Synopsis:
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.
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟
I love this book. The synopsis really doesn't do it justice. This is a book of mad gods, enslaved for millennia to their human masters. It's set in a palace perched half a mile above the ground, filled entirely with people with the power to wield godhood. It's about Yeine hunting the reasons for her mother's death. It's about her terror and lust for the very gods she, by birthright, can control.
When I first read this novel, it was my favorite, THE favorite. Having reread it, I don't think it is anymore - and that's okay. When it first came to me, it was right for me. But I've changed in the year and half since I first read it, and that's okay too. This novel is still incredible, and still holds a special place in my heart.
What absolutely mesmerizes me with this novel is how N.K. Jemisin characterizes the gods that inhabit this world. In fantasy novels, I find the gods are either so absent that they're more ideas than characters, or so present that they feel too human. Jemisin captures how unknowable and vast and ancient her gods are, despite being suppressed by their enslavement to humanity. The gods in this book are terrifying - not because of their power, but because of how it lurks beneath a lie of humanity. They play at being mortal, cowing to the humans that hold their chains. But they're gods, and Jemisin never lets you forget it. I've never seen such a unique balance struck quite like this before. I will forever love Nahadoth and Sieh is my sweet son.
There's something just inherently uncomfortable about this world. The majority of the novel takes place in the palace called Sky, which is so sanitized and scrubbed of anything - both good and bad - that the setting itself is off-putting. There's no warmth to it, but neither does it play particularly toward repulsive. People do despicable things in Sky, but none of these exactly make it onto the page in-scene. It's the lack of comfort that makes the world unsettling, not so much the horrible things that happen within it. It's weird, but in a good way.
What bothered me most upon rereading was realizing how Yeine really is little more than a pawn, no matter how much she tries to be otherwise, to basically everyone. Her family wants to use her. The gods want to use her. When I originally read this I thought her relationships moved beyond this over the course of the novel, only to reread and realize actually they really don't. It was frustrating, because I felt like I couldn't really enjoy any of her relationships with the other characters. Her relationships evolve beyond the initial "I'm just using you" mentality, but at some level the pretense is always there. No one ever quite loves her, not really. They love what she represents, at the core, not who she is.
But despite my issues with the way Yeine is treated, I still love this book. Jemisin's world-building is to die for, her storytelling is unique, and I always grow as a reader and writer whenever I read her books. You've gotta pick this one up!
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