight. At some point long in the past, the gods had a war in which the goddess was killed and the god of the moon was enslaved. In the present day of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the world worships Itempas, who is the god of sun and of order, while Nahadoth, the god of the moon and of chaos, is enslaved to the family who rules all the human nations. The heroine, Yeine, is the daughter of the heir to the ruling family, but her mother had married someone from another nation and renounced her claim as heir. Yeine suddenly finds herself summoned to Sky, the home of the ruling family, where she learns that she has been declared one of three possible heirs for the family - though as she learns more she finds that her role there is really to die as part of the ceremony that enables her grandfather to pass his powers on to whichever of the heirs is truly chosen to replace him.
My only complaint about this book is that Yeine didn't really feel believable - she learns too much too easily, everyone seems to fall in love with her, and she turns out to be basically The Chosen One. I loved the world and the situations Yeine ended up in enough that I could forgive this, but it did make the difference between this being a four- or five-star story for me. That said, though, I will definitely be continuing on to read the rest of this series!
jessgock's review against another edition
4.0
I bought the complete [b:Inheritance Trilogy|21481566|The Inheritance Trilogy (Inheritance, #1-3.5)|N.K. Jemisin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1395099350s/21481566.jpg|40807844] ages ago and only got around to starting the first book in the series while on a plane a few days ago. I wish I hadn't waited so long, because I really loved The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and can't wait to keep working the rest of my way through the series.
The world of the Inheritance Trilogy was once created and ruled by three gods - the god of the moon, the god of the sun, and the goddess of dawn and twilight. At some point long in the past, the gods had a war in which the goddess was killed and the god of the moon was enslaved. In the present day of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the world worships Itempas, who is the god of sun and of order, while Nahadoth, the god of the moon and of chaos, is enslaved to the family who rules all the human nations. The heroine, Yeine, is the daughter of the heir to the ruling family, but her mother had married someone from another nation and renounced her claim as heir. Yeine suddenly finds herself summoned to Sky, the home of the ruling family, where she learns that she has been declared one of three possible heirs for the family - though as she learns more she finds that her role there is really to die as part of the ceremony that enables her grandfather to pass his powers on to whichever of the heirs is truly chosen to replace him.
My only complaint about this book is that Yeine didn't really feel believable - she learns too much too easily, everyone seems to fall in love with her, and she turns out to be basically The Chosen One. I loved the world and the situations Yeine ended up in enough that I could forgive this, but it did make the difference between this being a four- or five-star story for me. That said, though, I will definitely be continuing on to read the rest of this series!
The world of the Inheritance Trilogy was once created and ruled by three gods - the god of the moon, the god of the sun, and the goddess of dawn and twilight. At some point long in the past, the gods had a war in which the goddess was killed and the god of the moon was enslaved. In the present day of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the world worships Itempas, who is the god of sun and of order, while Nahadoth, the god of the moon and of chaos, is enslaved to the family who rules all the human nations. The heroine, Yeine, is the daughter of the heir to the ruling family, but her mother had married someone from another nation and renounced her claim as heir. Yeine suddenly finds herself summoned to Sky, the home of the ruling family, where she learns that she has been declared one of three possible heirs for the family - though as she learns more she finds that her role there is really to die as part of the ceremony that enables her grandfather to pass his powers on to whichever of the heirs is truly chosen to replace him.
My only complaint about this book is that Yeine didn't really feel believable - she learns too much too easily, everyone seems to fall in love with her, and she turns out to be basically The Chosen One. I loved the world and the situations Yeine ended up in enough that I could forgive this, but it did make the difference between this being a four- or five-star story for me. That said, though, I will definitely be continuing on to read the rest of this series!