The Broken Kingdoms (The Inheritance Trilogy Book 2)

A man with no memory of his past and a struggling, blind street artist will face off against the will of the gods as the secrets of this stranger's past are revealed in the sequel to The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, the debut novel of NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. In the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a strange homeless man on an impulse. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city. And Oree's guest is at the heart of it. . .

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. New authors often falter when following up on a noteworthy debut, but Jemisin proves more than up to the challenge. A decade after the events of March 2010's The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, artist Oree, blind to reality but able to see magic, sells trinkets to tourists in Sky, a city filled with supernatural entities and happenings in a world slowly emerging from doctrinaire authoritarianism. After she discovers the corpse of a murdered godling, Oree is pursued both by fanatic religious officials looking for scapegoats and by the ruthless conspirators behind the murder. Hesitant, impoverished Oree is very different from Jemisin's previous heroine, politician–princess Yeine, and she proves just as compelling as she investigates the murder and her own mysterious heritage. Returning fans will especially appreciate certain details, but this novel stands on its own and is worth reading purely for its own strengths. (Nov.) (c) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Bookmarks Magazine

In The Broken Kingdoms, N. K. Jemisin expands her worldview from the Arameri Palace of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms to include the richly drawn tapestry of Shadow, introducing new and interesting characters and layering plot to build anticipation for the trilogy’s finale. Critical consensus deems The Broken Kingdoms even better than its predecessor—unusual for the middle book of a trilogy—and Jemisin, who had previously published short fiction, is poised to make a name for herself in fantasy circles (evidenced as well by Hugo and Nebula nominations). Although The Broken Kingdoms works as a stand-alone novel, readers familiar with the first book will recognize and appreciate Jemisin’s deftly constructed world. Readers new to the series, however, may wish to start with the first book.

About the Author

N.K. Jemisin is a career counselor, political blogger, and would-be gourmand living in New York City. She's been writing since the age of 10, although her early works will never see the light of day. Find out more at nkjemisin.com.

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