The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

Really interesting story in a fascinating world. Perhaps a bit too much going on at times as it's a world where everything is so strange and different it can be hard to keep up with what's happening and why. It's also solely told amongst the elite, and that leaves open a lot of questions about how this world works on the ground, but maybe the rest of the trilogy will cover that.

In some ways less polished than Jemisin's later work, this book nonetheless is a world building masterpiece. The horrors of the world are teasingly unfolded before you. The characters are vibrant and compelling, and I never would have guessed the ending. A stellar debut novel.

Not my cuppa tea. I think I'll skip the sequels for now. The world-building is supposed to be great, but I found it really hard to care about the human characters so I didn't care about their politics either. The Arameri were just so ugly. I might read the Broken Earth series though; it's supposed to be better.

The "Oh yes, I forgot to tell you" device felt a bit clumsy, but the rest of the novel was bright and lovely. I look forward to the rest of the series.

This book was good. It was reminiscent of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn for some reason. Creative world building, lots of complex characters and a good "stinger" at the climax. Will probably not continue the series right now if ever--so little time and so much to read! I'd rate this book R for sexual and violent content.