Read-Along: The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, Part 1

Here begins another read-along!  I've been meaning to read the rest of Jemisin's trilogy ever since I was so impressed with the Dreamblood duology.  This read-along, which will continue through Kingdom of Gods seemed like a good opportunity to do just that.  It is hosted by Books Without Any Pictures, Dab of Darkness, and Violin in a Void.  This first post covers the beginning of The Broken Kingdoms through Chapter 4.

There are spoilers through Chapter 4 of The Broken Kingdoms, and of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms past this point!

1.  What do you think so far of Oree Shoth?  Do you like her as much as Yeine?

It’s been a while since I read about Yeine; about three years.  I might not be able to make a valid comparison right now between the two of them.  I like Oree, though.  She’s giving Shiny way more chances than he deserves, but that’s probably just because she’s very kind.  I also think it's very interesting to read a story from the perspective of someone who is unable to see, even though that disability is mitigated by her ability to see magic.  

2. Sky is now referred to by its inhabitants as Shadow, and we get to see the city from the perspective of the commoners rather than the ruling Arameri.  What do you think of the book's setting?

It seems to be a very practical name-change! I’m not sure I would like living in near-perpetual shadow, and all the godlings would make things even more difficult.  As a setting for the story, though, I have been enjoying Shadow, its commoners, and its godlings.  I get the impression that Oree and Shiny are going to have to leave the city, though, after the events of this section.

3.  The gods play a much different role in this book than in "The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms," and spend their time interacting with the people of Sky/Shadow.  What do you think of the gods and godlings that we've met thus far?  Who are your favorites?

It was neat to see Yeine put in an appearance in goddess form, and I liked Sieh quite a lot from the previous book.  I suppose the most interesting to me would be the mercy goddess.  It would be very difficult to live that attribute among mortals, I think.

4.  Any predictions on who or what could be killing the godlings?

It seems it’s not Shiny, because he was rather shocked.  Another guess would have been Nahadoth, but he and Yeine are apparently furious.  It’s said that none of the other godlings could have killed Role without making much more of a mess.  Perhaps there is a new major god about?

5.  For everyone who read the last book, Shiny's identity should be relatively easy to guess, even though it hasn't been explicitly stated yet.  Do you think his punishment is suiting, or is it too much?  Is there any chance he'll come out of this as a normal person?  How do you think Oree will react when she finds out?

Yeah, I think his identity was pretty obvious to guess, from the readers’ perspective.  I think he is totally cheating his punishment, though.  He was supposed to have nothing he didn’t earn himself, in terms of goods and reputation, but everyone basically told Oree that he was extremely important, probably a punished god, and had done something unforgivable.  I thought the point was to force him to start completely anew—and he definitely isn’t doing that, from what I can tell.  If Oree is okay with him now, knowing all the broad strokes of his life but no details, I can’t imagine she would feel any different after the blanks have been filled in.

On another note, Oree’s paintings have some pretty amazing magic!  Do you think we’re going to end up with some characters traveling to other populated worlds? That would be pretty amazing. However, I bet Oree is a little too traumatized from cutting people in half to paint anything for a while.

All that magic kind of indicates that the previt is right, and there is something extra special and dangerous about Oree.  I’m wondering if she’s a goddess and doesn’t know it, like Yeine.  I suppose if that’s the case, maybe she switches between god/mortal forms like Nahadoth did, and just doesn’t remember that she’s the one killing godlings.