- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Audible publish date: 2018
- Print Publish Date: 2010
- Series: Book 1 of 3.5 The Inheritance Trilogy
- Listening Length: 11 hours and 47 minutes
- Language: English
- ASIN: B07J5Q2RB3
- Author: N. K. Jemisin
- Read by: Casaundra Freeman
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin tells the story of Yeine Darr. Shortly after the murder of her mother, she is summoned to the magnificent floating city of Sky by her grandfather Dekarta, the ruler of the world and head of the Arameri family. She is told that she is to be one of three candidates to be heir to the ‘throne’. With little to no experience in the Arameri ways, it soon becomes clear that she is not intended to win the contest, and most likely, will not survive the machinations of her two cousins who also vie for the position.
While completely outside the real world, the worlds of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms are believable in context of the book. From gods enslaved to those enslaving. Political intrigues and romantic intrigues. Power struggles and personal struggles. Jemisin is an amazing creator of worlds. She is able to spin complete universes with gods and clans and mythologies and histories.
This world building is key to the completeness of this story, but the story itself is rich and fulfilling as well. Yeine has to work to understand how to survive in a city and society that are foreign to her. She interacts with the gods of the city who are literal inhabitants and prisoners of the Arameri, forced to do the bidding of the extended family. As she builds her understanding, we come to appreciate the richness of the world and to better understand it ourselves. The story builds through its various intrigues, and is not overly predictable, even to the end. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a satisfying experience, and I look forward to the rest of The Inheritance Trilogy.
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“Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale” – by Matt Truxaw
Matt Truxaw’s newest book is Monster, which released on 1/12/2026. This urban fantasy, horror, thriller will keep you turning the pages.
He is also the author of the hard science fiction thrillers: “Plastiphobia/Plastivore” and “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale”
You can find them all on Amazon in Paperback, Hardback, Kindle and/or free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read any of them, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets MANY of his books out of the library/Libby so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
Monster: A Novel by Matt Truxaw
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