Nadine wrote:
Wow! Great bunch of answers from Nora, Paul.
Hey this one really has me thinking now. It is a challenge:
The whole story is triggered by one character who can't cope with something that happens -- not who you think, by the way, you'll find out who the trigger-person was in book 2, THE BROKEN KINGDOMS. So rather than accept the change that's happened, this person literally moves heaven and earth to force a more desirable change -- and all hell breaks loose as a result. This is sort of built into the cosmology of the Inheritance Trilogy; everything revolves around the balance between three gods. One is a god of chaos and change, yes -- but he's only one-third of the organizing principle of the universe, and not the most important third by far. The other two-thirds are equally relevant: a god of stagnation or order, and a goddess of balance. Her death is what destabilizes the other two.
At the end of the book, lets each of us make our best guess as to who the "trigger-person" is and then see if we are right when The Broken Kingdom comes out! I'm already developing some thoughts!
This mythology is becoming very interesting.
Yes! That response had me instantly salivating for Book Two! 
Paul
Nadine wrote:
Yes! That response had me instantly salivating for Book Two!
Paul
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Nadine:
Interestingly enough, some UK sites have The Broken Kingdoms release date as November, 2010 so that would just be fantastic!
Paul
I thought it amusing but for different reasons. It would not have been so bad if it were just a synopsis but they didn't even get their facts right!
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paulgoatallen wrote:As you all know, I'm a book reviewer – it's not just my job, it's my career. And I know that quite a few of you write reviews as well so here's an example of what NOT to do in a review. Below is the review for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms that recently appeared in BookPage:
"Many books are good, some are great, but few are truly important. Add to this last category The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin’s debut novel. The first in a trilogy, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms features Yeine Darr, whose mother had abandoned her life of privilege to live in her lover’s barbarian tribe and raise their daughter. When her mother dies, Yeine is called to return to Sky, the royal palace and home of the world’s rulers, the Arameri, to compete with a brother and sister for the chance to rule her native kingdoms. She does not expect to win, but does expect to solve the mystery of her mother’s death before she gets herself killed. The Arameri have enslaved the two remaining gods, Bright Itempas and the Nightlord, two of the three world-creating deities, and their various children, and they use them to control the kingdoms. Wonderfully filled with family secrets, brutal betrayals, a remarkable romance and the mystery of a mother’s love, the book rises above others of its type not only by creating a complex world and mythology, but by populating the former with characters of many different skin colors. In this reviewer’s opinion, this is the must-read fantasy of the year."
Now I'm not even halfway through the book so their may be many more errors than I picked up on.
to compete with a brother and sister for the chance to rule her native kingdoms. These are cousins., Yeine's native kingdom is Darr and she isn't all that enthusiastic about this "opportunity!"
The Arameri have enslaved the two remaining gods, Bright Itempas and the Nightlord I may be off on my mythology but I didn't think that Bright Itempas was enslaved. And, of course, we do have other named enslaved gods.
the book rises above others of its type not only by creating a complex world and mythology, but by populating the former with characters of many different skin colors. Now I might be off on my personal reaction to this novel, but I don't consider skin color an important issue in this book. Inequalities yes but that was not related to skin color. Look at Arameri servant class and Yeine is of high status both in her own land and in the Arameri court. Yeine may have some physical traites that are different from the idealized "beauty" of the Arameri but along with being dark skinned she is also short and somewhat stocky. Even the gods are dark and light. Actually, I haven't encountered that much diversity in the population so far but maybe because it has been mainly a non-subject. I think the importantance of Yeine's physical differences is that she is just that -- different. She also comes from a matriarchal society and is capable of physically defending herself and her fashion sense is somewhat different then the style worn in Sky by the ruling class.
Nadine wrote:
Now I might be off on my personal reaction to this novel, but I don't consider skin color an important issue in this book. Inequalities yes but that was not related to skin color. Look at Arameri servant class and Yeine is of high status both in her own land and in the Arameri court. Yeine may have some physical traites that are different from the idealized "beauty" of the Arameri but along with being dark skinned she is also short and somewhat stocky. Even the gods are dark and light. Actually, I haven't encountered that much diversity in the population so far but maybe because it has been mainly a non-subject. I think the importantance of Yeine's physical differences is that she is just that -- different. She also comes from a matriarchal society and is capable of physically defending herself and her fashion sense is somewhat different then the style worn in Sky by the ruling class.
Hi Nadine,
Yeah, I found that mention kind of odd/amusing too. IMO, what's happening is that a lot of epic fantasy glosses over or ignores the issue of race, except to essentialize it in creepy ways. For example, Tolkien's "races of men" (the good guys) are almost exclusively British-esque people -- the Rohirrim and the Gondoreans (and the Numenoreans, etc), who are described as noble and "fair" and all sorts of other positive adjectives. Meanwhile the bad guys (allies of Sauron) include ugly non-humans and several human races that are obviously meant to be Asians and Africans -- the Easterlings and Southrons, who were described as decadent and immoral. (In the Peter Jackson film they looked sort of Arabic -- the folks with the oliphaunts, if you don't remember the scene.) And I think Tolkien even dinged the Irish while he was at it, with the barbaric "mountain tribes" or "hill people" whatever they were called basically being depicted as lazy and selfish and cowardly. Back in Tolkien's day, the Irish were still commonly regarded as non-white by British people, though this was changing in America. Anyway, none of these latter races were counted among the good races by Tolkien -- or were called men, for that matter. Very blatant dehumanization, but not entirely surprising given that Tolkien was born in South Africa (though he moved to England in childhood) and his parents probably picked up some of the attitudes of apartheid.
There's also some history of this in Dungeons and Dragons, which was kind of starter material for many of today's epic fantasy readers. In early versions of the game, the orcs were essentially stereotypical black people (ugly, inherently vicious, violent, physically impressive but intellectually stupid, impossible to reason with or educate, fit only for killing), and the humans were all white and European. (So were the "good" races, like Elves and Dwarves. Orcs and Drow had dark skin.) Frankly, the whole D&D game framework is built on this kind of essentializing -- i.e., the idea that you know something about random strangers because you know their race, because there are "essential" characteristics to every group. Apply this idea to human beings and it's called racism. (Google Dungeons and Dragons and racism if you're curious; there's been a lot of discussion of this in the game sphere lately.)
So some reviewers are picking up on the fact that my trilogy includes people of all races, and some of the non-white characters are actually important to the story, not relegated to the role of sidekick or the guy who dies to help the hero. And none of the races are stereotyped or treated as inherently evil -- though various characters in the story do tend to have negative thoughts about other races, they're not always right to think that way. There are actually several epic fantasies out now which are trying to redress this problem in the subgenre; mine's not the only one by far. But it is still kind of rare. So I think what's happening is that a lot of reviewers aren't sure how to talk about this issue because they've never done it before, yet they understandably feel it's important. Most of us have been taught that even to discuss race is somehow racist, so the first few times we try, it comes across as awkward. In the case of the Bookpage review it was kind of a non-sequitur. But I'm still glad the reviewer mentioned it.
Nora (off at a writing retreat, so going to be a little slower to respond 'til Tuesday)
The Next Coming of Octavia E. Butler: A Hundred Thousand Reasons to Read N.K. Jemisin
I’ve been reviewing science fiction and fantasy releases for almost two decades now and my favorite reads are by far and away debut novels. It’s the exhilaration of experiencing the unknown, like stepping across a threshold into an unexplored world. I could discover a mind-blowing story from a transcendent new voice in the genre – like Ken Scholes, Jesse Bullington, Jon Armstrong, Kirsten Imani Kasai, or David Oppegaard – but unfortunately, more often than not, I stumble across something pedestrian; a book that may be mildly entertaining but that I’ll forget about completely in a few days.
Well, there is nothing pedestrian about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the debut novel from N. K. (Nora) Jemisin. The first installment of her Inheritance trilogy is nothing short of a towering fantasy tour de force comparable to existential masterworks by genre icons like Lucius Shepard, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Octavia E. Butler. Its serpentine, richly tapestried storyline makes it addictively entertaining but it’s also wildly thought provoking as well, particularly the themes that explore, as Jemisin herself says, “humanity’s desire to dominate everything it can – even its own gods.”
And speaking of the multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winning Octavia Butler, there are subtle thematic similarities between Jemisin’s novel – which is set in a sprawling realm where fallen gods live (albeit enslaved) amongst mortals and one extended royal family rules supreme – and Butler’s unfinished Parable trilogy (Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents), in which the fictitious philosophy/religion Earthseed is prominently featured throughout:
“All that you touch
You Change.
All that you Change
Changes you.
The only lasting truth
Is Change.
God
Is Change.” – from 1993’s Parable of the Sower
But although change is a significant theme in Jemisin’s much historied realm of a hundred thousands kingdoms, it’s only a part of the trilogy’s underpinnings, which revolves around the tumultuous relationship between a triad of Gods, who embody Order, Change and Balance:
“Once upon a time there were three great gods. Bright Itempas, Lord of Day, was the one destined by fate or the Maelstrom or some unfathomable design to rule. All was well until Enefa, His upstart sister, decided that she wanted to rule in Bright Itempas’s place. She convinced her brother Nahadoth to assist her, and together with some of their godling children they attempted a coup. Itempas, mightier than both His siblings combined, defeated them soundly. He slew Enefa, punished Nahadoth and the rebels, and established an even greater peace—for without His dark brother and wild sister to appease, He was free to bring true light and order to all creation.”
Jemisin describes Nahadoth, the Nightlord, very much like the embodiment of Earthseed: “He must change; he is Change.”
Jemisin, who is a guest in BarnesandNoble.com’s Fantasy/Science fiction forum this month, says that the central issue in the Inheritance trilogy isn’t so much about change as it is “change that’s handled badly.”
“…I would say my trilogy’s philosophy is that change itself is irrelevant, because it’s unavoidable; how we deal with change is what matters," she says. "Which I suppose does fit in with my personal philosophy, in a way – I'm a counseling psychologist in my day job life, and much of what I do involves helping people adjust to change in healthy ways.”
The main storyline in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms involves Yeine, the estranged granddaughter of Dekarta, the head of the Arameri family and “uncrowned king of the world.” Born and raised in a remote northern kingdom, when Yeine is summoned back to the towering city of Sky – also the location of the floating palace of the Arameri family – shortly after her mother dies under mysterious circumstances and is named an heir to her grandfather’s throne, she finds herself in the middle of a viper pit of scheming cousins, enslaved – and tortured – deities, self-absorbed nobles, and a virtual labyrinth of bloody family secrets. When she realizes that she is just an expendable pawn in a much larger game – one where the salvation of humankind may very well be in the balance – she must make the terrible decision about how best to use her death...
In her acknowledgments, Jemisin wrote: “Posthumous thanks to Octavia Butler, for going first and showing the rest of us how it’s done.”
Butler was a true original, a pioneer, an icon, and was described by NPR as “a rare science fiction author – black and a woman.”
When asked why more Afro-American women aren’t writing SF/fantasy, Nora replied:
“I'm not really sure how to answer that question, because it starts from what I think might be a false assumption. I know plenty of African American women (and men, and Asian Americans, and Latino/a Americans, and so on) who write SF/F. Offhand I can mention Nisi Shawl, Nnedi Okorafor, Nalo Hopkinson, LaShawn Wanak, Alaya Dawn Johnson, K. Tempest Bradford, Helen Oyeyemi, Tananarive Due, L.A. Banks, Ibi Aanu Zoboi, Carole McDonnell, Linda Addison, Sheree R. Thomas, Jewelle Gomez... I'm probably missing quite a few. And those are just the ones who've published short stories or novels; I know many more who are on the hoping-to-get-published track. Octavia Butler left behind a lot of children, spiritually speaking.
Now granted – I think there should be *more* black women writing SF/F. For a very long time now SF/F has mostly reflected the mythic structure and futuristic ideologies of a fairly narrow subset of people (mostly straight white American men). Nothing wrong with that: their myths and futures are interesting. But so are other people's, and we won't get to see more of those as long as the white guys are hogging the spotlight.”
Jemisin concludes: “SF/F claims to incorporate the full complexity of humankind in its fiction, so it needs to reflect this complexity in its own makeup. I'm hoping we'll see more changes of this nature over time.”
Well, readers – that time is now. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is epic fantasy at its very best: entertaining and enlightening. And in terms of style and theme and clarity, Jemisin just may be the next coming of Octavia E. Butler…
