The Killing Moon (Dreamblood #1)

NK Jemisin is truly a talented author, who combines and amazing world, full of characters that are so well written they nearly jump off the page and yet she also expounds on the human condition with great finesse. Every book that I have ever read by her has truly astonished me with all the encompass.

This world she brings to us is no less amazing, and brilliantly rendered. Her plotting is exceptionally well done, the characters are very realistic and fully realized, and her way with words put all of this together into must read category. At least in this humble bibliophile’s opinion. She’s become one of my favorite authors.

I definitely recommend this duo and all of her other work. She’s a great writer and I have no doubt that anyone would love her books.

As Always, I Wish Happy Reads to All from the Unapologetic Book Junkie !

The best stories use the structure of the story to explore the deeper questions of human experience. I don’t generally expect this in a fantasy novel, but this is what I found in The Killing Moon.

Just before I read The Killing Moon I read Max Gladstone’s

Three Parts Dead

, which, like The Killing Moon, is a somewhat unusual fantasy novel. I found Three Parts Dead enjoyable, but somewhat empty. It was missing the depth and complexity that I found in The Killing Moon.

A core issue that confronts humanity is how to live and our inevitable death. This is one of the key themes of The Killing Moon. The two main characters are Gatherers, who can take the life of a person my absorbing their life force, their dream blood. In the best of cases, the people they Gather are people who are dying, sometimes painfully. They welcome the Gatherer who takes them into a sort of dream time or a possibly imagined afterlife. Part of the plot involves those who choose the path that the Gatherers offer than those who do not, even if it means enduring pain.

The Gatherers are also deeply religious, believing that they are serving their Goddess. In addition to gathering those who are dying, the Gatherers also gather the “corrupt”. In theory there is a sort of due process that is supposed to decide who is corrupt and should be gathered. But the subject has no opportunity to defend themselves and, as with all human activity, there can be corruption in the process itself.

To those outside of their order, they are religious fanatics, death worshipers and killers. The novel also explores the differing perspectives of the Gatherers and those around them.

The world that N.K. Jemisin creates is a rich one. In an interview at the end of the book (where she interviews herself) she mentions that she drew on a number of religious traditions, particularly the Egyptian on. This gives the plot an exotic feel.

In the past, when a book started out strongly I would sometimes order the next novel in the series, only to discover that the books, as it neared the end, was not as good as I expected. I felt this temptation with The Killing Moon. On finishing the book I ordered The Shadowed Sun.

Seriously, read her stories with a highlighter in hand. Her characters are alive, you will miss them, hate them, cheer for them and yearn for them long after you’ve finished the story. She also seamlessly weaves relevant, very present themes of social justice into her narrative in striking ways. Some that are obvious, some that will catch you slipping, bringing tears to your eyes. Long story longer, read this author. Everything. Everything she’s ever written. This, here, is the first book in the Dreamblood duology. As of 2/16/19, I have just started reading it and I get chills every time I open its pages. The good kind. Get it and read it from cover to cover. Then read the second book in this series. by NK JEMISIN. Never stop reading NK JEMISIN. When you complete all her stories (and essays and blog entries and online stories), read them all again. And don’t forget your highlighter!

I loved the setting and the mythology in this book. The belief systems were so complex and something I found I could empathize with from both different perspectives that she portrayed. The entire religion surrounding the practice of euthanasia, and all the arguments surrounding that were very well-done.

The antagonist was very complex and human. I could understand their reasoning for the things they did, be frightened of them while still feeling moved by their loved ones. The book absolutely had one of the more compelling antagonists I’ve seen in a series.

The protagonists were not quite as interesting to me as the antagonist. I did not have the attachment to any of these characters that I did to the characters in the Inheritance trilogy. Ehiru was probably my favorite of them. I just never felt as attached to Sunandi or Nijiri. As a result, my reading of this book went fairly slowly. I went through the Inheritance trilogy really quickly, but this took me a long time. I had trouble getting sucked in, until near the end.

I enjoyed the ending, felt it was the right ending for the characters. it was sad in parts, although I cannot say it brought me to tears, which is something I’ve come to expect of this author. Still, I loved the setting and would love to read more about this world.

I picked this book up after seeing the author’s rant about the movie “Gods of Egypt.” Her point in the rant was that there’s so much great material in Egyptian mythology, it’s authorial malpractice to ignore it (as the scriptwriters did in that movie). And in this book, she absolutely does NOT ignore the source material. She translates it to a new world that clearly isn’t earth, but still feels familiar somehow. A story that begins mystically turns into an investigation by non-detectives, and concludes with military actions I couldn’t have predicted. The world-building is rich and coherent, and leaves a strong impression that there is a great deal more that the reader hasn’t seen yet. I’m reading the 2nd book in the series now, and that impression is definitely borne out there. Highly recommended!

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