Read All About It: The Broken Kingdoms

This one broke my heart a little bit. The Broken Kingdoms, the sequel to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, takes N. K. Jemisin's visionary fantasy universe and catapults it to the highest echelons of fantasy literature. This is one of the best sequels I have ever read, and does not disappoint ardent fans of the first novel. It expands the universe and nudges new characters to life.

Also, these covers are works of art. Jemisin's series is aesthetically pleasing, emotionally provoking, and overall brilliant. The face in the background is always wonderfully creepy.

Oree Shoth lives in Shadow, the town sprawled around the roots of the World Tree. She's a blind artist, scraping out her living among Artist Row, and making her way around by the little that she can see--the magic that runs through the city, godlings and enchantments, life. On impulse, she takes in a strange homeless man she finds in a garbage dump, and is drawn into a conspiracy that threatens the safety of the godlings--and their parents.

Jemisin brings her world back to life again, bringing us to the base of the tree instead of the city atop it. With this one, we get a lot more world building, rather than focusing on one person's fight. We get a close look at Shadow, the city that resides at the base of the tree, split into sections by the roots. We learn about the cultures of this city, its people, and its pilgrims. Jemisin is so creative, bringing all of these aspects to the forefront of the novel in order to give her characters space to grow.

Jemisin's characters are especially impressive. This sequel allows for greater character growth, showing their motivations, fears, desires, and loves. In this exotic world, gods and godlings are mighty and powerful, but there are always forces at work underneath them, and Jemisin's world is reflective of the power struggle between religion and society as a whole. She tackles the ambition of man versus the ambition of gods, and shows that few can draw a positive result from the conflict. The magic is varied and creative, almost newly-discovered even in a very established world.

Jemisin showcases the growth of her writing skills by pulling us along for a ride. There are high points, where triumph reigns, and low points, where death seems like a personal friend of Oree and her companion. With this roller coaster of hits, there is rarely a moment of rest where Oree is spared from this--but this pulls her onto a level above the rest of the cast, and we see how Jemisin's own growth has influenced the growth of her characters.

Overall, this novel was great. I cried at the end (no shame). I was caught off guard by Jemisin's closing pages, and the closure that she provides within. There's a few moments where she could have ended the story, but she chooses to pull us to an end that leaves you gasping for more. Watch out: this finale is going to be brilliant. Until we see The Kingdom of Gods in a few days, watch out for godlings--not all of them are kind.