The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
3 out of 5 stars
Read in January 2011
I flew through this book, faster than I thought I would. Perhaps it was the font size and white spacing; perhaps it was the compelling story. Told in the first person by a backwoods ‘barbaric’ young woman called to the very center of the world, unbelievably as the heir, who just happens to be her grandfather. Completely out of her element, but not without heart, courage and brains, Yeine proves equal to the challenges of brutal court politics.
I can’t say I enjoyed this story, but I can appreciate the ingenuity of the writing. I did not need the reminder that humans, weak, broken, fallen humans, can stoop to such depths of depravity and but one young woman opens her eyes and sees the truth and has the courage to do what should have been done centuries ago.
I may change my rating from three to four stars, because as a debut novel it excelled. I will continue to ponder it’s impact on my reading soul and update this review after a few days.
I read this for the Beyond Reality book group at GoodReads in February 2011. This month (February 2014) the Fantasy Book Club Series group began reading the Inheritance Trilogy (the entire series).