Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

A fantasy novel with political intrigue, revenge plots, and captive gods, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a fantastic read. The story follows Yeine, a young woman who is brought to the royal city of Sky after her family was disowned by her royal grandfather. She suspects that her mother's death was not natural and sets out to find out who killed her. The gods who are held hostage in the city offer to help her do more than that - but for a price.

A slow-burn political intrigue unravels, revealing the truth of Yeine's purpose in Sky and the reason for the gods' imprisonment. The writing is incredible, Yeine's POV offers just the right balance of insight and action, and the relationships that develop leading up to the climax of the book are engaging. And like many of Jemisin's books, there's social commentary on harmful structures of power that are present in our own society.

Definitely one of my favourite reads of the year! I can't wait to continue with the series.

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risaleel's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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mxkanteven's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kesreads13's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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rexpostfacto's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was a delightful read. A bit slow moving in the beginning, but once it got going, wow.

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laguerrelewis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Is anyone surprised? This book has all the hallmarks of why we love Jemisin: a rich, exciting, creative world, compelling characters, and a narrative voice unlike any other I’ve read period, much less in this genre. I have the whole trilogy, and I’m excited to see where the story builds from here. It’s great to see where Jemisin began to carve out her place in the line of great novelists, and she popped out almost fully polished and ready to go.

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ruthlessreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was one of the best fantasy novels I've read in a long time. It is spectacularly written with characters that you love & grow close to quickly and some that you hate. It has a plot that would satisfy even the most discerning of readers and I can't wait to read the next book & find out where the story is going next.

When Yeine Darr's mother dies, she is called to the throne of the king & given the shock of a lifetime: she is the granddaughter of the king & he has named her heiress, throwing her into the middle of a vicious & brutal competition for the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. However, as her relationship with the Enefadah (gods who were enslaved by the ruling class after losing a cosmic war against their sibling) deepens & begins to change, Yeine learns more secrets about the throne than she ever could have imagined. When she finally learns something about herself that shakes her to her core, she must decide how to use this new discovery to her advantage before time runs out & the next heir to the throne is chosen!

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nytephoenyx's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I really, really enjoy N.K. Jemisin’s writing. Her worlds are broken and explosive, and her characters so multifaceted. I enjoyed the Broken Earth trilogy, but I liked The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms even more.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a book about how power corrupts, the danger of jealousy, the fallacies of gods, and the prejudice of humanity. It’s a story about vengeance on many different tiers – personal, familial, and even immortal. I was sucked in by the book, even if it was a bit of a slow read. It was worth it the patience for the depth and darkness it provided.

Jemisin has a way of creating characters that are more flaw than virtue, but you still adore. Yeine is angry, selfish, driven, strong, arrogant, reckless, and utterly interesting. Her quest for answers is the minor plot of the book – she wants to know why her mother left Sky and who killed her. Sieh and Nahadoh rank in my list of favorite characters of all time – there are so many different layers to each of them. So much pain, nostalgia, joy, charm, vulnerability, desire, hope, anger, despair… I could go on. These characters were two sides of a coin for me. Sieh’s childish hope counterbalanced Nahadoh’s desperate need perfectly. They’re also compelling, interesting characters. Too big for their bodies, in a very literal way. Loved them.

I believe the marketing of this book is a little misleading about its content since it’s far more complex than it appears. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is marketed as a YA epic fantasy. I would strongly disagree that it’s a YA book – it’s somewhere in the New Adult range more accurately. Yeine is young – nineteen, I believe – but she is older emotionally than her physical age because of her upbringing. There are definitely adult themes in this book and while I’m sure many individuals in the YA audience could handle it, I really think this is not a YA book. In terms of fantasy… well, yes, okay. It’s a fantasy world. Beyond the magic and theology, it’s a mystery story with the feel of urban fantasy. The world building is akin to epic fantasy, but that’s it. And it’s still really good – don’t let this deter you! It’s just not quite as I assumed before reading.

The mystery plot was a bit uncomplicated. There was a last minute twist at the end of the book I wasn’t expecting, but otherwise, I was so invested in the theological aspects of the story that I generally found Yeine’s insistence of digging up her mother’s past to be a distraction from more interesting things. The real story here, for me, was the tale of the three original gods and I loved it. I’m so glad this is a trilogy because I want more of this story. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms reads like a standalone book – there’s a satisfying enough end that you can stop if you want, but why on earth would you want to stop?

This is a book I am definitely going to buy in hardcopy. I could easily get lost in this dark and convoluted world. I will be reading on in the trilogy, and likely, I will reread The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms again someday in the future.

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