The Kingdom of Gods [Mass Market Paperback]

In reading other reviews of this book (mostly on GoodReads) I know that fan reaction to 'Kingdom of Gods' has been mixed. I happen to fall into the camp that absolutely loved it. For reference: I loved loved loved Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, was somewhat less taken with Broken Kingdoms (Itempas is not my favorite character, although I did feel more favorably towards him by the end of 'Kingdom of Gods'), and didn't know how I was going to react to this book.

The central character in this story is Sieh, the oldest of the godlings, the trickster, the perpetual child. Throughout this story, he is supported by Shahar and Dekarta, twin children of the Arameri ruler. While the back of the book may lead you to believe that Sieh and Shahar are the driving force of the story, Dekarta is just as important a character. Everything in this universe that N.K. Jemisin has created, after all, is driven by the number three. Yeine, Nahadoth, and Itempas also play important supporting roles, and the story begun in 'The Broken Kingdoms' is also carried forward.

I am hesitant to delve too deeply into the plot, as part of the joy of these books (for me) has been letting the story unfold in front of me, never quite sure what was going to happen next. One part of the premise, though, is that someone is targeting the Arameri royal family with a deadly new sort of magic, one that confounds the mortals, godlings, and Gods alike. This thread running through the story allows N.K. Jemisin to set the story in both the palace and the city below, building off of the foundations laid in the first two books.

For me, this was a very satisfying read. If you aren't a fan of Sieh, your mileage will almost certainly vary. But I really enjoyed it! And I felt it was a satisfying conclusion to one of my favorite fantasy series' in recent memory.

I loved the trilogy, with the first book being my fave. However, this is not the story of Shahar and her romance with the god Sieh. This is the story of Sieh, a gay/bisexual god who becomes a mortal human male and falls in love with both Dekarta and Shahar, but has his primary and long-term relationship with Dekarta. If that had been clear, I'd have bought this book a lot sooner -- and would've bought extra copies to loan to friends. As it is, I'm very disappointed that the back cover copy has "straightwashed" Sieh and misrepresented the love story in the book. The author probably didn't get a choice about it, so I don't blame her, but the publisher should be ashamed of themselves.

I'm sorry to say it, but The Kingdom of Gods is the worst novel in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. The second novel, The Broken Kingdoms, was not as cohesive, but still enjoyable. This final novel is, quite plainly, just a mess.

To begin with, the jacket description is completely inaccurate. It is obvious that the person writing the jacket description never read the story. The story begins quite some time after the second novel. Sieh returns as the central character, and the book is told from his first-person narrative. While I liked Sieh in the previous novels, I cannot say the same in this novel. Sieh is the oldest of the god children, as well as the most "human." It's Sieh's childlike nature and fascination with childhood that drive his existence. (It also lends to some very intense and very adult topics).

**It is important to note that these novels, especially this one, are adult novels. They are not for teens/ young adult. The topics of rape, incest, abuse, child/ adult sex fantasy, and descriptive sex scenes abound. This is not a complaint. It is just a warning to those thinking these might be your average, straightforward fantasy novels based on the pretty covers.

In my opinion, a novel can have as much sex, violence, language, and romance as the author intends. The only thing I expect is that those topics make sense and work in the novel. Unfortunately, the fascination with sex did not work in this novel. I felt like the author was going more for shock value than substance. Whereas in the first two novels, several couples had legitimate and believable relationships and sexual encounters, in this novel the characters were thrown together at random times to satisfy Sieh's curiosity. There was a lot of talk of love, (possibly trying to convince the reader that the shock sex was something more than that), but the love aspect did not come across.

The story was muddled. Characters and locations jumped around with little thought. There were too many non-essential characters, and not enough meaning to the main characters. The bad guy seemed like an afterthought. Aside from Dakarta, I did not care for any of the characters. Perhaps it was because he was the only one that had any redeeming qualities. Perhaps if a story had been told from his perspective and centered around his life, it would have been a story worth telling.

This book did not hold my interest. I had to force myself to finish it. I never comment on other reviews, but I am honestly perplexed at the number of five-star reviews. I understand them for the first novel in the series. I can accept them for the second, but this novel was nowhere near the caliber of the previous novels. I look forward to reading future novels by N.K. Jemison. I only hope they follow the format and success of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and not the muddled mess of The Kingdom of Gods.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 22 reviews  4.3 out of 5 stars