The Killing Moon

This tale creates a world so beautiful and haunting that it forced new definitions of terms love, dedication, peace, acceptance, duty and respect.

Story line and magic was interesting. No connection with characters though...

I saved this duology for quite a while before reading, because I don't know when there'll be more of Jemisin's work for me to enjoy. And enjoy it always is: I was warned that my anxiety issues might be sparked a bit by the world set up here, but they weren't.

God, I loved the characters. Ehiru just -- at first I feared that he might be too sure of himself, too arrogant, or perhaps even worse, too perfect. But he wasn't perfect, and I ached for him, and for Nijiri because of how much he loved him. I loved that I hoped (hopelessly) for a happier end, for something I knew Jemisin wouldn't give her readers easily, or straightforwardly. And I loved the sense of peace at the end, the sense that despite everything, there could still be calm, there could still be love.

I loved the concept of the Gatherers, and I loved that we saw both sides of that story. I love that that isn't straightforward, either: that sometimes the Gatherers take people unwillingly, even if it's with peace and with love, and that the ethical issues there are so complicated. I loved that I felt pity for all involved, that there was no straightforward evil.

In summary, as usual, I think this was a masterful novel from Jemisin, and I can't wait to read The Shadowed Sun. Except perhaps I can, because ach, I don't want to have no more of her work lined up to read.

I think technically this falls somewhere between four and five stars for me: four for the plot, but five for how attached I got to Ehiru. So I'll give it five.

I liked this pretty much unconditionally. Fascinating magic system, believable characters with a variety of motivations, lovely and original setting, unmarked queerness, sold.

I'd like to see a little more deconstruction of the "women are goddesses therefore they need to stay in the kitchen" construct, which was pretty clearly set up for a righteous thrashing-out, but not followed through on much in this book, but the sequel's next on the stack so we shall see. That's not a complaint, mind you, just a callout of a bit of worldbuilding ripe for exploration.

Jemisin's world-building is even better than in her award-winning Hundred Thousand Kingdoms trilogy. She talks about it a little at the end, but while reading it, you simply are immersed in another world. She never holds back from political treachery and death, something that sometimes makes it difficult for me to get into her books, but she always provides a strong story which keeps me going until the end once I am in them. And she is highly original--very few fantasy tropes to deal with. In her self-interview at the end, she asks herself--since all her books have strong ties to the gods--about why she keeps exploring religion in her writing, and what she replied resonated with me. "I consider myself an agnostic...in the sense of doubting the capability of any human religion to encompass the divine...Religion is a handy guide to living, assuming you're still living in the society that existed at the time of the religion's founding."

This book and I didn't get along.

I loved N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance trilogy, and THE KILLING MOON has a lot in common with the Inheritance books. The three main characters, for example - Ehuru has a sexualized father/son mentor/mentee relationship to younger Nijiri, and the two of them have an antagonistic/sexualized relationship with the female lead, Sunandi. There are similar themes, too, of empires ready to fall, of virtues like order or compassion that turn toxic when given injections of power and magic.

Also like the Inheritance books, the language is stylized but here it struck me as leaden and distancing rather than lush and enveloping. And the worldbuilding is exquisite, but...well, but. I didn't care because the book was so depressing. There are no fun bits to balance out the betrayals and assassinations and double-crossings. The deeper I got into this world the more I wanted to turn around and crawl right back out. By the end I was practically begging for a Gatherer myself: please, make it end, put me out of my misery.

Because, yeah, the lead characters - Ehuru and Nijiri - they're mercy killers. It's their official, holy calling. They sneak into people's rooms at night and suck the magical lifeblood right out of them. Said magical lifeblood - dreamblood - is highly addictive and all the Gatherers are addicts. They're emotionless, detached, completely devoted to their goddess - their drug. If they go for too long without killing, they enter withdrawal. If they overdose, they turn into insane superaddicts.

And those are our heroes. Just imagine the villains and how depressing they are. Hint: so much more depressing.

In all seriousness, I just didn't attach to the main characters. Ehuru and Nijiri are hard to relate to - they're detached, emotionally deadened addicts - and they change over the course of the book in ways that made them even harder to understand and sympathize with. The female lead, Sunandi, ought to have been easier to relate to. She's a spy, which is fun, and she thinks that the whole concept of Gathering is crazy, which is sensible. But she doesn't get as much pagetime as Ehuru or Nijiri and, at the end of the day, she's not a warm person, either.

If you like your books dark, unrelentingly grim, and full of tragedy, pick this one up. Otherwise...well. Read another review and keep thinking.

Took me a while to get into it, but starting round about page 90, it just flew. Looking forward to book two.

Set in a world derived from Egyptian antecedents, much is made in the blurbs of the relationship between Ehiru (a holy assassin and priest) and Sunandi (a lady ambassador) who find themselves forced to depend on each other to expose a conspiracy eating at Ehiru's kingdom. What really drives this book is that Ehiru discovers the cost of the magic that his society is based upon, and which gives him power and prestige. If nothing else Jemisin continues to show real flair in depicting intense conspiracy and the costs of holding absolute power.

The city-state Gujaareh worships Hananja, the goddess of dreams. Here peace reigns and brings with it prosperity. Crime is virtually unheard of, since those judged corrupt are “harvested” by the Priestess’s Gatherers – high priests who ease the corrupt, and also the terminally sick, into pleasant dreams and then harvest magic from their dying soul. The magic, or “tithe”, is then given to Sharers who use it to heal the sick. It’s a system that works well for the devout of the city; Gatherers spend many years training to attain their position, and are revered by all. At the very start of the book, we observe Ehiru, the first and greatest of the Gatherers, about his work. Ehiru is the very definition of a holy man; he believes absolutely that what he does is not only a holy offering to Hananja, but also brings peace to the souls he “gathers” and provides valuable resources to help the poor and sick. He cannot comprehend that foreigners might be horrified at what he does, and views them all as subject to Hananja’s law, whether they believe in it or not.However, after a harvesting goes wrong, Ehiru starts to doubt himself; then when he is sent to “gather” the soul of Sunandi, the Kisuati ambassador to Gujaareh, she pleads for her life, claiming that it is not her who is corrupt, but the leaders at the very heart of the city. Ehiru decides to investigate her claims – and this sets him on the trail of a complicated conspiracy which will lead him to doubt everything he holds true.This book has many strengths, the greatest of which is the tension between Ehiru (and his apprentice Nijiiri) and Sunandi – forced to work together despite their deeply held and opposing views. Both of them gradually come to accept and partially understand the other’s viewpoint.The other beautiful aspect is the touching portrayal of the love between Ehiru and Nijiiri – master and apprentice are each willing to lay down their life for the other.In summary, this is not the best YA fantasy I have read, but it is thought provoking and worth a read.

In Gujaareh, it is the Gatherers’ job to shelter innocent civilians and lead them to a peaceful death once their time has come. Their tithes allow the city to run smoothly and peacefully, while the remains of their dreams are given to the sick who deserve healing and longer lives. Gatherer Ehiru has Gathered souls under the Dreaming Moon for most of his life when he slips and makes his first mistake. Already doubting himself, Ehiru soon finds himself in an even deeper conspiracy, as a woman he was sent to kill instead reveals damaging truths about his world. Now Ehiru must protect Sunandi in order to prevent the war which threatens all he’s spent his life working towards.N.K. Jemisin’s debut, the Inheritance Trilogy, was a fantastic set of books that explored concepts of godhood in serious depth. Once again, with The Killing Moon, Jemisin has written an engaging book that looks closely at religion, and what the differences between religions are, in a setting reminiscent of ancient Egypt. Her book is centred on two city-states, Gujaareh and Kisua. Ehiru and his apprentice Nijiri are Gatherers from Gujaareh, while Kisuan Sunandi is fundamentally opposed to them due to her inherent and insistent hatred of their religious practices, a hatred and disgust shared by her people. Yet this trio finds common ground as they try to prevent their homes from flying headlong into war.Because Jemisin always aims to do something a little bit different (she explains in an interview in the back of my edition why she eschews more typical medieval based fantasy tropes), her books come with a little bit of a learning curve. She likes to throw her readers right into her books, which means there is some learning to be done about the world and culture. Even though this is based on Egypt, it didn’t really *feel* to me like ancient Egypt. It certainly didn’t feel typical, but nothing about it was shouting “Egypt” – instead, it felt like a new fantasy world, and one which intrigued me as I settled deeper into the book.What I always like about Jemisin’s books are the relationships between characters and how well they work. All of them feel very natural; Nijiri’s love for Ehiru, for example, is something that would bother many people in our culture, as a young man in love with one who is much older, but it is something here that is viewed as completely natural. And I liked the way they both interacted with Sunandi, and she with them, as they all struggle to get over their prejudice and accept each other as human beings.Jemisin delivers another wonderful epic fantasy with The Killing Moon. I’m now looking forward to reading The Shadowed Sun and finishing this duology!

N.K. Jemisin creates a world dark, complex and intricate. The magic is based on dreams and is different enough to make a reader pause and have to consider it deeply. The characters are written with depth and compassion, and are fully realized. They're put in a world we don't understand, and one they, also, don't fully grasp.If you like your fantasy dark and deep, characters you can nearly see standing before you, and a plot that confounds, but delivers in the end, then The Killing Moon is for you.

After reading Jemisin's excellent Inheritance Trilogy, I was ready to adore her new Dreamblood series, starting with this, its first installment. Instead, while I admired the book, I didn't feel as connected to it as with her previous work. Perhaps that was simply a matter of different narration, or perhaps I shouldn't have read them all in such quick succession, but I did feel that it was harder to get into and stay in this novel. That said, there are still some great things going on here. Jemisin's new world is inspired by (but not set in, as she herself clarifies in the notes) the myths and civilizations of ancient north Africa (Nubia, Egypt, etc.) and -- as seems to be a strong suit -- she uses the source material well, creating an intriguing religious structure as well as interesting parameters and explanations for magic. Her world is beautifully described, with elegant imagery but also richly realistic limitations that make the whole thing work that much better. The characters, this time around, are intriguing, but difficult to relate or connect to, and that might be the weakest part of the book -- though keep in mind that Jemisin is one of those writers whose weak moments still top some of the best efforts of nearly everyone else. Our main characters are two Gatherers -- priest-magicians whose absolute faith is about to be severely tested -- with a third character -- Sunandi, an ambassador from a neighboring land -- providing another perspective, one formed by her foreigner status and her lack of complete faith. The primary Gatherer, Ehiru, has a fleshed out background that helps the reader understand him in some depth, but his apprentice, Nijiri, and Sunandi have as many tantalizing hints as they have actual explanations. The interactions between the characters in the first half of the book are quite formal, and therefore sometimes stiff, but the intrigue of the plot carries the book forward. There are sinister things afoot here, both in the supposedly pure religious sect and the supposedly contained political powers, but I won't give them away, as much of the pleasure of the novel is realizing -- as the characters do -- just how troubled things really are.The novel ends with some closure and a new beginning, but doesn't totally satisfy. I know there is a sequel, yet as a reader I am stumped about where the sequel will go, as there are no obvious cliffhangers in this first volume. In a way, that is a good thing, since the reader feels the solidity of a complete story, but some will not care for the tone of speculation with which the novel leaves us. I liked it (also, I appreciated it because I don't have the sequel yet). Overall, though it wasn't a total favorite, I can still recognize that this was a Very Good Book.

Summary: Gujaareh is a city that runs on dreams. To maintain the peace, an elite caste of priests known as Gatherers are responsible for harvesting the magical dreamblood from the mind and soul of those who are sick, suffering, or deemed corrupt and dangerous to the peace. Ehiru, one of the Gatherers, has just taken a new apprentice, and their first assignment is to Gather a young ambassador from the southern kingdom of Kisua who has been judged by the officials as corrupt. But she wakes before the process can begin, and what she has to say turns Ehiru’s world upside-down. Because she has knowledge of a corruption deep in the heart of Gujaareh, corruption that will turn Ehiru against everyone he’s ever trusted, corruption that has allowed an ancient terror to stalk the streets of Gujaareh… corruption that seems to lead inexorably to war.Review: There’s been a lot of buzz about Jemisin in the past few years – the blurb on the front of this book calls her “one of the most important new writers in fantasy today.” And after reading her Inheritance Trilogy, while I could certainly see her skill as a writer, I never quite connected on an emotional level with her books, which left me feeling like there was something about the buzz that I just wasn’t getting. I’m pleased to say, however, that with The Killing Moon, I (finally) get it. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and felt more connected to the characters than I did in any of Jemisin’s previous work. I may not be converted into her number one fan yet, but at least now, I get it.This book has a lot going for it. The writing is strong and clear as ever, but the characters are what really saved it for me. Ehiru is complex and strong yet fallible, and the relationship between him and his apprentice Nijiri was powerful and beautiful and heart-breaking. I don’t know that I can do it justice in a review, although I can say that elements of the story – in particular that relationship – at times reminded me of Guy Gavriel Kay, which is high, high praise indeed. Sunandi (the Kisuan ambassador) wasn’t as well-developed as the two male leads, but she was still interesting, and her interactions with the man who might decide to kill her at any time were tense and layered and pitched exactly right.The worldbuilding was a little bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, I absolutely loved the pseudo-Egyptian setting, and thought it was refreshingly original – and Jemisin did an excellent job bringing it to life. On the other hand, I wondered at times if the world she was building, and the magic system in particular, was somewhat over-complicated (or under-explained). I’m fine with an author knowing more about their world than they show to the readers. That’s perfectly fine, and makes for richer stories. But even once I was well into the book, I wasn’t entirely clear on how the magical system worked; I understand what Gatherers did well enough, but I don’t know that I could have articulated it particularly clearly, or explained the “why” behind it. Normally if a book has an index at the back, I skim it or skip it entirely, because it doesn’t contain much I hadn’t already gathered from reading. In this case, though, I actually learned something from the index… which is not, to my mind, the ideal place for doing your worldbuilding.On the whole, however, I really enjoyed this book. It’s dense enough that you can’t blow through it, but there are some wonderful elements that make it an absolutely worthwhile read. 4 out of 5 stars.Recommendation: I’d recommend this one for fans of original and mature fantasy, particularly ones who prefer their settings be inspired by something other than medieval Europe.

If you haven't yet read N.K. Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy, you should. They introduced Jemisin's voice to the literary fantasy world, and what a strong, lyrical, unique voice it is! But you don't need to have read them to dive into The Killing Moon, the first book in Jemisin's new Dreamblood series. You may simply need a few chapters to get your footing in her world. I don't need to repeat the many mentions of her amazingly complex world-building; what impressed me about The Killing Moon is that it is set in a different world than that of The Inheritance Trilogy, yet it is just as deep, complicated and intricately detailed. There are some similar stylings, such as the quotes from religious, legal and historical texts of this world before each chapter. These are mostly quite informative and help the reader to understand and relate to the culture. (So don't skip them!)The land of Gujaareh, modeled on ancient Egypt, is dark, dangerous, and--as with her other novels--full of politics. And then there is the magic system, which Jemisin says is based upon Freudian dream theory and Egyptian medicine. Protagonist Ehiru is a member of an order that worship the goddess of dreams. They accept commissions to help "transition" people gently into death (typically the very sick or old) by giving the person a sleep medicine and then entering the person's dreams to guide them to the next world. Ehiru sees this work as a sacred calling, but even the reader can anticipate how the ability could be used in more sinister ways. When one of his commissions goes terribly wrong, Ehiru begins to realize that something evil is taking place in his city. Ehiru must take a journey to discover what is going on. It turns out to be a journey that is physical, intellectual, and spiritual for him. One of his traveling companion, a woman he was supposed to have dispatched (but has chosen not to, until he finds more answers), acts as the devil's advocate for Ehiru. She doesn't believe that killing people is spiritual at all, and thinks his order is evil. She challenges him at every turn, but this helps Ehiru to begin to examine his beliefs without abandoning them wholesale. His apprentice, Nijiri, is completely devoted to Ehiru; he helps to keep Ehiru grounded, to keep him alive, and to keep his faith. Nijiri, too, grows through the experience of the journey.My only criticism is that, even with my familiarity with Jemisin's writing, it took a few chapters before I felt immersed, at which point I went back and started at the beginning. With my new framework in place I was able to enjoy the early chapters much more. Perhaps Jemisin wants us to feel a little off-kilter at the beginning, but many readers (including myself) have a tendency to just give up after 3 or 4 chapters, and I felt as if I needed a little more grounding early on. Politics clash with magic in The Killing Moon, but that is just the surface of a novel that shows great depth of plot, and remains unpredictable. I found the characters a little less compelling, and more difficult to relate to than those in The Inheritance Trilogy, but The Killing Moon is a novel that you won't regret picking up.

I had heard an awful lot of hype in regard to Jemisin after her first book The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. So I was extremely curious to sample her writing and she did not disappoint. There is some excellent craft on display in these pages.Many of the other reviews of this book point out the fantastic world building and deep characterization, which I agree are stellar. But what really sold this book for me was the skill with which Jemisin immerses the reader in the story. She has created a fairly ingenious plot that does the work of introducing you naturally to an alien culture without resorting to any blatant exposition or even a point of view character to guide the reader. Consider me hooked.

The main characters and organization in this book are not generally ones that I would be able to identify with or have a lot of sympathy for, so I was pleasantly surprised with how much I cared about them, even though that is not this book's strongest area. The world-building is very strong. It's a great non-European setting and really well-formed. After a slowish start with the setup of such an unfamiliar place, I got really drawn in, and didn't want to put it down.

Ehiru and Nijiri are Gatherers, priests of the goddess Hananja who move through the city at night casting eternal sleep on those who need it. But little do they know, they are doing much more than celebrating their goddess. Politics are coming into play, and both of them are going to make some difficult decisions to save their land from war.Jemisin is at it again, and this time she used Egypt for inspiration. Very interesting book. You can see the allusions to Egyptian mythology, but she has obviously made the effort to change it so the story is more than just another retelling. I do wish it had included a map, just so I could have an idea in my head when travel and directions were discussed.I read this book in less than two days. Each chapter just kept building so that I had to know what happened next. Fantastic, and I've already got the second book started.

I enjoyed The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, which is why I requested The Killing Moon from ER. Unfortunately, I didn't like this novel as much. It really suffered from lack of a map for me. Gujaareh is a city, kind of like ancient Egypt, and there are neighboring countries, some allies and some enemies. I had a VERY hard time picturing all of it. The magic/religious system was confusing for me, too. I seem to be in the minority, though, as all the reviews I've read rave about Jemisin's world-building. I enjoy her writing and her realistic characters, but I might skip the rest of this series and stick to her other one.

Ehiru is a Gatherer, a servant of the goddess Hananja, whose purpose is to gather magical dreamblood from the dying and help them on to the next world, and also to serve as an executioner for the people of the city of Gujaareh who have been deemed corrupt. Ehiru botches a rare Gathering of a foreigner, and is then sent to do another suspicious Gathering and starts to suspect that everything he does may not actually be in the name of Hananja.A very good book. The setting is largely based on ancient Egypt which provides a nice change from standard pseudo-European fantasy. The story is fast-moving, and does a good job of introducing the reader to this culture and its religion and magic without being overwhelming. I will look forward to reading the next book in set in this world.

I loved the Hundred Thousand Kingdom and so looked forward to reading this book, and while the world is as elaborate and the characters as lovingly crafted and fully developed I struggled with staying engaged. This could be the fact that it is summer, but the story just did not catch my heart like her previous series did. I will read the next books, but I am not in a hurry to get them.

An excellent story with compelling characters and a well-imagined world. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and even cried a bit at the end. I can't wait to read the next book.

The desert city of Gujaareh is a place of peace, dedicated to the dream-goddess Hananja. Hananja’s peace is kept and maintained by the priests of the Hetawa who heal the sick, give peace and safe passage to the dream-world to the old and dying, and Gather the souls of those judged corrupt. Gatherers gather the mystic dreamblood of those sleeping in Hanaja’s city, and the Sharers use that dreamblood in their magical healing. Gatherer Ehiru is known as the most gifted Gatherer of his generation, strong and wise and full of faith. But his faith is shaken to the core when a Gathering gone wrong lands him in the middle of a corrupt conspiracy that has wormed through and undermined the entire structure of his society, his religion, and his government. Now he and his apprentice Nijiri must fight to do as their religion demands—the right thing, the peaceful thing—even though it may mean toppling their entire civilization.A fascinating, non-Western-inspired, and richly detailed setting and culture; engaging, appealing, and realistic characters; and an entirely fresh take on magic and religion elevate this fantasy to the top of its genre. Highly recommended.

We’ve all read zillions of fantasies set in medieval Europe, or the equivalent thereof. But lately we’re being treated to fantasies set in cultures that are very different from Western civilization (or even Western Dark Ages), and set instead in places like China (Daniel Fox’s MOSHUI: THE BOOKS OF STONE AND WATER), Mexico (Aliette de Bodard’s OBSIDIAN AND BLOOD) and Arabia (Saladin Ahmed’s THE CRESCENT MOON KINGDOMS). And now N.K. Jemisin is taking us to Africa — more specifically, a variety of Egypt — in The Killing Moon, the first book of THE DREAMBLOOD. It’s a trip worth taking. Ehiru is a sacred assassin, a priest who ushers the souls of the dying into the dream world, Ina-Karekh, and gathers their dreamblood. When we first watch Ehiru gather a soul, we get a picture of the peace inherent in the process: the elderly and dying are granted surcease and left in paradise. But a priest can also get a commission to gather one who has no wish to die, who is in the fullness of life and has no belief in Hananja, the Goddess of Dreams whom Ehiru serves. When he is tasked to gather the soul of a foreign traveler, the traveler’s resistance surprises Ehiru. Most surprising is the traveler’s assertion that some gather for pleasure, instead of as a sacred duty, something Ehiru considers abomination, obscenity. But the traveler asserts that Ehiru is being used, and in something like panic Ehiru bungles the job of gathering his soul, setting it loose in the nightmare hollows of Ina-Karekh for all eternity. From this beginning, we begin to get a picture of the plot: something is awry with the way the priests of Hananja are being used. Worse, though, we soon learn that something is wrong with Ehiru. And worse yet, there seems to be something wrong in Gujaareh, Ehiru’s country. We learn much of this from Sunandi’s point of view; she is a highly-placed diplomat from the country from Kisua and, not coincidentally, a spy. The countries were united at one time, but Kisua does not worship the Goddess of Dreams in the same way that Gujaareh does, gathering the dream humors for their various uses. In fact, it considers such practices barbaric. And Kisua is hearing whispers about what the monarchy of Gujaareh is up to. In particular, as the book proceeds, we read of a Reaper: one who gathers souls randomly, greedily, for purposes other than the worship of Hananja. Any priest might become a Reaper if he does not control his practice properly. And, to his shame, regret and fear, Ehiru finds himself on the thin edge of a knife between proper worship and the descent into the madness that would make him a Reaper. His apprentice, Nijiri, works hard to keep this fate from Ehiru, but there are politics at play of which he knows nothing. When the two undertake a journey to Kisua with Sunandi to find the truth behind the rumors of a Reaper, as well as to determine whether Sunandi warrants Gathering, the danger to Ehiru is enormous.Jemisin writes smoothly and transparently, a style well suited to her tale. She does not overwhelm the reader with the details of the worship of Hananja, which is the foundation for her book, but explains the religion organically as one reads, through discussions with others and descriptions of the religious practices as they are performed. The characters are well-developed; one comes to feel a real kinship with Ehiru, especially, as he finds his faith and his very humanity come into question, and to understand Nijiri’s love for his mentor. One of the real joys of getting to the end of The Killing Moon is finding that one need not wait a year to read its sequel. The Killing Moon easily stands alone; there are no threads left hanging. But there will obviously be consequences to the events of The Killing Moon, and the world-building that Jemisin accomplishes is so strong that one wishes to visit that world again to find out what happens next. Fortunately, The Shadowed Sun is already available — and, so far, it’s just as enthralling as The Killing Moon. Jemisin is new to the fantasy field with the publication of THE INHERITANCE TRILOGY beginning in 2010, the first book of which, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, was nominated for the Nebula, the Hugo and the World Fantasy Award. This new world of hers shows that success was no quirk, and that she is here to stay. She’s now on my list of “read everything she writes” writers.

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin is a must read for fantasy fans who love intricate and exceedingly well done world-building. You can feel the care that Jemisin has put into crafting the world she has made and you enjoy every moment that you spend there. This diligence is balanced with equally well fleshed out characters that are engaging and interesting, that you as the reader come to care about. In all, it is a well balanced book that was fun to read, and this series will establish Jemisin as a fantasy writer to watch.

I've become quite the fan of Jemisin, who writes refreshingly original fantasy. For me, this was her best so far: Gujaarati, a world inspired by Ancient Egypt with a healthy dose of Freudian dream theory, was well-drawn and thorough enough to be believable, and the characters, Ehiru, the Gatherer, Nijiri, his apprentice, and Sunandi, a sympathetic spy from a neighboring nation, were all clearly drawn and imperfect. The notion that the death the Gatherers bring is a gift, seen as so by almost (but not quite all) those to whom they bring it, is intriguing. One of my problems with much contemporary fantasy is that I rarely feel completely drawn into the worlds the authors create, but Jemisin managed to do it.

I love fantasy novels, but these days I don't really read that many of them any more. This is because most epic fantasy has been taken over by these large ever expanding series where you have to read a dozen books (and wait a decade or so if it's an ongoing series) before you finally get he whole story.You don't have to worry about that with this book. This is essentially a stand-alone epic fantasy. Yeah, it's part of the series, but this doesn't have one of those annoying cliff-hanger ending where you need to pick up book two to find out what happens next.The story is interesting. It's set in a city with a priesthood that can siphon power from dreams to use in magic. In the process they often kill people, but that's usually reserved for the dying or those deemed corrupt.The problem is that there is corruption in the leader of the priesthood and in the city's Prince. This leads to a nasty monster called a Reaper killing people. I really liked this book. Even though I've been trying to avoid getting into any new series, I expect I'll pick up the sequel at some point.

Free LibraryThing Early Reviewer book. Based on Egyptian-esque mythology, Jemisin’s new book takes place on a planet with a huge overhanging moon banded in four colors; four is a big deal, including in the magic of the Gatherers who take dreambile, dreamseed (yes, what you think it is), dreamblood and dreamichor to perform various functions. Among other things, Gatherers kill people, but only those who want to go or are condemned properly for crimes. At least, that’s what the Gatherers think, but it turns out to be far more complicated. Palace intrigue and ideology conflict as two Gatherers, a spy, a prince, and a near-mindless Reaper—a creature of legend that has the potential to disrupt the balance of power entirely—struggle for their various interests. I enjoyed the worldbuilding, and I like the idea that this will be a duology, because it’s nice to see variation from the usual trilogy-or-bust plan.

The Killing Moon is the first in a new epic fantasy series by the author of the The Inheritance Trilogy, N. K. Jemison. Jemison has said that The Killing Moon is her "homage to epic fantasy — as opposed to the Inheritance Trilogy, which was more my eyeroll at epic fantasy". This book hit me hard and stole me away from reality, completely. I was not expecting it. I had read great things about the Inheritance Trilogy, which I really need to read (I now fully understand that I really need to read it) and I thought understood that Ms. Jemison is forging a new path for fantasy. But I actually really didn't know or understand. This is new, unique and just different.The Killing Moon starts off slowly. There is world building to be accomplished and each chapter begins with a quote from the main culture's (in The Killing Moon) religious text. There are three characters introduced and Jemison takes her time in fully drawing these characters and presenting them to the readers. Jemison has time, the book is 448 pages and the first in a new series. So, the first 20 percent of the book involves story set up. The world is intricate, the religion and operating belief system is very unique. Thus, the slow build. Don't worry, there is some action and the book comes with a glossary. But once I was enmeshed in the story, I was hooked and did not want to put it down. Be prepared, like many fantasy stories it is slow in the beginning so readers need to be committed. What I was not ready for was an emotional ride and in-depth scenes between characters that were raw and dripping with emotion. The last 20% is non-stop action, but not the kind of action you can fast forward or skim your way through (which I admit to doing in action movies and many fantasy novels). Yes, it involves battles and fights and you will wonder who is going to make it, but there are a few very emotional scenes between two main charcters who love each other dearly (no, not romantic love -- mentor/mentee stuff) and are suffering through physical deprivation together. Their dialogue is hearbreaking, Jemison tells it in a brilliant manner.The setting for The Killing Moon, unlike most in the fantasy genre, is a non-European setting with characters who are in the majority part not of European origin. I believe the intention was to establish the story in a culture similar to ancient Egypt, but not identical and the story is not historically based (Jemison has a disclaimer at the beginning of the book where she states she made an effort to "de-historify" the tale). The religion and culture worships a female goddess and in the book itself, there are female characters that are in prominent and active roles. Because of all of this, the Killing Moon has a completely new feel. It is hard to walk away from a fantasy book feeling that I have read something new and different, Jemison accomplishes that.For the romance lovers, well there is no romance in this story. There are hints of sexual relationships and sexual longings, but nothing explicit. For those that love a fight between good and evil, well you will get that fight in this book except that good is not completely good and the bad is sometimes sympathetic. Jemison gets what some writers forget, the best political tales and the best power struggles are not between black and white/good and evil, but between smudged lines of not knowing who is good and understanding why someone is bad.The story involves political intrigue, but not in a confusing or overly intricate way that will bore readers. The book is more about the corruption of power and how it infiltrates religion and authority figures. Admittedly, yeah this is not a new theme but the way it is written and how the power is corrupted is very new. I have not read anything like this religious structure nor anything like the "power" that is weilded in this book. I do not want to be more explicit because it is important to slowly learn the world, I would hate to spoil it. I recommend this book to fantasy book fans and those that formerly loved fantasy but have given up because they thought they had read it all. I will definitely be looking out for #2 in this series!