The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Title: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Author: N. K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit (2012)

Genre(s): Young Adult Fiction, Fiction, Fantasy

Length: 427 pages

Synopsis:  Yeine never thought she would see the palace of Sky, where her mother, heir to the throne, was raised.  Her mother abandoned her birthright before Yeine was born; disowned by her family for her choice of husband, Yeine's mother raised her in Darr, a "barbarian" land far north of Sky.  Groomed to rule the small nation, Yeine knows her place and what's expected of her...until her mother is murdered and Yeine finds herself summoned back to Sky by a grandfather she has never met, an invitation with consequences beyond her wildest imaginings.

My Rating: 5 Stars

My Opinion:  As I read the opening lines of this book, my initial reaction was "Oh, no!"  Given the cover taglines ("Gods and mortals.  Power and love.  Death and revenge.  She will inherit them all.") and the melodramatic first few sentences, I thought I was in for a sappy, weepy, weak and woeful heroine, not to mention a cloying writing style.  I have never been so delightfully incorrect, and on both counts!  Nemisin's created a fantasy world quite unlike anything I've read before.  It's a high fantasy epic in terms of scope, but written in extremely personal and relatable prose.  In a land where centuries of privilege have given humans the power of gods, and where gods walk among them chained into mortal bodies, anything is possible.  Yeine is largely a believable and compelling narrator, though her own personality remains somewhat distant.  Fear drives her, and love, and desire, but, as she admits to herself, her goals and aspirations remain nebulous at best.  If the novel were tightly focused onYeine, I don't believe it would be nearly as successful as a story, but she's only one member of a cast of intriguing characters: quietly competent allies, murderous relatives, gods and monsters both human and divine (and sometimes both at once!).  These are the players in a game set in motion at the beginning of time by unfathomable powers, a game in which Yeine is only a pawn.  But, just as in chess, every pawn has the chance to become a queen, and as Yeine comes into her own, I would be interested in seeing her further growth as a charcter.  Thankfully, there's already a sequel, (The Broken Kingdoms, 2011).  I'll look forward to reading it.