Mass market paperback, 440 pages
English language
Published May 8, 2012 by Orbit.
FOLLOWING HER SERIES, HUGO, NEBULA, AND WORLD FANTASY-NOMINATED DEBUT SERIES, N. K. JEMISIN RETURNS WITH A CAPTIVATING NEW TALE.
In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and among the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers--the keepers of this peace. Their duty is to harvest the magic of the sleeping mind and use it to heal, soothe...and kill those judged corrupt.
But when a conspiracy blooms within Gujaareh's great temple, Ehiru--the most famous of the city's Gatherers--must question everything he knows. Someone, or something, is stalking its prey both in Gujaareh's alleys and the realm of dreams. Ehiru must now protect the woman he was sent to kill--or watch the city be devoured by war and forbidden magic.
This description comes from the publisher. The Killing Moon is the first book in the Dreamblood Duology.
Loved it. A fairly standard fantasy tale but oh, what flavour. The author has meticulously constructed a gorgeous world, mythos & magic system - & lets you just figure it out. Will definitely pick up the second book & probably everything else Jemisin has ever written too.
N.K. Jemisin managed to blow me away again. What an outstanding author. In The Killing Moon she takes the reader to an Egypt-inspired setting, and when she uses something as inspiration, it's not a fantasy copy, it's its own unique beast.
Gujaareh is a powerful city-state in which narcomancers use dream magic to heal and soothe people, but also hunt down those citizens who are deemed as corrupt. The main character is Ehiru, one of those holy dream gatherers, who stumbles into political machinations of his brother, who happens to be Prince Eninket, the ruler of Gujaareh.
What follows is a compelling tale of intrigue, an absolutely unique magic setting based on writings of Carl Jung, and interesting characters. I really hope the sequel will bring back Sunandi, e.g.
The world-building was utterly fantastic. I want to highlight how natural it seems that Jemisin's stories are full of people of …
N.K. Jemisin managed to blow me away again. What an outstanding author. In The Killing Moon she takes the reader to an Egypt-inspired setting, and when she uses something as inspiration, it's not a fantasy copy, it's its own unique beast.
Gujaareh is a powerful city-state in which narcomancers use dream magic to heal and soothe people, but also hunt down those citizens who are deemed as corrupt. The main character is Ehiru, one of those holy dream gatherers, who stumbles into political machinations of his brother, who happens to be Prince Eninket, the ruler of Gujaareh.
What follows is a compelling tale of intrigue, an absolutely unique magic setting based on writings of Carl Jung, and interesting characters. I really hope the sequel will bring back Sunandi, e.g.
The world-building was utterly fantastic. I want to highlight how natural it seems that Jemisin's stories are full of people of color, and sexuality is just as diverse.
5 out of 5, highly recommend.
This was an interesting book, but it was very different from what I anticipated. The magic system (narcomancy) was cool, but unexpected. It clearly had some influences from ancient Egyptian beliefs. Despite all this, the book was engaging showing a unique culture.
A more detailed review is up on my blog: strakul.blogspot.com/2012/06/book-review-killing-moon-by-nk-jemisin.html
