Jemisin's talent continues to impress. Epic in scope--the retaking of a city--and intimate in focus--faith and self doubt--The Shadowed Sun was a satisfying read. The second in the Dreamblood series, it starts some ten years after The Killing Moon and while three or four characters return, I would think it would work as a standalone book.

A quick sum-up isn't easy. It is at heart three stories: love between an unlikely pair, an internal values conflict, and a tale about retaking a city built on p More...

Liked this one better than The Killing Moon - I'd give it much closer to four stars if that were possible. Many of the characters from the first book reappear, ten years later. There's good continuity, and for whatever reason the mythology is a lot more palatable in this book. I'm not sure if that's because I already have context for it, or because it's woven into the story more naturally. I'm leaning towards the latter explanation.

I love the names that Jemisin comes up with. I don't know what c More...

Last month, N.K. Jemisin treated the world to The Killing Moon, a brilliant new fantasy novel set in a strikingly original world and populated by some of the most fascinating characters I’ve met in years. Now, barely a handful of weeks later, here’s the second and (for now) final novel in the Dreamblood series: The Shadowed Sun.

If you haven’t read The Killing Moon yet, you should probably stop reading this now and instead go take a look at my review of that first novel (or better still, just rea More...

Ten years after the first book in this series, you get to see some of the old characters, as well as some new ones.

After the events in the first book, Gujaareh and Hananja suffer under the oppressive rule of Kisuati, and there is a new plague in the city - nightmares that are taking the rich and the poor, the noble and the servants, children, men and women - without discrimination.

N.K. Jemisin also introduces the Banbarra - a matriarchal, barbaric, nomadic tribe where Wanahomen took refuge with More...

This was not an easy book to read, but not because it isn't terrific. Jemisin's characters are so believable and compelling that you can't help but feel right along with them, and some of what they feel is rough. Really rough.

This book is set a decade after the previous one; a fascinating choice. The social order in Gujaareh has been disrupted, and most of those in charge of the occupation have no real idea of the power they are trying to control and suppress. There are threats in this book as h More...

The second in the Dreamblood series was easier for me to grasp, since I felt like I better understood the details of the magic and worldbuilding. We also get to see a new culture, the Banbarra, composed of tribes of desert nomads. The comfort of returning to the already established world allowed me to bump up the rating a little higher. I also really love the protagonist, Hanani. A lot is made of "strong female" characters in fantasy, but usually they're strong by virtue of their fighting prowes More...

In THE SHADOWED SUN, Nijiri (from the first book) remains a minor character, and so does Sunandi. I was glad to see them both because I like continuity. But in this book, the main pov protagonists are the prince’s heir, Wanahomen, and the first woman healer-priest, Hanani. I had no trouble at all getting drawn into the second book, partly because I had already been drawn into the world in the first one, but partly because I loved Hanani a whole lot.

People are always talking about “strong female More...

warning: rapefest, fantasy gender politics

In some ways, this book is an improvement over the first. It addresses some of the issues I had with it (dreams and the dreamworld were underused for instance) but the awesome setting was already established and sequels can't quite match the sheer wonder of the introduction to the series.
The Shadowed Sun doesn't feel derivative. It naturally retreads some of the same ground but for the most part has its own themes. It's not thoroughly dark but it's at ti More...

This book is nearly perfect.

The Killing Moon, the first novel of the duology that The Shadowed Sun completes, is a gorgeous and unusual fantasy, one of my favorite books of the past year. The Shadowed Sun is even better.

A political plot involving an exiled prince raised away from the peaceful culture of his birth weaves together with a supernatural terror called the Wild Dreamer. Both stories are populated with realistic, interesting characters whose choices are never clear and never without co More...

This is the second book of the Dreamblood, the first being the Killing Sun (which I raved about earlier). It is hard for me to rate The Shadowed Sun, though, because while I thought it was excellent in many ways, and enjoyed much of it, there were also many disturbing bits.

Technically, I think it is a standalone novel, but it works best if read after The Killing Sun, as it continues the story, dealing with the political and social consequences of the first book, and bringing back many of the sa More...

I've always been a fan of Jemisin's work. I feel like she is a fresh perspective on the SF/F community. Her novels are layers, and the surface layer is interesting enough to keep any reader satisfied,but if you can get to the layers below (not everyone does, and there are many) they become so much more relevant and thought provoking.

This second in the series does not disappoint. The Shadowed Sun happens ten years after the conclusion of the first book, so it is able to be read as a standalone. More...

C2012. FWFTB: Gujaareh, oppression, plague, outcasts, birthright. I was a bit “meh” after the first book in the Dreamblood series but sufficiently intrigued to make sure that I got my hands on the second one. I absolutely L.O.V.E.D. this book. The characters, the plot, the landscapes, the world – unconditionally and awe inspiringly wonderful. This author just has “ it”. The beautiful lyrical prose, the development of the characters –and, damn it, I cared about what was going to happen next. The More...

Fantasy Review Barn

The author has done something pretty cool here. The second book of the Dreamblood duology is set in the same world as “The Killing Moon.” It features some of the same characters. It requires all the set up that amazing first book provided to work. But it reads like something completely different, going in its own unique direction. “The Killing Moon” was focused on what makes right and wrong, the price of peace, and saving the city; “The Shadowed Sun” is more focused on roles o More...

This is the second book in the Dreamblood series, and those of you who've read a few of my reviews might be aware that I am often disappointed by the second book (or movie) in the trilogy. I am generally disappointed because the second installment is dull in comparison because it doesn't have the novelty of the first one because the world-building has already been done. The plot of the second installment is also often disappointing because it generally only serves to set up events for the specta More...

[9/10]
None of my reservations about this second Dreamblood installment. I was caught in the story right from the first chapter. The setting is already established: the cities of Gujaareah and Kisua, the cult of the moon goddess Hananja, the magic system based on dream gathering. Some of the actors are also returning, but in a move that proved successful in her Inheritance books, the second story is focused on a different trio of characters, and the plot is picked up ten years later, building on More...

Original review posted on The Book Smugglers

Warning: this review contains inevitable spoilers for book 1, The Killing Moon. Avoid if you haven’t read that book and don’t wish to be spoiled! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Trigger Warning: Rape

Ana’s Take:

To me, one of the greatest pleasures in life is to read a great book and then proceed to write a gushy review of said book. This is going to be one of those. Interestingly, the last time I wrote one of those no-holds-barred, OMG- I –LOVED- THIS- BOOK review More...

N.K. Jemisin takes us back to her Egyptian flavored world of "the Dreamblood." But that does not stop her from engaging in yet more of her greatest strength, world-building. (Here we flesh out the culture of the nomadic "barbarians" who live to the west of Gujaareh, and the powers/philosophy of those who follow the Sharer path.)

A true sequel, in the sense that if one hasn't read The Killing Moon, there will be things that won't resonate as strongly as if you had. (Manu's distrust/hatred of the H More...

"It was amazing."

Okay, that does it. NK Jemisin is my favourite author.

I really enjoyed The Killing Moon, the first book in this duology, but my god, I loved The Shadowed Sun. Everything about this book is perfect. I adored all of the characters, I found this portrayal of Gujaareh much more nuanced than the one in The Killing Moon, and the plot was intricate and fast moving and thematically dense and made up of SO many moving parts. This is definitely the best paced and laid out of all Jemisin's More...

Sequel to the book of scary dream ninjas. The city of Gujaareh is occupied by a foreign Protectorate, as a result of the aforementioned political disaster, and it's ten years later. Time for revolution! Or for *something*, in a multi-way clash between the city aristocracy, the occupying military, the priest-dream-mages, the desert nomads who are allied to some or all of the above in turn, and -- somewhere in the middle -- the Gujaareen people. Oh yes, there's a terrifyingly toxic nightmare plagu More...

An absolutely amazing duology, set in an African/Egyptian-style otherworld setting!

My Review for Book 1 - "The Killing Moon" -

After reading so many fantasies in which the worlds created are based on medieval Europe and post-apocalyptic America, I really enjoyed exploring a world influenced by Ancient Egyptian and Nubian civilizations and folklore!

This is Book One of the Dreamblood duology and N.K. Jemisen does a beautiful job creating political intrigue in a world where the Dreaming Moon is head More...

This is the quite enjoyable follow-up to "The Killing Moon". It does everything that I want in a sequel: touches on some familiar characters, adds new ones, builds and explores the world by viewing it through the perspective of someone who holds a different spot in society than the main characters of the original. Oh - and spins a good story along the way.

Jemsin's writing continues to be tight and cohesive while painting a clear picture of her world and the people in it. I was a little disappoin More...

I got what I was expecting (and hoping for) - an exploration of the implications of the worldbuilding set up in the first book, including gender relations, celibacy, governmental priorities, and the problem with prioritizing faith over reason. All examined in the course of an engaging story that looks at the consequences of the events of the last book on both a personal and a nation-wide level.

I also particularly enjoyed the contrast between the "civilized" people and the "barbarians" - in quote More...

My Thanksgiving holiday went by in a blur as I spent most of it in The Dreamblood duology. What a pleasure! Highly recommended!




***spoiler for Book One and Book Two***


***seriously, this is a spoiler - you have been warned :) ***


I had no idea I was so sentimental but after watching Nijiri not get to act on his love (even if I was a little uncomfortable with the age/experience difference b/n him and his love) I was so, so happy to see a requited love in book two. And all this while super exciting p More...

The Shadowed Sun, the second book in multi-award nominated fantasy author N.K. Jemisin, is the second book in the Dreamblood series. It takes place ten years after the events in the first book, The Killing Moon, and features several familiar faces from that book. The series takes place in the city of Gujaareh, the city of Dreamers, whose peace is maintained by the Hetawa, a priesthood of healers and assassins whose magic comes from the tithing of dreams. Called narcomancy, it has the power to he More...

The Shadowed Sun picks up ten years after The Killing Moon and depicts a Gujaareh that is a very different place after the events of that book. The story primarily focuses on Wanahomen, eldest son and heir of the former Prince, and his attempts to unite the tribes that live outside of Gujareeh. For most of the story he is joined by Hanani, the first female Sharer. Meanwhile, Nijiri and Sunandi (the two remaining characters from The Killing Moon) deal with a mysterious plague in the city. Crossin More...

Ok this is the second series of Miss Jemisin's I've read, and I have to say that she really creates genuinely interesting, well crafted characters and stories. So much so that I'd say she's probably one of the most refreshing writers I've picked up in ages. I LOVE the fact that she steers clear of the "British Isles, Little Boy Gets a Sword and Goes on a Journey to Become a Man" fantasy cliche and instead goes for truly original characters.

While I felt like her first series was the stronger of t More...

Very different from the first book, but still excellent.

It was kind of funny that I started reading this duology just after reading an interesting conversation online about the unfortunate fact that most English-language fantasy is virtually always filtered through a certain set of cultural ideas--and just after I was reflecting to myself that a certain highly-regarded, fairly imaginative fantasy author still fell into some pretty tiresome tropes, right down to skin color. These books aren't lik More...

I've enjoyed all of N.K. Jemisin's books that I've read so far. Began with the Inheritance trilogy and have been hooked ever since.

The Shadowed Sun is the second book in the Dreamblood series, which is set in an Ancient Egypt-like world. While both books are set in the same world, with some characters in the first book reappearing in the second one, the stories are completely different and follow the lives of a different set of characters. I enjoyed the strong female characters, the system of ma More...

(Content warning: book contains both implied and explicit scenes of rape, attempted rape, and incest.)

I wanted to like The Shadowed Sun much more than I did. The world-setting continues to be complex and three-dimensional, and Jemisin's prose is mostly strong and fluid. I'm not sure if my lagging sense of engagement with the book as it progressed was primarily due to the scenes noted above—while I appreciate that Jemisin was making a point about how rape is weaponised during war, for a variety o More...

A sequel of sorts to The Killjng Moon, this is set 10 years after the events of that book. Although some of the protagonists of the first book also feature in this one, they are not the main focus of the story. Instead we are introduced to the son of the king, eager to regain his throne and bitter about the part that the Hetawa played in his father's death, a young Sharer, struggling to deal with being a female in a previously all male order and a beautiful young woman with some terrible secrets More...