That's a lot of kingdoms...
Are you looking for something new to read? (Or maybe just something more to add to that mountain of unread books that's about to fall over but you swear you're going to get to it soon?) Because I have a recommendation!
See, I just finished The Kingdom of the Gods, which is the third book in a trilogy and now I'm sad that I don't have anyone to squee with. The first book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms can stand on its own (if you're not sure you want to get into a trilogy) but the second one (The Broken Kingdoms) is my favourite so of course I would be delighted if you read on.
But I'm getting ahead of myself here. So, what's the first book about? The story begins when Yeine, ruler of one of these bazillion kingdoms, is summoned to the city of Sky, where the Arameri live. The Arameri effectively rule the world, so why would they summon her, a distant relative? Yeine soon gets more involved with Sky's politics than she ever wanted to be, but it also gives her an opportunity to try and uncover the mystery surrounding her mother's death... and that of the Arameri's god-slaves.
Because that's a thing: two thousand years ago, or so the story goes, Bright Itempas, god of daylight and order, was betrayed by the other two members of the trio, the Nightlord Nahadoth (god of chaos and darkness) and Enefa, goddess of life and death. In the war that followed, Itempas killed Enefa and forced Nahadoth and the minor gods that fought on their side into human form and then handed them over to the Arameri to do with as they please.
And now, Yeine and the captive gods (who call themselves the Enefadeh: "those who remember Enefa") find that they have a common enemy, and maybe even a shared goal...
It's hard to really describe the story (especially while keeping the other two books in mind; I had to edit the above paragraphs several times to keeps spoilers out) but as interesting as it and the various mysteries are - there were definitely twists I didn't expect, even when I saw others coming a mile away - it's (surprise, surprise) the characters I love the most. They are engaging, there are some great character arcs over the course of the series (one in particular melted me into a puddle of happy Sternchen goo) and I love them. ♥
Oh, and have I mentioned that there's a ton of characters/protagonists of colour in these books? Lots of queer characters too. And awesome ladies! (sometimes even awesome queer ladies of colour)
(A few words about the writing: I really liked he prose; it's not overly fancy but it's really really good at hard-hitting single sentences that I just had to stop and marvel at. The exposition in book 1 is a bit clunky, especially in the first chapter or two, and the author hasn't quite found her feet at that point but certainly managed to locate them by the time we get to The Broken Kingdoms.)
I would gush more, but at that point I would just vomit spoilers onto my keyboard in a most unorderly fashion and that just won't do. But if you have any specific questions about these books or just want to assure me that you'll give them a try, let me know? I'm so excited about them. ♥
Toph icon because book two finally gives us a blind lady protagonist who can hold a candle to her when it comes to sheer awesomeness.
! Originally posted at Dreamwidth | Leave a comment |
comment(s) at DW
See, I just finished The Kingdom of the Gods, which is the third book in a trilogy and now I'm sad that I don't have anyone to squee with. The first book, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms can stand on its own (if you're not sure you want to get into a trilogy) but the second one (The Broken Kingdoms) is my favourite so of course I would be delighted if you read on.
But I'm getting ahead of myself here. So, what's the first book about? The story begins when Yeine, ruler of one of these bazillion kingdoms, is summoned to the city of Sky, where the Arameri live. The Arameri effectively rule the world, so why would they summon her, a distant relative? Yeine soon gets more involved with Sky's politics than she ever wanted to be, but it also gives her an opportunity to try and uncover the mystery surrounding her mother's death... and that of the Arameri's god-slaves.
Because that's a thing: two thousand years ago, or so the story goes, Bright Itempas, god of daylight and order, was betrayed by the other two members of the trio, the Nightlord Nahadoth (god of chaos and darkness) and Enefa, goddess of life and death. In the war that followed, Itempas killed Enefa and forced Nahadoth and the minor gods that fought on their side into human form and then handed them over to the Arameri to do with as they please.
And now, Yeine and the captive gods (who call themselves the Enefadeh: "those who remember Enefa") find that they have a common enemy, and maybe even a shared goal...
It's hard to really describe the story (especially while keeping the other two books in mind; I had to edit the above paragraphs several times to keeps spoilers out) but as interesting as it and the various mysteries are - there were definitely twists I didn't expect, even when I saw others coming a mile away - it's (surprise, surprise) the characters I love the most. They are engaging, there are some great character arcs over the course of the series (one in particular melted me into a puddle of happy Sternchen goo) and I love them. ♥
Oh, and have I mentioned that there's a ton of characters/protagonists of colour in these books? Lots of queer characters too. And awesome ladies! (sometimes even awesome queer ladies of colour)
(A few words about the writing: I really liked he prose; it's not overly fancy but it's really really good at hard-hitting single sentences that I just had to stop and marvel at. The exposition in book 1 is a bit clunky, especially in the first chapter or two, and the author hasn't quite found her feet at that point but certainly managed to locate them by the time we get to The Broken Kingdoms.)
I would gush more, but at that point I would just vomit spoilers onto my keyboard in a most unorderly fashion and that just won't do. But if you have any specific questions about these books or just want to assure me that you'll give them a try, let me know? I'm so excited about them. ♥
Toph icon because book two finally gives us a blind lady protagonist who can hold a candle to her when it comes to sheer awesomeness.
! Originally posted at Dreamwidth | Leave a comment |
comment(s) at DW