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The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin (2012)
My first N.K. Jemisin book was The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, a fantasy story set in a world which does not have European fantasy tropes. The Killing Moon is another fantasy story set in a non-European fantasy world, only this time it’s one based around Egyptian/Mediterranean/etc. cultures. It’s not set on Earth, so really it’s only got the flavor of those cultures, but it’s enough of a flavor to make me really happy. I LOVE it when a fantasy isn’t just another pseudo-medieval Europe expy! More diverse settings/characters/worlds, please!
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REVIEW: The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Read for The Women of Fantasy Book Club I’ve written and rewritten this review three times now, and I’m getting really sick of it. So this review is now going going to be short, to the point, and AWESOME. It’s always good to start on a positive note, right? So: I loved The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I love the writing, the themes, how it doesn’t gloss over important issues that pop up in the relationship between humans and gods or humans and humans. I like the action, the intrigue, the characters, the setting. I loved the language, especially in the parts that tell stories about the mythology of the world…
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REVIEW: Empress by Karen Miller
I got this during last month’s $1 Orbit sale, and then somehow forgot about it until last week. I started reading it and couldn’t stop, even though I had a paper to write for school. It’s seriously good! I wasn’t really expecting anything when I started reading, but honestly, the first chapter alone shocked me. It’s got rape, domestic abuse, child abuse, slavery, and many other messed-up things, and it gets worse as the book goes on. Religion plays a huge part, and it’s the kind of religion with blood sacrifices and self-flagellation and smitings, and while it hasn’t escalated into human sacrifices (that I remember, anyway), it does seem…