Oh hey, Hundred Thousand Kingdoms! I read that (a few months ago now). I enjoyed it very much... with some reservations. I think I would have adored it beyond reason if I'd read it when I was 16.
Loved the world building, very original - although I know what you mean about bloopholes. It felt to me like the author started with a visual idea, i.e. the World Tree, and then managed to build a pretty convincing world around it, including reasons for the improbable geography (even if the reason does tend to be 'it's magic'). It works so long as you don't worry too much about real-world physics. And I felt there were a lot of other cultures in this world - it didn't feel like it ended at the borders of one city/country. A lot of fantasy novels are very monocultural, so I thought that was refreshing.
I can't quite remember what you mean about the late information that characters were acting upon, but that's because my memory for plot is poor. :) What bit do you mean?
I've read the sequels, and I'd recommend them, with the same reservations.
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Date: 2012-05-27 09:23 pm (UTC)Loved the world building, very original - although I know what you mean about bloopholes. It felt to me like the author started with a visual idea, i.e. the World Tree, and then managed to build a pretty convincing world around it, including reasons for the improbable geography (even if the reason does tend to be 'it's magic'). It works so long as you don't worry too much about real-world physics. And I felt there were a lot of other cultures in this world - it didn't feel like it ended at the borders of one city/country. A lot of fantasy novels are very monocultural, so I thought that was refreshing.
I can't quite remember what you mean about the late information that characters were acting upon, but that's because my memory for plot is poor. :) What bit do you mean?
I've read the sequels, and I'd recommend them, with the same reservations.