The Shadowed Sun by
N.K. Jemisin
Published :
Orbit, 2012
Series : Book 2
of the Dreamblood series
Since this is the
second book of a series, some spoilers of the first book will be included from
this point on.
The Book :
“After the
events of The Killing Moon, Gujaareh has been taken over by the Kisuati
Protectorate. The Hetawa, the
powerful priesthood of the dream goddess Hananja, supports this occupation—for
now. Hananja’s city follows Hananja’s law, and its priests follow the swiftest
path to peace and the elimination of corruption, whatever the cost.
Under the
Kisuati, Gujaareh is now anything but peaceful. Within the city, the people face the corruption of the
Kisuati occupying forces, as well as a mysterious plague of nightmares that
drags sufferers down into death.
Out in the desert, the surviving son of the former ruler bides his time,
eager to take back his father’s throne.
In these troubled days, the young Sharer-apprentice Hanani, the first
woman to ever bear that title, is given a dangerous task: to free Gujaareh.”
~Allie
My Thoughts :
I enjoyed the world of The
Killing Moon, so it’s no surprise that this is also the case for The Shadowed Sun. The first novel
carried the brunt of introducing the world, its history, and its mythology,
which allowed for more details to be worked smoothly into the story in the
second novel. I was very interested in the dream magic of the first novel, and
was delighted to see it further explained and expanded in The Shadowed Sun. There was more of a focus on the Sharer path,
which involved gathering dream humors and healing, and of the training of the
dreaming gift. There was also a
bit more information about Gujaareh, and the culture of the Banbarra desert
tribe is introduced. A lot of the
story involved cultural differences between Kisua, Gujaareh, and the Banbarra,
and there was a significant focus on issues of gender and class within
different societies.
Sexism may not have played a large role in The Killing Moon, but it is a major
factor in the story of The Shadowed Sun.
One aspect of the portrayal of sexism that I found particularly interesting was
that those who perpetuated it typically believed that they loved and respected
women. In Gujaareh, for instance, the idea was that women were goddesses, and
should therefore not be treated like human beings. Among many other things, this
was used as a justification to refuse to train women in the use of dream magic,
causing some women to be driven insane by their dreaming gifts. In the Banbarra
tribe, the gender relations seemed more complicated, involving more issues of
class, wealth, and cultural values that differed from those of Gujaareh. It was
frustrating, though believable, that the members of these cultures refused to
discard their gender stereotypes, even when faced with proof of their actual
origins.
Following from this, I should warn that this novel contained
a pretty large amount of sexual violence, rape, and child abuse. While this appeared
throughout the novel, it was most concentrated in the story of the character Tiaanet,
an incomparably beautiful women who was continually abused by her father. I felt that the depictions of abuse and
the victims were for the most part thoughtfully done, and the long-term suffering
caused by the abusers was not diminished.
However, there were still a
few things in the treatment of these topics that bothered me. The first was the
portrayal of Tiaanet as breathtakingly beautiful, and the implication that this
was a reason that her father molested her. I was also not entirely happy with the conclusion of the
story, due to the fates of the characters that had suffered the
most.
The other main characters of the story are the
Sharer-apprentice Hanani and the prince-in-exile Wanahomen. Hanani was the
first female to serve Hananja as a Sharer, a highly competent young woman who
struggled with being assertive. I pretty much adored her immediately in the
beginning of the book, but I was not completely thrilled with the direction her
story took. Wanahomen was a pretty standard character type—the exiled prince
seeking to regain his rightful throne. Despite his standard-fantasy
motivations, he was a pretty complex and believable character who grew and
changed throughout the novel.
Their personal stories involved the plan to retake the throne, and a
fairly predictable romance. I’m
not really a fan of romance at the best of times, and this one didn’t really
convince me. However, there was so much else going on, and the characters were
so individually interesting, that the story was highly engaging from start to
finish.
My Rating : 4/5
The Shadowed Sun will
not replace The Killing Moon as my
favorite of N.K. Jemisin’s novels, but it was a satisfying sequel. Though Nijiri and Sunandi show up
briefly, the story primarily follows female Sharer-Apprentice Hanani, the
exiled Prince Wanahomen, and the beautiful Tiaanet. I thought it was
interesting to see the comparison of different cultures and their ideas
concerning gender, and to see more explanation on the Hetawa’s dream magic. However, the inclusion of a pretty large
amount of rape and sexual violence made the story sometimes uncomfortable to
read. I am also not much of a
romance fan, and I was not really won over by the romantic turns of the
plot. Overall, The Shadowed Sun was an engaging story
featuring complex characters, and I thought that it was a fitting sequel to The Killing Moon.
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