Friday, January 14

Audiobook Review: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin




Author: N.K. Jemisin
Narrator: Casaundra Freeman
Title: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
(Inheritance Trilogy #1)
Genre: Fantasy, Sci Fi, YA, Romance
Format: Audiobook
Published: February 25th 2010
Where I got It: Borrowed from library

Summary: 
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian north. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle.






Review:
Okay...I finally tried it! This has been sitting on my TBR list for an eon. Years indeed. Found the audio free at my library! Yayy for the library!

Soooo...the summary the book has does not do this justice AT all. This is a complex world...complex story. 

We have Yeine who is from the north. The north is full of "barbarians". Her mother was from Sky but married a man from the north. After her mother dies mysteriously, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. She is named an heiress to the king...her grandfather. She is not alone though. There are two others who are also named heirs....her cousins. The throne is not easily won and Yeine will learn that there is a lot to this kingdom. 

This felt heavy. Very heavy....but the author really did a good job easing you into this world and the characters. No info-dumping....no crazy confusion. I would adore a prequel with our Gods in this world to better understand them and why they fell into servitude. It would make a heck of a book. 

But yes, you read right, their Gods have been made into slaves through some God politic nonsense. The Gods truly made us in their image that is for sure. They made their own monsters and they paid the price for years, years as slaves to the mortals. I found this extremely sad but an interesting part of the story and world. 

Things do get complex really quick. I am curious how the paper/ebook would be. I had to rewind a couple of times because I felt like I missed something. You really have to pay attention especially in the thick of it. 

Now....we do follow Yeine. She is our hero destined to die. I didn't like her. Sure, she is young, but she felt WAY too naïve for being from the north. Yes, she isn't used to this extreme and dangerous politic game, but there were times I felt she was too naïve at times. 

I do go back and forth on how I feel about her little romance with one of the Gods. He is a dark, brooding, bad boy. Don't get me wrong....I love those bad boys too ;) but...he always away an inch away from killing her. It was for sure a complex relationship to say the least. I will say though I am SUPER happy that the romance is not at ALL a main part of the story. It is there, but there are bigger things for Yeine and everyone else to focus on.

This falls into the YA category and I could sense some YA elements here and there, but this is for the older end of the YA scope. Def some adult themes at some points like the smexy parts. 

That ending.....wow. That is all I can say. 

The narrator was amazing. I didn't recognize the name...but as we were going along I knew I heard her voice. I've seen her in some TV shows. So that was nice hearing her voice! She was perfect especially for our main character. 

In the end, I really did enjoy this. I had some issues with Yeine and that romance, but they are easy to look over in the end. I may check out book 2 someday. I know it is about someone else, but I am curious seeing more in this world. I'll give this 3 stars. 







Challenge(s):
- #2 for Audiobook challenge








4 comments:

Jen Twimom said...

Do you think it would have been better if the heroine was an adult? I'm not a big fan of YA, especially in fantasy (if it involves romance), so I don't know that I would try. If you liked the premise, you may want to try the Gathering of Dragons series by Milla Vane. Excellent!

Carole Rae said...

I think she is like 18 or something, but yes, I think I would've liked it more if she was an adult-adult. Like late 20s. I'll have to check out that series!

Blodeuedd said...

YA? I do think this was adult

I really liked it, then it went downhill

Carole Rae said...

B, on GR it says YA. But it really should not be I think.