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N.K. Jemisin: The Broken Kingdoms read-along #4

Book review, World of Books January 28, 2014 Comments: 7

This is our final week and this week’s questions were created by Grace of Books Without Any Pictures.

1. We finally meet T’vril in his new role as Lord Arameri. Is he what you expected?

Actually yes. He didn’t get too Arameri but he’s ruthless when he needs to be (seems not as much as his Arameri kin would like).

2. Oree is given a choice, to live as the Arameri’s weapon, or to die. What would you do in that position?

I always like to think I would choose the higher path. But I love living. That said, I’m not sure if I could live with other peoples/godlings lives on my hands.

3. Do you think that Oree made the right decision by sending Shiny away? How do you feel about Yeine’s role here?

Yes, but it seems Shiny was expecting it. I think Yeine made the best out of the situation, salvaging what she could without breaking anyone’s tenuous connection to sanity.

4. What did you think of the ending of the book? Were you satisfied?

Well, at several points I was worried it was going to go into direction I wasn’t going to enjoy but it all ended up rather well. I knew there was no chance of a happy ending for Shiny and Oree, he has much more to learn and live through before he can start being whole.

5. How did The Broken Kingdoms compare to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms? Which did you like better?

I actually like The Broken Kingdoms better. I had a hard time consoling Yeine and Enefa and kept thinking Yeine got smothered a bit by goddess’ entity. It seems Yeine is upset a bit in this book that people find them interchangeable. 😉

This one seems more like a book about life. You have some pleasure and love, you suffer, you get better, you get some pleasure and love, disappointment follows but then there are the most amazing consequences to follow. 🙂

N.K. Jemisin: The Broken Kingdoms read-along #3

Book review, World of Books January 21, 2014 Comments: 6

This week our host is Lauren from Violin in a Void.

Let’s get to it then. 🙂

1. Oree chooses not to reveal Shiny’s identity to Dateh. Did you agree with her decision? What might have happened if she’d chosen otherwise?

Yes, I agree. It’s never wise to share information with the bad guys. 🙂

I can’t even begin to guess what would have happened if she chose to disclose that information. I’m not sure how much the human Itempass could help them…

2. Madding’s dead 😦 How do you feel about his death? What do you make of his last words to Oree?

Didn’t see that coming. Well, not before Oree actually called him through. Then it was obvious as the arrow was just lying there. I must say I couldn’t understand how come Oree didn’t think about that?!

Anyway, what I got out of Madding’s last words is that he truly loved Oree.

3. Itempas has seen what terrible things people do in his name. What do you make of Dateh’s interpretation of Itempan faith? Could this help rehabilitate Itempas or will he simply see the New Lights as a delusional sect?

I’m certainly hoping it will put Shiny on the path of spiritual healing. It becomes obvious later on that he was hurt badly and in view of his unbending character, he snapped and then all hell broke lose for the next 2000 years. Talk about being in better control of one’s character…

New Lights are definitely delusional, no doubt about it.

4. After Madding’s death, Oree loses the will to live, except to stop the New Lights. Shiny wants to kill her because she’s a demon. Do you think she’ll survive the events of the novel? Is it safer to wipe out the demons?

Safer, probably. Better, no. There should be checks and balances. And demons fit nicely into that. I think she’ll survive, I just wonder at what cost (something is probably going to happen to her – well, more than it already has).

5. Itempas shares his feelings about his actions in the God’s War. Have your feelings about him changed at all?

Slightly, yes. Still, he behaved like a spoiled child. And I would expect more from a god with his background. Well, it’s never too late to learn (and learn about yourself, because that is what he seems to be doing now…)

6. There’s something odd about Hado. Shiny says to him “You are not quite yourself. […] Something of him lingers.” Oree notes that Hado’s shadow is darker than the non-magical things around him. Could he be more than just a spy, and if so, what?

Ha, ha, it was obvious here who he was and I wondered if the name is the same from book 1 because I just don’t remember. We learn later that he is the human version of Nahadoth from book one but for me it was obvious once I read this paragraph.

N.K. Jemisin: The Broken Kingdoms read-along #2

Book review, World of Books January 13, 2014 Comments: 4

This week our host is S Voss from Dab of Darkness.

1) We learned some tidbits about Oree’s father in this section. Who, or what, do you think he was and what do you think of the suspicions about mob madness that Lady Serymn brought up?

I think he is one of the demon children’s children. Everything points in that direction anyway. That also makes Oree one as well.

As for mob madness, I think it’s just Lady Serymn’s excuse and another way of pointing the finger of blame at Nahadoth.

2) Shiny has some stern views about the relationship between Oree and Madding. What do you think of him testing her love for Madding? Do you think she said yes to Madding for the right reasons?

I think Shiny has absolutely no idea what love is and how to feel it and show it. If I start writing what I think of him, it won’t end well, but I’ll just say he’s still an ego maniac.

I do think Oree said yes to Madding for the right reasons, love is compromising. She reminds me a bit of Yeine in that regard, her skirting of danger when having sex with Madding.

3) The House of the Risen Sun has some followers with skills. What do you think of the holes, The Empty, and what has happened to Oree’s friends, both mortal and immortal? Shiny?

Can someone just push the whole order into the holes, please? As soon as possible? I think that the Arameri are proving to be just as awful (if not more) as the first book portrayed them and I really hate them. Empty is awful and I sincerely hope everyone survives it.

I’m not worried about Shiny. At all. I somehow think nothing bad will be able to happen to him.

4) Are the ambitious plans of the House of the Risen Sun justified? Noble? Or is there a particular follower you already want to seen tossed into The Empty for a spell?

Ha, ha, ha, noble? No way. There is nothing noble about them and I did notice how Lady Serynm is very adept of twisting facts to fit what she wants to say and do.

As in my previous answer, just toss the whole order in. I have no patience for stupid people (the followers who are so blind to truth and eager to follow all orders).

5) Lord Dateh, the Nypri, requested a bit of Oree’s blood for study. What do think he will do with it and what part do you think the House of the Risen Sun hopes Oree to play in their plans?

I think they will check for remnants of magical bloodline? I sincerely hope there won’t be something voodoo-ish to it, making Oree their slave.

It seems Oree is supposed to be in this book what Yeine was in the last.
Does that mean she’ll gain some kind of godhood so she can enjoy her eternity with Madding? 😉

And for my thoughts on this week’s chapters, is it just me, or does anyone else think that trying to kill Nahadoth, or believing the Gray Lady will deter him from destroying the world is the thinking of a madman? Or thinking that Gray Lady is Arameri? That way lies destruction for those thinking it…

Checkout what my companions in the Broken Kingdoms thought this week:

Dab of Darkness

Violin in a Void

Tethyan Books

Books Without Any Pictures

N.K. Jemisin: The Broken Kingdoms read-along #1

Book review, World of Books January 6, 2014 Comments: 9

And we’re back to the world where gods and godlings live alongside humans in the world shaped somewhat anew after what Yeine the Goddess did at the end of Thousand Kingdoms.

This week’s questions were brought to us by Grace of Books Without Any Pictures.

1. What do you think so far of Oree Shoth? Do you like her as much as Yeine?

Yes, I like her as much as Yeine. Possibly even more as she seems free, both to do as she pleases and like she has no burdensome limits left from her childhood.

2. Sky is now referred to by its inhabitants as Shadow, and we get to see the city from the perspective of the commoners rather than the ruling Arameri. What do you think of the book’s setting?

Love it. Especially imagining all the descriptions and the size of that tree. I keep needing to re-adjust my idea of how big it is. Well, no longer now but since the last book and at the beginning of this one, it didn’t seem that big in my mind.

3. The gods play a much different role in this book than in “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms,” and spend their time interacting with the people of Sky/Shadow. What do you think of the gods and godlings that we’ve met thus far? Who are your favorites?

I’m not naming favorites, I expect more will appear as we get further into the book. I think it’s easy to forget they aren’t human when they move so much among people and I believe that would be a serious mistake to make.

4. Any predictions on who or what could be killing the godlings?

Some unknown witch-magic godling? 😉 Basically, no idea.

I can’t tell where the vengeance is coming from (and it feels like vengeance) so I can’t guess who could be doing it.

5. For everyone who read the last book, Shiny’s identity should be relatively easy to guess, even though it hasn’t been explicitly stated yet. Do you think his punishment is suiting, or is it too much? Is there any chance he’ll come out of this as a normal person? How do you think Oree will react when she finds out?

Hell no, it’s not too much. And I can see Oree is not eager to make that particular assumption (whether the punishment is too much).

If this doesn’t make him become a normal person/god, nothing will.

How will Oree react? Probably with cool aplomb. 😉 I think she’s no longer too surprised by godling world. I think her drawing might be more of a shock to her than Shiny’s identity.

Check out my fellow readers’ thoughts:

Violin in a Void

Tethyan Books

Books Without Any Pictures

Dab of Darkness

N.K. Jemisin: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms #4 (End)

Book review, World of Books December 23, 2013 Comments: 9

This is where we part ways with Yeine for the time being.

The last week’s questions were brought by Lauren of the Violin in a Void and here they are:

1. Yeine shows us the meaning of esui when she summons Nahadoth, makes an offering of herself, and asks him to make love to her like the god he is. What did you think of her decision and the scenes that followed? Cosmic sex or verging on comic? What importance does sex has for their relationship?

I was thinking she has some serious case of esui. 🙂 But I think their cosmic sex is important for their relationship because of trust and letting go of yourself in order to make a point of love. At least, that’s how I read it.

2. Relad makes a last-minute play for succession by offering to help the Darre. Are you satisfied with his role in this book or do you think he should have had more of a presence? What do you think of his strategy to get Yeine to choose him over Scimina?

I’m satisfied, especially since I didn’t expect anything much from him I admit. And I think his strategy was rather good, unexpected and back-stabbing when it comes to Scimina which I enjoyed.

3. The final chapters show us more of Dekarta’s character than the rest of the book. How do you feel about him now, knowing the truth of his motives and of Kinneth’s death?

Hmm, I’m not sure. I don’t think that not being responsible for Kinneth’s death absolves him of anything. he still did everything else. Although he does seem to have some nice emotions in himself it seems.

4. The Succession Ceremony: Absolutely nothing turns out the way anyone thought it would. Did any of it match your expectations? What are your thoughts on what happened?
[Note: so much happened in this ceremony that I have separate questions for Itempas and Yeine’s roles. You can discuss them there rather than in this question].

Nothing matched my expectations except for the Relad part. I was left reeling trying to figure out everything that was happening.

I could have done with a better explanation of Yeine’s change, it seemed like she became another person and there was no Yeine left even though I could tell the author wanted to convince us otherwise. I’m not really convinced it’s still her.

5. We finally meet Itempas, a mad god whose overpowering love and hate caused all this suffering. What did you think of him?

God, I hope he suffers as a human for eternity. It’s probably going to take him that long to learn to love. He’s a bit of a psychopath if you ask me.

6. As a goddess, Yeine makes some dramatic decisions and changes, like altering Sky, killing Kurue, and trapping Itempas in mortal form. How do you feel about this new goddess-Yeine? Would you have down anything differently?

I think she made some great choices and changes with her power. What I’m not so enthusiastic about is that I can’t think of her as Yeine. 😦

7. Wrapping up: What did you think of the book as a whole? Any loose ends you’d like tied up? How might the world be changed by these events? Will you read the next book to find out?

I will definitely read the next book but if I got it correctly, it’s going to focus on Itempas and not Yeine and Nahadoth. I don’t think there are any loose ends, I just wish Yeine goddess felt more like Yeine to me. Unfortunately, it felt just like the goddess, no Yeine.

Hopefully, that will change in the future.

N.K. Jemisin: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms read-along #3

Book review, World of Books December 17, 2013 Comments: 14

Yes, I skipped number 2. Sorry.

I’ll go on with answering this week’s questions, provided by Andres, The Little Red Reviewer.

1. T’vril takes Yeine to the servant’s party. What did you think of that party, and of Sieh’s part in it?

I loved the fact that the servants have their hidden pleasures that are completely off limits to the inner family. I also think it’s Sieh’s way of letting his nature out, getting back at the inner family through parties for those they consider lesser.

2. Yeine presents herself as such a nice, compassionate person. Did your feelings about her change after the meeting she and Nahadoth had with Gemd?

No. She’s a leader and even though she didn’t expect what happened, she knew she had to go with it. I think her now a strong person as well.

3. On page 230 we learn about the Darre concept of “esui”, of attraction to danger. Have you ever experienced Esui? did it help you, or hurt you? Do you think it will help Yeine, or hurt her?

I loved that! We need a word for that! That is definitely a concept that exists. I experienced it and it didn’t help me but it give me pleasure at the time it was happening and it did make me learn about myself. I think the same might happen to Yeine as well.

4. What did you think of the reveal regarding Ygreth’s (Kinneth’s mother) death? Was it something you expected? How does being forced to do something like that (or knowing you’ll be forced to) shape a person?

I didn’t see that coming at all. It does show though that Anameri think more of personal success than of the people they love because they obviously come second to it. I’m not sure how does that shape a person, as I’m having a hard time generally understanding the Anameri.

5. If I’m reading it correctly, the ceremony can require a human sacrifice (to show that the heir is strong enough to kill anyone, if asked). Who might Scimina sacrifice? Who might Yeine sacrifice?

If I’m reading it correctly, the ceremony does require a human sacrifice as it’s not possible to survive handling the stone and without the ceremony can’t take place.

Hmm, that’s a good question. Scimina does not strike me as someone who actually has someone she loves that she could sacrifice. Can she sacrifice her looks? A part of her? I don’t think anything else comes close to her heart.

As for Yeine, I don’t think she’ll be sacrificing anything but if she ends up having to, T’Vril or her grandmother come to mind.

6.The ball is only a few days away. What do you think will happen?

This reminds me of the Lynch read-along. I have no idea what will happen. But if Yeine is the sacrifice, I think she might survive it. And that might be the cause of why she’s trying so hard not to lose herself and her memories.

N. K. Jemisin: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms read-along, #1

Book review, World of Books December 2, 2013 Comments: 9

I am so glad I got convinced into doing this read-along as well because the book has got me seriously hooked. 🙂

This week’s questions were brought by Susan from Dab of Darkness.

Beware, spoilers lurk below.

1) We’ve met our narrator, Yeine. What are your first impressions? Do you like the chosen form of story telling so far?

Actually, yes I do. It’s obvious at some point in the future the fight for the throne has gotten bad and she

is suffering for it and while doing that remembering how it started. I like the little interludes where she tries to find some clearness of mind. It makes you like her from the start – how hard she tries despite thinking she’ll die soon (or lose all her memory).

2) Yeine essentially has two families – the Darre (her father’s people) and the Arameri (her mother’s people). What do you think of her two halves? Do you think one will win out over the other within Yeine?

I’m thinking if one wins it might be Darre. But if she can harness the best of both worlds, that would be great. I mean she’s already doing it. And it seems to be going well so far.

3) We meet the Enefa, the enslaved gods. Which do you wish to know the backstory to the most? What do you think of their enslavement?

I’m still not sure how that came about, I wonder if it will get better explained later on. It’s certainly a very strange twist. I think I’ll go with Nahadoth because it seems there is some kind of love in that story. I mean, the jealousy is certainly there…

4) Nahadoth finally catches up to Yeine and his first words and actions are mysteries to her. Gibbering or meaning?

Of course there is meaning to that. We just don’t know what it means because Yeine doesn’t know what it means. Hopefully we will.

5) We’ve met the competition for the unspoken throne – Lady Scimina and Lord Relad. How do you think they will complicate Yeine’s life?

In unpredictable ways. I hope Scimina doesn’t turn to Darre which seems to be what Relad thinks. Or if she does, Yeine stops her smartly. I can’t even begin to guess what’s on Relad’s mind which makes me wary of him. There might be some bad possibilities in that.

6) The Enefa obviously want something from Yeine. What do you think that is and how do you think Yeine will react to their wants?

Well, if I were to guess, I’d say she might have something to do with freeing them. I don’t see any other reason why they would be so very interested otherwise.

Since Yeine strikes me as reasonable and fair, if what they plan to do is honest and doesn’t hurt innocent people, I think she’ll go with it.

See you next Monday!

In the meantime, go check what my fellow readers wrote:

Dab of Darkness

Books without any pictures

On Starships & Dragonwings

The Little Red Reviewer

Violin in a Void

Many a True Nerd

Nashville Book Worm