The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1) in Multiculturalism in YA,Fantasy, Sci FI,Paranormal and fun books ;p

Mar 17, 2010 Julia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: characters-of-color

I devoured this book basically in one sitting. I used to read tons of fantasy novels, but I eventually became bored with the vaguely medieval Europe monoculture, and how the trilogies started to blur into one big Extruded Fantasy Product (thanks Kate!). "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms" reminded me of why I started reading fantasy in the first place. I became completely engrossed in the world Jemisin created. She does excellent subtle world building, without huge infodumps. Even though I normally ...more

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Oct 06, 2010 The FountainPenDiva, Old school geek chick and lover of teddy bears rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: characters-black-heroines, best-damn-book-ever, genre-fantasy, sub-genre-dark-fantasy, characters-gods-and-goddesses

Amazing book! Jemisin is the heir to the late Octavia Butler's throne. ...more

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Oct 08, 2018 Benjamin Fasching-Gray rated it liked it

Shelves: f-sf

This was slow going for me at first, and I don't agree with a lot of the hype... promotional quotes galore in my copy promising "lush" "world-building" ... what I did like though is the murder mystery aspect (although even that was just about interviewing witnesses and suspects... not much evidence) and the weird stuff about slavery. The kind of dominant-submissive romance is not my thing at all, and I got skeeved out by some choking stuff that was a part of that. But I really liked the end, the ...more

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May 30, 2012 Sasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: high-fantasy, poc, can-i-give-this-book-100-stars-plz

Every so often, I’m fortunate to stumble across a diamond in the rough, a book that completely takes me by surprise and leaves me breathless with its captivating imagery. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is different than anything else I’ve ever read, and probably anything I ever will read, and in its uniqueness I found an instant classic that showed me that just when I felt like I had read all the fantasy genre had to offer, I was wrong.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is about a young woman, named Y Every so often, I’m fortunate to stumble across a diamond in the rough, a book that completely takes me by surprise and leaves me breathless with its captivating imagery. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is different than anything else I’ve ever read, and probably anything I ever will read, and in its uniqueness I found an instant classic that showed me that just when I felt like I had read all the fantasy genre had to offer, I was wrong.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is about a young woman, named Yeine, who is summoned to the capital city of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by her grandfather, who sits the throne. Yeine is a half Darr; they are a tribal people considered “savage darklings” by the Arameri royals of Sky. Yeine is named one of three possible successors to the throne, a proclamation that effectively paints a giant target on her back as she is thrust into the world of politics, intrigue… and gods. You see, in this wonderful and vivid world that N.K. Jemisin has created, gods are bound as slaves, controlled by the will of the Arameri elite. With Yeine’s arrival, the very foundation of Sky… and the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms… is shaken.

The narrative style of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is poetic and lilting, lending a dreamlike quality to Yeine’s perspective. I actually found the style of storytelling one of the stronger parts of the book—while parts of it are disjointed, and often broken up by tangential anecdotes that are seemingly unrelated to the story, the narrative flowed like those told in the oral tradition. Indeed, Yeine seems much like an African griot or one of the countless who recounted the Hellenic epic poems of Virgil and Homer.

The setting, Sky, was intriguing, and of course the premise had me fully invested in the story. Gods as slaves… all that power at the disposal of selfish royals… you can see where the problems arose in the story. Another thing I appreciated was the fantastic inclusion of what seemed like many different races of people. To those fantasy authors who insist on writing stale medieval fantasy where white, heterosexual men go out and save the world (that they most likely broke in the first place, just sayin’), I say… Ms. N.K. Jemisin does fantasy better than you with her eyes closed, and does it with character diversity intact. It can be done! See?

While I didn’t necessarily identify with Yeine, per se, I still sympathized with her struggles in trying to stay alive in the deadly game of cat-and-mouse of the Sky royal court. Yeine was strong, witty, and had a clever head upon her shoulders, qualities all good heroines should possess. I found myself drawn to other characters as well, particularly Nahadoth, the mysterious and captive god of darkness (and one of the three original gods who created the universe). The love story was a kind of complex [spoiler] and [spoiler] hybrid, but I liked it nonetheless, despite the fact that I felt like Nahadoth did not love Yeine for her, but instead because of the power she had inside of her.

I was completely enthralled by the magic of this book. It had all the key elements of a fantastic tale: a compelling plot, likeable characters, and a subtle romance aspect. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is truly a unique and daring entry in the world of high fantasy, and I couldn’t recommend it enough.
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Dec 02, 2010 Kathy (Kindle-aholic) rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-favorites, fantasy

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the best books I read in 2010, and is one of my favorite fantasy books of all time. The complex world-building got my attention right away, and the wonderfully-drawn characters kept me rooted in the story. I was invested in Yeine, the main character, early on and came to love many of the supporting characters as well. There is a lot going on in this world, so there is ample room for more books. It will be interesting to see where the series goes ...more

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Jan 04, 2016 Diana Pinguicha rated it it was amazing

Holy mother of all that's sacred, if this book isn't perfection. I couldn't stop reading the moment I picked it up (which, sadly, led to my staying awake until 5 a.m to finish it). Gods act like gods, people are mostly shit, and oh, everything is traps and intrigue.

IT'S THAT GOOD.

Also (view spoiler) ...more

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May 03, 2014 Sunny rated it really liked it

Thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy. It got me thinking about slavery, the master narrative, strategies used by oppressors to control people and nations, and a lot more. There were parts of the writing that confused me but not enough to throw me out of the enjoyment the rest of the novel gave me. Try this if you are into political intrigue, murder and betrayal, epic family dramas, gods and mortals consorting, and solid world building.

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Sep 23, 2013 Catherine rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, locus-award-winners, non-white-non-anglo-authors, bechdel-pass, high-fantasy, magic

N.K. Jemisin's writing is challenging but richly rewarding. This book was a perfect mix of high fantasy, romance, and mystery, without any of the tired old tropes from any of those genres. Reminds me of China Miéville in that it's a thoroughly original high fantasy. I would enthusiastically recommend this to any fantasy readers. I can't wait to dive into the sequel. ...more

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