The Broken Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin

[sophia_sol]

Well it only took me uh 5 years since I read the first book in this trilogy to finally get around to the second. I'm GREAT at going through my to-read list in a sensible and well-planned order!

Anyway this book is even better than the first one I think! I liked that it took place largely among more "ordinary" people instead of all the action being set in the palace-city of the ruling class among the Arameri and the gods. I mean the gods are also definitely present in this book, but the feel is different.

The main character is a blind woman named Oree from a refugee group in the land of the Arameri. I really liked Oree, and loved the dynamics of her relationship with Madding, and the even more complicated and evolving one with Shiny. It was also fascinating to see the fallout from the events of the last book from the perspectives of people who weren't intimately involved and don't know the details of what happened.

I don't know that I have a lot to say about this book, but I found it a highly compelling read and was riveted throughout.

Here's hoping it takes me less than 5 years to actually read the next one!

Comments

[chestnut_pod]

This one was definitely my favorite of the three (Tree is so awesome), and I think her dynamic with Shiny is one of the most compelling in the whole series. I like how it explores how people who have done Very Bad Things and then learn to repent are accepted back by different people at different times, if at all, and a good society will allow that to happen.

[sophia_sol]

Yes! The exploration of repentance and how that can function is really interesting and well done in this book.

I think it's likely this'll be my favourite book in the series too, given what I've heard about the focus of book 3. But I still ought to actually read book 3 too....

[lokifan]

I liked that it took place largely among more "ordinary" people instead of all the action being set in the palace-city of the ruling class among the Arameri and the gods. I mean the gods are also definitely present in this book, but the feel is different.

The main character is a blind woman named Oree from a refugee group in the land of the Arameri. I really liked Oree

Same too all of this!! I loved Oree's kindness, and seeing, yeah, the more ordinary struggles that were still just as hard - gotta eat, gotta navigate disability - and so different from the palace intrigue.

[sophia_sol]

Exactly!! So good.