This series keeps surprising me. Jemisin certainly has a knack for taking stories in unexpected directions. It’s hard to say if I liked this one better than the first book. I think it may be a tie. They’re both great reads in different ways. The Broken Kingdoms is more melancholy, but not in a depressing way. The plot is still compelling and the new characters are just as interesting as the first batch.
The Broken Kingdoms jumps ten years forward into the aftermath of the events in The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. A mostly blind artist, Oree Shoth, is living in Shadow, the magic filled city beneath Sky. When she finds a mostly dead homeless man with magical tendencies, Oree takes him in and tries to care for him when he will not care for himself. Unfortunately Oree and this mysterious man are soon wrapped up in a terrifying conspiracy. Although their experiences together are truly frightening, the plot really shines by centering on the friendship between these two characters. They both have something to offer the other and make each other better people.
Jemisin was smart to center this sequel on mostly new characters and a few supporting characters from the first book. There are some great cameos from The Hundred Thousand Kingdom’s main characters, but the shift in perspective allows this book to be its own thing. It’s a great meditation on the human consequences of sudden and immense changes to society. Even when that change is ultimately a good thing, there will be some serious growing pains. And now I’m off to find myself the third book in this series. Hopefully it can stand up to the first two in terms of quality.
