1. 50 PoC Book Review
Feb. 27th, 2010 05:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhYou may remember that I said I wasn't sure if I would do the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
50books_poc challenge again this year, largely because I felt the need to focus on more productive (read: school related) reading instead. Unsurprisingly, as in any attempt I make to read less fiction, that effort is TOTALLY FAILING. Two months into the year, the count of books I have read that can be generously counted as 'archaeological' is at 6, while my total book count is 22.
So I figured since I'm reading them anyway, I may as well go ahead and post reviews. Starting with this one, which is not the first book I read this year, but rather the most recent:
1. N. K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
You guys. I have been excited for this novel to come out since I first heard of it quite some time ago, and I am here to tell you: it lives up to all its promises. IT IS THE BEST THING EVER.
Okay, granted, this novel basically plays into every story kink I have, so understandably it may work less for people who are not me. But come on: superbly done court politics, which are actually complicated and confusing and dangerous (as opposed to what so many novels do, which is have a lot of people talk about 'ooo, intrigue!' when you figured out who the bad guy was on page three); class politics; a warrior-women matriarchy; a smart protagonist who is dealing with a mystery; amazing world-building, which is actually a world of different cultures and races and history, as opposed to one city or country; mythology that feels real and features gay divine incest! (is that a plus for other people? That's totally a plus for me). I really, really love the gods in this book (considering that the two who feature most in the plot are a trickster god and a god of chaos and change, which are basically my favorite things ever, that is unsurprising. But they're still legitimately awesome). You know how every now and then a fantasy writer manages to come up with gods so believable and detailed that you wish it was a real religion? Totally happens here. But these gods are also written as dark supernatural beings and not sparkly vegetarian immortals: these are seriously dangerous and uncontrollable creatures.
Okay, so what's the book actually about? Yeine, a distant relation to the ruling family, is summoned to the palace and named heir to the throne. The other heirs are not too happy about this, as only one will actually get to be ruler- whoever can beat the others before the coronation. Also, this is a competition over not just one country, but the entire world, as the ruling family controls the power of a family of gods and thus is pretty much invincible. Long ago, you see, there was a war among the gods, and the winning deity enslaved the losers, forcing them to obey the whims of mortals. These gods are, understandably, a bit bitter, and are constantly looking for any loophole to rebel or lash out. There are questions of power, of right and wrong, of the nature of the divine and humanity, of the way stories can be twisted and retold, of revenge, of familial power struggles, of free will and destiny, of what shapes a person. There is so much I want to squee about here, but I don't want to give too much away; after all, some of the fun of the best elements is the surprise. Also, this is definitely a page-turner; I read the whole thing in about two days (while not reading anything related to archaeology, of course).
Basically, you should read this book. It's the first of a trilogy, but this storyline is pretty well wrapped-up; you don't have to worry about cliff-hangers with huge waits until they're resolved.
(Crossposted to50books_poc)
50books_poc challenge again this year, largely because I felt the need to focus on more productive (read: school related) reading instead. Unsurprisingly, as in any attempt I make to read less fiction, that effort is TOTALLY FAILING. Two months into the year, the count of books I have read that can be generously counted as 'archaeological' is at 6, while my total book count is 22.So I figured since I'm reading them anyway, I may as well go ahead and post reviews. Starting with this one, which is not the first book I read this year, but rather the most recent:
1. N. K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
You guys. I have been excited for this novel to come out since I first heard of it quite some time ago, and I am here to tell you: it lives up to all its promises. IT IS THE BEST THING EVER.
Okay, granted, this novel basically plays into every story kink I have, so understandably it may work less for people who are not me. But come on: superbly done court politics, which are actually complicated and confusing and dangerous (as opposed to what so many novels do, which is have a lot of people talk about 'ooo, intrigue!' when you figured out who the bad guy was on page three); class politics; a warrior-women matriarchy; a smart protagonist who is dealing with a mystery; amazing world-building, which is actually a world of different cultures and races and history, as opposed to one city or country; mythology that feels real and features gay divine incest! (is that a plus for other people? That's totally a plus for me). I really, really love the gods in this book (considering that the two who feature most in the plot are a trickster god and a god of chaos and change, which are basically my favorite things ever, that is unsurprising. But they're still legitimately awesome). You know how every now and then a fantasy writer manages to come up with gods so believable and detailed that you wish it was a real religion? Totally happens here. But these gods are also written as dark supernatural beings and not sparkly vegetarian immortals: these are seriously dangerous and uncontrollable creatures.
Okay, so what's the book actually about? Yeine, a distant relation to the ruling family, is summoned to the palace and named heir to the throne. The other heirs are not too happy about this, as only one will actually get to be ruler- whoever can beat the others before the coronation. Also, this is a competition over not just one country, but the entire world, as the ruling family controls the power of a family of gods and thus is pretty much invincible. Long ago, you see, there was a war among the gods, and the winning deity enslaved the losers, forcing them to obey the whims of mortals. These gods are, understandably, a bit bitter, and are constantly looking for any loophole to rebel or lash out. There are questions of power, of right and wrong, of the nature of the divine and humanity, of the way stories can be twisted and retold, of revenge, of familial power struggles, of free will and destiny, of what shapes a person. There is so much I want to squee about here, but I don't want to give too much away; after all, some of the fun of the best elements is the surprise. Also, this is definitely a page-turner; I read the whole thing in about two days (while not reading anything related to archaeology, of course).
Basically, you should read this book. It's the first of a trilogy, but this storyline is pretty well wrapped-up; you don't have to worry about cliff-hangers with huge waits until they're resolved.
(Crossposted to
50books_poc)
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no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 10:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 11:55 pm (UTC)Have you read anything by Jasper Fforde? I'm in the middle of The Eyre Affair, which my co-workers recommended to me for months, and it's amazing. It's an alternate 1985 where the Crimean War is still ongoing, dodos are cloned and no longer endangered, there are literary detectives, and surrealists get stabbed by crazy French impressionists. The main character is called Thursday Next and she's fabulous. I'm really sorry I waited this long to read it.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-28 05:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-04 01:34 am (UTC)Also, since I suspect it's the US edition that's been sold over here, I know the author of The Poison Throne, the excerpt that's at the back of the book. The Poison Throne came out almost two years ago here and is marketed here as a teen book; she's doing a kids' talk on Friday at my store! It's a small world.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 11:25 pm (UTC)Also, your currently listening to. Bwahahaha. That song is on permanent rotation in our apartment cleaning mix.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 11:40 pm (UTC)And hee. It is a great song!
no subject
Date: 2010-02-27 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-03-02 09:19 pm (UTC)The more I think about it, the more awful it is: because on the one hand, supporting independent bookstores, yay! But if going to the Big Chain Stores means more support for the authors, it's a hard choice to make.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-05 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-02-28 01:19 am (UTC)Is it in hardcover? I must admit I kinda miss the days when sf/f came out only in paperback. $30 for a book is just... kinda extreme.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-28 05:12 am (UTC)It's trade paperback, so $13-14, which is better than hardcover, but still makes me long for the nice little regular paperbacks, which at $7-8, I can justify way more.
no subject
Date: 2010-03-05 02:51 am (UTC)A Suitable Boy is one of my faves as well. *g*