I think I may have read too much fantasy. I'm looking forward to the next two books, though after that ending (NO SPOILERS, BUT WOW) I have no idea where she will go with the story! I loved the mythology Jemisin created, and how she turned the bright shiny castle with the glorious white king and the heavenly patron god into just about the most horrible place you can image. I can't resist a good book with gods knocking around, causing chaos among mortals. But Yeine gains some powerful if unstable allies: the Enefadah, gods who were enslaved by the ruling family after those deities lost a war against the Lord of Light, the patron god of Sky. Soon she is locked in a cold war with her two cousins, both of whom have much more power and understanding of politics.

The first book of a trilogy, it introduces us to Yeine Darr, an outcast from the ruling family of Sky and the product of an unsanctioned biracial marriage, who is summoned home to the palace and suddenly made one of three heirs to the throne for reasons unclear. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a wonderful read. I like books that force me to rethink paradigms, so I decided to check out her work. Jemisin, as an African American female writer, says this simply doesn't resonate with her or interest her, and why should it? Instead, she writes science fiction which challenges those in power, threatens the ordered society, and questions whether the good old days ever existed. She's right that so many fantasy books are about restoring order to a kingdom, returning a rightful heir to the throne, or getting back to the good old days by defeating some dark power that threatens to unbalance society. I really liked what she said about coming to fantasy with no interest in maintaining the status quo. I picked up this book after reading a thought-provoking article about the author in The Guardian.

The inheritance nk jemisin