First off, it's amazing how much progress one can make on a fantasy novel while one is cooling one's heels before a solar eclipse reaches totality.

Having commented a number of times on how the second book of this trilogy didn't do much for me, and I only finally got it read by dealing with it as a chore to get done, I approached the final book with a little trepidation. However, taking the godling Sieh as its prime character focus, this concluding book is far from a chore to read, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. But, did I enjoy it better than "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms?" Perhaps not, but it's been a long time since I read that book and I'm still inclined to call it my second favorite work of Jemisin's, only esteeming "The Fifth Season" more.

Still, things blow up real good in the climax of this trilogy, in which the process of collapse started in the first book comes to its culmination point, leading to a rebirth of sorts. Also, Jemisin ends on a grace note calling out to that second book I'm not so fond of, which I personally thought turned out to be a great point to end on. ( )

Prelim Review: From the first book, [b:The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms|6437061|The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1303143211s/6437061.jpg|6626657], I loved Sieh. The prankster. The Eternal Child. The impetuous, reckless, cruel Sieh. He was everything that was wonderful about being a child and everything that was terrible. So for me this was the perfect book. I thought it oddly fitting in many ways--Book 1 was about a mortal who became a god. Book 2 was about a mortal plagued by gods (and the one who was not a god but not mortal) and so what else to finish the circle then a god who was slowly becoming mortal?

I love the book. I love that even though Sieh was maturing in a way he had never been before (he shifted his age as he liked, but he didn't understand the full truth of aging) he didn't allow that to make him any less than he was. Maybe he didn't enjoy the experience and certainly it taught him so hard lessons, but given his nature it was a necessary.

Its funny because Jemisin's writing makes me want to be able to discuss how the book(s) make me feel in a better more thought-provoking fashion. I'm not a terribly eloquent person to be honest, nor can I discuss at length the deep nature of the book that Jemisin so encapsulates. I can talk passionately about why I love something and if I read something I agree with that is intelligent and thoughtful and everything I can never form into words, I will use that to help me explain my love better....but its not my nature to be so brainy? Though that's not the right word at all I don't think.

Full Review to be posted at Poisoned Rationality ( )

Another enjoyable page-turner from Jemisin.

Jemisin writes novels in which her characters and settings are radically transformed during the course of the narrative. The Kingdom of Gods did this particularly well, making for a story with strong forward momentum. Sieh, our trickster narrator, goes on a journey that we don't expect, and political and cosmological shifts literally change the world.

The plotting didn't always work for me - it reminded me of the previous book in the trilogy, with the characters tumbling from one messy situation to another, sometimes via obvious plot hook. The worldbuilding was mostly strong, but sometimes the language threw me off; Sieh's childlike slanginess included stock phrases from in our world, and I think invented phrases would have worked better.

This is certainly the most ambitious novel in the trilogy, which is why I'm inclined to give it a high rating despite plot wobbliness. At its best moments, it's profound about the human condition, going places that are more often explored in science fiction than in fantasy. (I say that as someone who normally prefers fantasy!) ( )

While in the previous installment in the inheritance trilogy I remarked that nothing of note happened, this book was just all over the place. Everything that happened plot-wise was unexpected and unexplained. Almost every plottwist, except maybe the ending, seemed to be preceded by "it turns out that this is a thing and has always been a thing but it just wasn't mentioned before so just go with it". It was like a reverse 'ex-machina' at every plottwist.

Also, it seems that, until the very last pages, Sieh's character was just made up of simultaneously wanting to love and kill everyone he meets, and an inability to get over his predjudices despite the overwhelming evidence. This was maybe supposed to make him a sort of anti-hero but made him a frustrating, unlikeable, whiny main character to me. Seriously, the "I love you but should kill you, but will not kill you because I love you"-thing was novel in the first book but became very old very quick in this one.

Still, Jemesins writing had radically improved since the first book, so while I did not like this trilogy story-wise, it certainly made Jemesin into a better writer and we have the absolutely brilliant Broken Earth trilogy as a result. ( )

I really enjoyed this last installment, linearity and all. Sieh took some getting used to, as I read along, but in the end, I felt the story was wrapped up well. This one was much easier to read than the first two because I didn't have to hurt my brain trying to figure out the when, where, who shifts, which I appreciated.

Give it a read! ( )