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anxiousnachos's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
So mad at myself and the world for the fact I didn’t know N.K Jemisin had a god/monster fucking book ARE YOU KIDDING. And it’s amazing. Of course it is, it’s N.K Jemisin. Okay so this is a fantasy romance (ish) between a monster god who is enslaved alongside his god children and a mortal girl who is forced into the plans to free his family by the scheming of her dead mother. This is one of those books where you will have no idea what is going on at times but you will love it and if you just go along with it, it will all begin to make sense. There is a mystery as Yeine tries to work out the truth behind her mother’s death and the slavery of the gods, there is an absolutely incredibly interesting religion that is built wonderfully (I do think worldbuilding is always one of the things N.K Jemisin does best), and there is just an amazing sexy, kinky dynamic between Nahadoth and Yeine, in this god/mortal romance. I LOVED IT. Inject this trope into my veins please and thank you. There is such an interesting parallel to the behaviour of the gods and the behaviour of the human characters, made clear by a line one the gods says ‘we made you in our image’, and just, gah, it’s so clear where the passion and selfishness and ambition of the human characters come from. SO WELL DONE. I read 50 pages of this book and immediately went out and bought the sequels to prepare, because I knew I’d need to read them as soon as I finished, it was that good.
Content warnings: violence, murder, death, incest, torture, body horror, blood, gore, slavery, sex, consensual violence during sex, cannibalism, pedophilia, death of a parent, alcoholism, war
Content warnings: violence, murder, death, incest, torture, body horror, blood, gore, slavery, sex, consensual violence during sex, cannibalism, pedophilia, death of a parent, alcoholism, war
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and War
applequinn's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Torture
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, and Rape
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Grief and War
Minor: Body shaming, Pedophilia, Rape, and Cannibalism
overbooked207's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
📖 The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin Book Review 📖
8th book of January 2022 and 8th of the year:
I finally finished this big book! Once again the story, social commentary, dialogue, scheming and brutal fight scenes, and lore/magic systems were fantastic in an N.K. Jemisin novel! The characters and world were so fleshed out and complex, and I felt like I was right there in the world with them. The audiobook was beautifully done, as were The Broken Earth trilogy audiobooks, and I’m excited to continue reading and re-reading the rest of N.K. Jemisin’s books! TW for murder, death, torture, rape, slavery, explicit sexual content, violence, incest, mentioned cannibalism, body horror, death of a parent, confinement, human sacrifice, racism, war, gore, body horror, vomit, sexual violence, medical content/trauma, misogyny, abuse, alcohol/drug use, classism, colonization, torture, injury detail, infidelity, and grief📚🎧
8th book of January 2022 and 8th of the year:
I finally finished this big book! Once again the story, social commentary, dialogue, scheming and brutal fight scenes, and lore/magic systems were fantastic in an N.K. Jemisin novel! The characters and world were so fleshed out and complex, and I felt like I was right there in the world with them. The audiobook was beautifully done, as were The Broken Earth trilogy audiobooks, and I’m excited to continue reading and re-reading the rest of N.K. Jemisin’s books! TW for murder, death, torture, rape, slavery, explicit sexual content, violence, incest, mentioned cannibalism, body horror, death of a parent, confinement, human sacrifice, racism, war, gore, body horror, vomit, sexual violence, medical content/trauma, misogyny, abuse, alcohol/drug use, classism, colonization, torture, injury detail, infidelity, and grief📚🎧
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
fionac326's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Incest, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
abbajane's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is unlike any fantasy I've read! It was exhilarating, thrilling, terrifying, and moving all at once. The characters were complex, ambitious, and all-too-human. The plot was exciting and managed to keep pace the entire time even while backstories and side-plots were unraveling. If you like your anti-heroes tall, dark, cloaked in night, and as terrifying as they are sexy, Nahadoth will be right up your alley. If you like your heroines with a lot of fight, emotional complexity, and a heart that won't quit, you'll fall for Yeine as quickly as I did. Jemisin is a master of writing -- the entire book was so precisely and poetically written, filled with interesting scene and POV breaks, and provided an overall satisfying conclusion. It's sexy, it's dark, and it's a masterpiece of fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Torture, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Incest and Pedophilia
This book does have a lot of violence and a lot of torture. There is a code of slavery for both the gods and for the humans. There are mentions of incest and pedophilia but they are only mentioned and not displayed.glains's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Torture
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms plays with the shape of power, winding it like a strand of hair on one finger with a slowly widening grin, esui; terrifying and sensual. The stuff of gods, crammed and cramped until they creak and groan as pages turn: Read this.
I loved this book. I tend to be positive about the books I read, but I truly loved this book. The gods have qualities I normally see in depictions of the fae, while also being sufficiently different and complex as to be their own kinds of entities. They are essences, understandable in some ways but inscrutable in some very important ways. Sieh, in particular, is handled very well, his behavior has consistency, but the way in which we are led to interpret it as part of a whole is shaped by Yeine's slowly shifting understanding of life in Sky. The interstitial narration is really good, it makes sense even before you learn (or figure out) why it's happening.
This book is very good and I'm very excited to see what happens in the next one. It ended so well that if it were a stand-alone book I could be content, but I want to spend more time in this world, preferable with these characters.
I loved this book. I tend to be positive about the books I read, but I truly loved this book. The gods have qualities I normally see in depictions of the fae, while also being sufficiently different and complex as to be their own kinds of entities. They are essences, understandable in some ways but inscrutable in some very important ways. Sieh, in particular, is handled very well, his behavior has consistency, but the way in which we are led to interpret it as part of a whole is shaped by Yeine's slowly shifting understanding of life in Sky. The interstitial narration is really good, it makes sense even before you learn (or figure out) why it's happening.
This book is very good and I'm very excited to see what happens in the next one. It ended so well that if it were a stand-alone book I could be content, but I want to spend more time in this world, preferable with these characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gore, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Sexual assault
CW for enslavement, torture, discussion of sexual assault, body horror, gore, death, major character death.