I spent the better part of 2024 reading this series. I went into it hoping it would be the next George R.R.Martin series (I binge-read his books back to back), and they were some of my favorite books in the past few years. Sadly, he’s not writing much these days, and I looked to other fantasy writers to fill that gap, but nothing worked. Would N.K. Jemisin work for me? Her books have had huge praise, and given that she’s supposed to be quite different from others, I hoped to find a new favorite in her.
I decided to binge-read her Inheritance series to start with.
About the Inheritance trilogy
The Inheritance Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin is a fantasy series that explores power, oppression, and identity themes within a richly built world. It consists of three main books: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Broken Kingdoms, and The Kingdom of Gods.
- The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms: The story follows Yeine Darr, a young woman thrust into a deadly power struggle when her mother, a former ruler, dies under mysterious circumstances. Yeine is taken to the capital, Sky, where she discovers her family’s dark legacy and the complex relationships between gods and mortals. As she navigates political intrigue and the brutal world of the Arameri, she must confront her identity and challenge the oppressive system that governs her life.
- The Broken Kingdoms: This installment shifts perspective to Oree Shoth, a blind artist embroiled in the aftermath of Yeine’s actions. Oree discovers her connection to the gods and the hidden truths of her world. As she uncovers a plot that threatens her city and the balance of power among gods and mortals, she must grapple with her abilities and the implications of her choices.
- The Kingdom of Gods: The final book focuses on Sieh, the god of childhood, who faces the consequences of his actions and the fragility of existence. As he deals with the repercussions of a world in turmoil and the relationships he’s forged, Sieh must confront the themes of love, loss, and what it means to be both a god and a mortal.
- The Awakened Kingdom is a novella set in the Inheritance Trilogy universe. It follows the character of Shill, a young god who has recently awakened to her powers. In this story, Shill grapples with her identity and the responsibilities that come with being a deity. As she navigates her new existence, she encounters the complexities of godhood, including her relationships with mortals and other gods.
My Review
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms has the feel of an epic (in the literary sense of the word) myth or fable, and is best enjoyed when approached with that perspective. It features larger-than-life characters, who in some ways fill the roles of archetypes. Reading this book, at first felt kind of odd. There was world-building but 90% of the story happened within the confines of the palace? And also, Jemisin’s writing style takes a little getting used to. I also didn’t like the strong romance tilt, which gave it a bit of a YA feel, which it is not.
I found the exploration of the relationships between the gods, between the gods and humans, and the social classes and the caste system of the Arameri to be really intriguing. It was all so similar but also different than some of our Indian myths.
The Broken Kingdoms has a different main character and different point of view. Oree is a blind girl, and I loved how Jemisin clearly did her work to understand how blind people interact with the world, because that’s very well realised in the book. This is my favorite of all the books I read in the series so far. There’s just something about the climax of this book that really stirred my imagination.
The Kingdom of Gods is more ambitious and a little weird and follows Sieh – one of the supporting characters in the first two books. This book was a bit slow and meandering. But by then, I was fully vested in this world, and so didn’t mind it too much. This is the hardest of the books to read and follow.
Things sped up again with The Awakened Kingdom – a fast-paced novella with one of my favorite characters Shill – a young god trying to find her place in the world.
Overall thoughts
In general, I thought this a strong series. The third book falls off a bit, but there’s interesting ideas throughout. I did find the change of protagonist in each book a little difficult. It didn’t feel like a continuing series, just different books set in that world, but without too much connection between them.
I do like that she has a very unique voice. Her portrayal of gods is the best portrayal of deities I have read. They actually come across as eternal and immense and infinite and changeable and mutable rather than just the standard superpowered humans default that I was expecting.
Is Jemisin my new favorite fantasy author? Sadly, no. I love the themes and the world-building, but I didn’t find her prose compelling. When I read George R.R. Martin, I remember annotating the sides of the pages, going back and rereading multiple times. Sadly Jemisin didn’t entrance me the same way. There is a certain clunkiness to her writing, which caused me to drop off this series after these first few books. I also don’t feel any compelling urge to pick up her other series unless I hear that she’s gotten better at giving her characters depth.
Have you read this series? What did you think of it?
