N.
K. Jemisin – The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
This one really grabs you.
Yeine, the main character is a relative nobody
suddenly thrust into royal politics. (Not precisely true in the sense that she’s
a chieftain of her people in the North, but she’s very much a nobody in
this circle of ultra-powerful nobles and divinity.) Really engaging book right
from the get-go, in a world where Gods are walking around, but enslaved and
weaponized by a powerful family that rules from a massive castle floating over
nations and barbarian hordes. A Zelazny-esque take on a family powerful enough
that the line between Gods and people becomes very blurred. Packed with Machiavellian
family politics and maneuvering for the throne of a giant city in the sky. Best
part is how the Gods and Goddesses are fascinating both as mythology and as
individuals. First in the Inheritance Trilogy. Might as well get all three,
because you probably won’t be stopping at one.
