The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1) in Fantasy-Faction.com

Jan 29, 2014 Monica rated it really liked it

This book is not quite what I expected. It is wonderfully well-imagined, and the world the author creates is incredibly diverse. The book does have that element of romance, but it by no means overwhelms the novel. The plot is fascinating and it's a pretty fun read! ...more

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Dec 22, 2015 Tom Owens rated it really liked it

I can’t remember why I bought this book, it hadn’t been on my “to read” pile and it wasn’t one that was making a lot of noise in the bookshops or online. It has been around for about six years now and been nominated for Hugo and Neblua awards – though I didn’t know this at the time. I think it might have been a slow lunch browsing through well-known online books shops but, whatever caused me to buy this book, I’m glad I did.

The world of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms will resonate with fantasy fa I can’t remember why I bought this book, it hadn’t been on my “to read” pile and it wasn’t one that was making a lot of noise in the bookshops or online. It has been around for about six years now and been nominated for Hugo and Neblua awards – though I didn’t know this at the time. I think it might have been a slow lunch browsing through well-known online books shops but, whatever caused me to buy this book, I’m glad I did.

The world of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms will resonate with fantasy fans. Sky (the main city and capital) is ruled by the Dekarta Amaeri, the most powerful and ruthless man in the Kingdoms. The Amaeri occupy the entire city, servants and all. Everyone is related to the head in some way, though many would prefer to be elsewhere than carrying out their menial and, often degrading, tasks. There are various human races competing for power and land. There is a single religion to which adherence is essentially compulsory for your existence to continue, you get the drift.

This probably sounds quite typical, and there are many elements of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms which will feel very familiar indeed to those fans of the fantasy genre. The world feels grand and well realised, though the bulk of the action takes place in Sky and the outlying regions are often just mentioned.

The nice little twist that N.K. throws into the mix concerns the non-human participants – the Gods and Godlings. With a few notable exceptions, the Gods and Godlings are essentially trapped in corporeal form and forced to serve the Amaeri. They are used as “weapons” when the Amaeri need them, though care has to be taken to ensure that commands cannot be misconstrued – it would be hard to describe the Gods as “willing”

Into this maelstrom is thrown Yeine, estranged granddaughter of Dekarta. Yeine’s grandfather is preparing for his death and has now appointed three heirs, seemingly for the sole purpose of watching them try to kill each other in the attempt to succeed him. Yeine definitely doesn’t want to be there, but returning to her homeland isn’t an option – she can either stay alive, or succumb meekly to her fate.

Yeine herself is an interesting character, and she undergoes a significant change in the short space of time we are with her. The other main human characters I found a bit underwhelming and slighted clichéd. Her cousins (and rivals for the throne) don’t particularly break new ground for me. Scimina is calculating, ruthless and determined to eliminate all opposition to her claim. Her brother Relad is more cowardly (and a drunk) who realises he cannot win the battle with his sister. Pretty standard.

It is the Gods and Godlings that I found a bit more interesting particularly the tortured Nahadoth and the childlike and irrepressible Sieh. There is a depth to these characters which is missing from the humans in the tale, whether this is deliberate or not I don’t know.

I did find this an interesting read though, and I cracked through it pretty quickly. The idea of caged Gods is not new but the way N.K. writes doesn’t allow you to settle. It always feels that a major catastrophe is just around the corner and there is a palpable sense of rushing towards an inevitable cataclysm throughout. Yeine is undeniably thrown in at the deep end and we don’t have time to slowly get to grips with the way things work.

This pacing helps to draw along a narrative in which a great deal doesn’t actually happen. Everything that does happen, happens quickly though. I can’t remember the exact timescale but I don’t think more than a couple of weeks is covered by the whole book. The plot doesn’t have a great chance to evolve in the timescale available, though N.K. does manage to keep the tension ratcheted up for the duration. I found the ending a little contrived and convenient, not enough to detract from the tale but a bit disappointing considering what had gone before.

Overall this was enjoyable enough, and I’m probably going to read the others in the series. Some of the characters felt a bit one dimensional and the denouement a tiny bit contrived. It didn’t jump off the page, nor grab my attention throughout – but it was still a pretty decent read and you could do far worse than give it a whirl.

Verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5 ...more

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