Thoughtful fantasy I actually liked! I'm firmly on the side of the old lady, though. "I want every moment of my life, pretty man, the painful and the sweet alike. Until the very end. If these are all the memories I get... I want to take as many of them with me as I can." I don't think Jemisin agrees, which means issues about euthanasia as it intersects with physical disability are underexplored/underproblematized IMO. Mental health/neurodivergence is handled more thoughtfully.

The Killing Moon almost functions as a mystery, but multiple viewpoints trip things up a bit. You often find things out from one POV and in the next chapter have the same thing revealed to another set of POV characters, which feels anticlimactic.

What is it with the formal way people speak in fantasy novels? Is that a thing? I was noticing it a lot in the early part of this book. ( )

In a pure fantasy realm, the worshipers of the goddess of dreaming maintain the peace by ritualistically culling the souls of those who are deemed corrupt. The agents of this soul tithe are called Gatherers and their sacred duty is to remove the evil from their land by killing a person peacefully in their sleep. Newly minted apprentice Gatherer, Nijiri is eager to begin training under his master, Ehiru, a man whom he has loved for years.

Unfortunately, Ehiru has botched a recent tithe collection and is nearly inconsolable from guilt. To make matters worse, it soon becomes clear that the man he killed was not corrupt at all, but that a deep corruption within the Brotherhood is working evil in the world. Even as Ehiru questions his calling and his sanity, he will be set on a nearly impossible mission to ferret out the corruption among their own ranks which reaches as high as the Prince. Can he keep himself and his apprentice alive long enough to fulfill his duty and prevent war?

This is such a vividly rendered world that one could get lost in it. The first few chapters were a bit difficult to get into as the world building drops you into the action rather than tediously trying to explain everything. I appreciated this method as it creates a sense of wonder and confusion that anyone would have entering a new culture. The story telling is flawless and the characters are vibrant. I'm excited to see what the next book brings! ( )

I appreciate the nuanced way The Killing Moon dealt with subjects like power and corruption, justice and policing, religion, and self-care. I wish the dreaming world was a bit more explored, but I'm a big Sandman fan and I'm watching the Netflix adaptation of it right now which might be affecting my expectations. ( )

A very interesting book. It's nice to see fantasy in a different setting. I have absolutely no problem with medieval or celtic fantasy, but something original at times keeps things enjoyable.

The setting in this book is based on Egyptian culture. It has a very interesting form of magic, based on dreams. People offer up their dreams every now and then to the temple, and this is used to create magic for healing and such. Another part of the religion involves dying: people who are suffering or nearly dead can ask for a Gatherer to help them. This person basically kills them, but does it in such a way that their soul resides in a dreamworld that is pleasant to them. So far so good, but this procedure is also carried out for people who are judged corrupt, which is where it becomes a bit dubious. For what makes a person corrupt? Some of the main characters believe so sincerely in what they are doing that they do not allow for the possibility that the system could be misused in some way. Of course, this is exactly what is happening: things are not as rosy as they should have been. I find this naiveté, particularly in Ehiru, one of the main characters and a Gatherer a bit irking: the man is a bit older, meets corruption every day (or actually night) in the course of his duty and was raised in the Palace. It's good to be idealistic, but considering all that, I would have expected it to be tempered by a bit more realism.

There are some quite interesting themes surrounding mental illnesses, and how they are connected to this dream religion. It would have been interesting to learn a bit more about it, but on the other hand, I rather liked the way Jemisin gave out information. It's gradually woven into the story, so that you learn more backstory as you go along.

Other things to like: even though this emotion exists between two celibates, apparently there is no problem with two men loving each other, and I like that the two female main characters are shown as quite competent, without them having to prove it to their male counterparts all the time.

As for the reading experience, I found that I was quite interested in the book while reading it, but that I could also put it away easily. At around 70% of the book, I was trying to read more quickly, because I wanted to finish the book, but I also wanted to be finished with it. Other books were shouting for attention, and they easily overshadowed The killing moon. I've been told that the second book is better, and it will be in a group read at LT next month, so I might read it, but I'll be honest: I'm not sure. ( )

The Killing Moon was an unputdownable read for me. I wanted to keep returning to this world, which blends a fantastical reimagining of Egypt and Nubia with a compelling magic system in which priests gather human dreams, passions, and vitality for magical purposes.

I'm not actually fond of the phrase "magic system," because such systems so often feel like the rules for a tabletop RPG. They are "balanced" and internally consistent, but they come off as mechanical and are usually uncomfortably wedged into a pre-industrial setting. Jemisin absolutely upends this trend. Her magic permeates every aspect of Gujaareen society; its religious, philosophical, and political repercussions made me feel as if I were reading about a real ancient society that had stumbled on magic. I think Jemisin could tell a lot of stories in this world, and I hope she does.

The other element that kept me reading was the IMMENSE EMOTIONAL INTENSITY. Jemisin's prose is measured and slightly distant, but she had me immediately caring about and rooting for Ehiru and Nijiri. I think it's because she portrays them so starkly—two Gatherers of the Hetawa who are each very innocent in different ways—and then pushes them so far, threatening what each of them values most. Their arc of love and tragedy made for a compelling and satisfying read.

I'm not giving this five stars because the plotting, while serviceable, didn't blow me away. The middle in particular felt weak. The characters spend a lot of time traveling in order to find out and share information, but their journeys don't seem to contribute much to the events unfolding. The story also relies on conspiracies and secrets, and while there are some compelling revelations, I wasn't convinced that some of these secrets could have been kept successfully.

I am certainly going to read the sequel and, if I can get my hands on them, give Jemisin's previous series a try. ( )