Sunday, March 27, 2011

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by N. K. Jemisin

The first book N. K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy is The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, nominated for a Nebula award this year--I read it as an EPUB from our public library.  One thing about it, it's a strikingly different read from what one normally comes across in fantasy.  The setting for this story is a place where the "gods" are more like a somewhat more powerful species--they created everything, but are very accessible, and indeed are omnipresent in ordinary and extraordinary ways.

The prose is interesting in style--informal first-person, but somehow very large, almost stentorian, at the same time.  It does almost feel as though a god is telling you, personally, a story of his/her trials, which I think is quite intentional.  In the end, it is very over-the-top, and keeps you very involved.  I never wandered or got sleepy, which is a recommendation. 

In the version I read there is a preview of the next book, and it seems to have a much more mundane setting.  This is a writer not afraid to take on challenges.  It's not a jaw-droppingly great book, but it is a very good one, and I recommend you read it.

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