The Killing Moon (Dreamblood) [Kindle Edition]

N. K. Jemisin (Author)

Book Description

The city burned beneath the Dreaming Moon.

In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and amongst the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers of this peace. Priests of the dream-goddess, 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 murdering dreamers in the goddess' name, 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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] gripping series launch... as well as a rousing political and supernatural adventure." (Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) )

"Shines for its remarkable characters and graceful prose." (Library Journal )

"In The Killing Moon, Jemisin displays her usual skill at portraying a world whose contours seem simple at first but which quickly break down into something much more complex and dissonant. The world is so fully fleshed out that I could breathe its spices, while the story and characters are so much a part of the world that you could not pull this story or these people out and plug them into a different setting. Jemisin proves yet again that she is one of the important new writers in the sff scene." (Kate Elliott, author of Cold Fire, on The Killing Moon. )

"An engaging and fast-paced read with some truly excellent and complicated worldbuilding, The Killing Moon is the first of two planned books. Ehiru and Nijiri are complicated and interesting characters, and the way Jemisin slowly reveals the workings of their religion and what it means to be corrupt make for an absolutely fascinating read." (RT Book Reviews )

"Ah N.K. Jemisin, you can do no wrong.... The blend of cultures and lore she draws on to make this very unique world is just stunning, and the fact that she inhabits it with such 3-dimensional characters is even more impressive.... If you want to get away from traditional fantasy world-building, but keep the compelling characters and deep lore, definitely pick this up!!" (Felicia Day )

Review

Lush, sensual and enjoyably convoluted SUNDAY TELEGRAPH Jemisin's gripping series launch immerses readers in an unfamiliar but enthralling world as well as a rousing political and supernatural adventure. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 569 KB
• Print Length: 442 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0316187283
• Publisher: Orbit; 1 edition (May 1, 2012)
• Sold by: Hachette Book Group
• Language: English
• ASIN: B005SCS4IK
• Text-to-Speech: Not enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Not Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36,229 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Were it not that I have bad dreams May 3, 2012

By Heidi Waterhouse

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

In a city where the soul is both a traveler and a commodity, death has a different meaning.

Each night, the Gatherers go out. They visit the dying, the incurable, the aged, the insane, the corrupt. The souls they gather are nestled into a good place in the dreaming world forever. The dreamblood they gather is returned to the temple for the healing of others. Children with the dreaming gift who do not join the priesthood go mad.

In principle, this is very idyllic. No one drowns in their own lungs: they get a good death. The ill are healed, the mad are contained, crime is non-existent. Peace, perfect peace. In practice, however, the checks and balances are weak. Dreamblood is necessary/addictive to the Gatherers. There are hidden political currents using the power of the priests.

This is the story of the Gatherer Ehiru, his apprentice Nijiri, and the outland woman Sinandi, and how together they are all working toward peace, against steep odds. It's a heroic story, full of wit and strong will and deep, compassionate love.

I was deeply drawn to Ehiru's faith and dedication. He is the ideal of believers, steadfast and yet willing to listen, and performing his tasks out of love and service. Nijiri also has love and service, but in his case it's a toss-up of whether he loves his goddess or his mentor more. The end result is the same. Sinandi is a spymaster, a poised and competent woman protecting her country.

Worldbuilding has always been one of Jemisin's strong suits, and this book is a great example. Although I recognized some of the sources, she wove the whole into an intact and beautiful maze for our characters to grope through. The setting, the gods, the religion, all top-notch. The action, once it gets going, is both interesting and a mirror of the emotional processes of the characters. As a story, this book is excellent. If that's what you wanted to know, you can stop reading now.

Parts of this book revolted me, like literally lip-curling recoil. While it is true there are a lot of deaths that I think people would like to get through faster and more painlessly, the priests are not always invited by the dying person. Instead they are sent on commission, merciful assassins. A committee evaluates the legitimacy of the commission, but isn't it possible to disrupt such a system? Sinandi calls Ehuri and Nijiri "The most pitiful victims of all, because they believe."

Sinandi says to Ehuri -"You kill, priest. You do it for mercy and a whole host of other reasons that you claim are good, but at the heart of it you sneak into people's homes in the dead of night and kill them in their sleep -- you do this and you see nothing wrong with it." I think I understand Sinandi better than Ehuri. Later, there is a character who is dying, but rejects the dream-death because, as she explains, life is suffering and good things all mixed up together, and to avoid suffering is to also avoid potential joy. I thought the Gatherers should hear that, but it didn't seem to make much impression on them.

Sometimes I want pairings for books, like a well-constructed cheese plate. You should read this with Bad Cripple's blog, and Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow.

Read if: You want a meditation on end of life and addiction issues, you are fascinated by the corruption of power.

Skip if: You are bothered by stories of merciful death. You want a potato-chip book. Although maybe if you are not me, you can read it on the ninja priests and court intrigue level.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars dark and detached May 15, 2012

By Madame X TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing New Fantasy Series; Unique and Comletely Fresh! May 2, 2012

By Regina

Format:Paperback

The Killing Moon is the first in a new epic fantasy series by the author of the The Inheritance Trilogy, N. K. Jemisin. Jemisin 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. Jemisin 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 Jemisin takes her time in fully drawing these characters and presenting them to the readers. Jemisin 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, Jemisin 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 (Jemisin 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, Jemisin 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. Jemisin 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!

More About the Author

N. K. Jemisin is an author living and writing in Brooklyn, NY. This is fortunate as she enjoys subways, tiny apartments, and long walks through city parks. Her short fiction has been published in a number of magazines and podcast markets, and has been nominated for the Hugo and Nebula award. THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS and THE BROKEN KINGDOMS were also nominated for (collectively) the Hugo, the Nebula, the Tiptree, the Crawford, the Gemmell, the... hell, I lose track. I actually won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and the Romantic Times Reviewers' Choice Award (twice). Blah blah blah, the usual.

Look, I like to write. In particular I like to write about ordinary people in extraordinary situations, preferrably in non-Earth worlds which nevertheless reflect our own concerns. By now I've published five novels, many short stories, and I'm currently working on my next trilogy. I'll occasionally talk about that here, and also my cat.

If you really like what I have to say and want to hear more, feel free to check out my author blog at nkjemisin.com .

Oh, and buy my book!