Jemisin, N.K. - The Broken Kingdoms

(Book 2 of the Inheritance trilogy. Write up of book 1)

Disclaimer: I know and like the author and got a copy of the book from her with the agreement that I'd write it up (favorably or unfavorably)

Oree Shoth, a blind artist with a street stand in the city of Shadow, finds a god in a trash heap one day. Unsurprisingly, this wreaks quite a bit of havoc on her life.

Thankfully, this is one of the trilogies in which you can read each book on its own; book 2 will spoil book 1 but it doesn't depend on book 1 for understanding. This is both good and bad, as I read this directly after a reread of book 1. Warning ahead of time! There is going to be a lot of comparison with the first book, part because of the direct reread and part because I loved book 1 so much.

Oree isn't fully aware of everything that has happened in book 1, so new readers get clued in with her, but people who have read book 1 may be a bit frustrated by her realizing what we already know. Also, because book 2 stands alone, Jemisin doesn't do the massive infodump in the first chapter that many epic fantasy series do.

Also, while book 1 was about court intrigue and the powerful Arameri family that rules the hundred thousand worlds, book 2 is far more commonplace. We get a better sense of Shadow the city as opposed to staying in the palace of Sky most of the time, and although it's fun to see different neighborhoods and how the rules of the Arameri affect the citizens of the world, it doesn't quite hit the same buttons for me as book 1. And the narrative of the book doesn't feel nearly as tight as book 1.

( Spoilers for both books )

So... YMMV? I know I complain a lot above, but the book itself is well written and engaging. It's just that it doesn't hit a lot of the same things book 1 did for me. I'd be really curious to hear from people who have only read book 2 to see how it worked for you.

ETA: Also, I would be curious to see what people thought about the handling of Oree's blindness. I was a bit disappointed that she got the superpower to compensate trope, although I did like the little bits Jemisin put in here and there with Oree snarking at people. (Ex. "Oh! Did you know it was me because you have super senses?" "Uh, no. It is because I have common sense and you smell funny.")

Links:
- sanguinity's review (brings up good points re: multiracialness in the books)
- coffeeandink's not a review
- troisroyaumes' review