Strangely, I’ve been alternating Jemisin’s Inheritance trilogy with Pullman’s Golden Compass/Dark Materials… and it works. There is something interesting about how both deal with spirituality, the impact of the unknown on our lives, and dust… though Jemisin’s dust in Broken Kingdoms takes the form of charcoal, conte crayon, paint, and eventually dried blood. Still, there’s an odd continuity to the stories that really works even though I can’t imagine that these worlds were ever meant to mash up.
Broken Kingdoms tells the story of a demon (see, it’s like Golden Compass already) and her relationship with humans and gods and godlings. Most interesting, this demon is blind, but for the fact that she can see magic. The characterization is wonderful. There is warmth, strength, and depth. Some of the other characters are a little thin, brought to the reader more as a gesture drawing than a fully realized oil portrait… and I don’t know that I completely buy the motivation of the cult given what they put at risk, but…
