Posts Tagged: N.K. Jemisin

A Fantasy Foodie
Bakers’ Dozen

Last time I visited A Dribble of Ink, I wrote about worldbuilding in the air and monsters. Aidan asked me to return and talk about food in fantasy, which I do fairly regularly for my interview series Cooking the Books.

Running a food-oriented interview series makes me think really hard about food in every book I write, including Updraft (Tor 2015), because I don’t want to suddenly have a cow-based product (like milk) appear in a world that has not seen a cow in forever, and where a cow would have to scale a sky-high tower made of bone to get that milk there. NO that would be bad and has never happened, ever. (Thank you again, brilliant copy editor Ana Deboo, for, ehrm … Completely Unrelated Reasons.)

So when Aidan asked, I began to think about those Fantasy Foodies who get it right — and who make our mouths water in the process. Here are thirteen1 of my favorites (there are many more, but the list grew unmanageable), in alphabetical order, and I’ve given you some amuse-bouche quotes to go with them. Read More »

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Yesterday, Orbit Books announced Shades in Shadow a collection of three short stories from N.K. Jemisin. Each of the three stories in the collection is set in the same world as Jemisin’s Hugo Award-nominated Inheritance Trilogy.

From the shadows of the greater stories, away from the bright light of Sky and wending ’round the sagas of the Arameri, come three quieter tales. A newborn god with an old, old soul struggles to find a reason to live. A powerful demon searches for her father, and answers. And in a prequel to the Inheritance Trilogy, a newly-enslaved Nahadoth forges a dark alliance with a mortal, for survival… and revenge.

The fantasy world can never have too many stories from Jemisin, who’s one of the brightest and most talented writers in the genre, and returning to the world of the Inheritance trilogy is just icing on the cake. Can’t wait to get my hands on this.

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Via the official Orbit Books blog, we are now privy to the gorgeous cover art and a synopsis for N.K. Jemisin’s upcoming sequel novella to her popular Inheritance trilogy. The Awakened Kingdom tells the tale of the first godling born to the world of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in thousands of years, and “Shill’s got big shoes to fill.”

As the first new godling born in thousands of years — and the heir presumptive to Sieh the Trickster — Shill’s got big shoes to fill. She’s well on her way when she defies her parents and sneaks off to the mortal realm, which is no place for an impressionable young god. In short order she steals a demon’s grandchild, gets herself embroiled in a secret underground magical dance competition, and offends her oldest and most powerful sibling.But for Eino, the young Darren man whom Shill has befriended, the god-child’s silly games are serious business. Trapped in an arranged marriage and prohibited from pursuing his dreams, he has had enough. He will choose his own fate, even if he must betray a friend in the process — and Shill might just have to grow up faster than she thinks.

If Jemisin’s other work is anything to go by (and it is!), readers have a lot to look forward to when The Awakened Kingdom releases later this year.

The Awakened Kingdom is a novella that takes place after the conclusion of The Kingdom of Gods, the concluding volume of Jemisin’s Inheritance trilogy. It will be included in all print and eBook editions of the Inheritance trilogy omnibus that is set for release on December 9th, 2014.

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After teasing fans for a few weeks, N.K. Jemisin, award-winning author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, announced that she is currently working on a sequel to her popular Inheritance trilogy. The novella, titled The Awakened Kingdom follows the events of the Inheritance trilogy, and is “a bit more lighthearted than the main trilogy,” Jemisin said.

“Please note,” she was quick to make clear, “this is a novella and not a full novel.” Fans of the trilogy might be disappointed that they aren’t getting a full-length novel, but Jemisin pointed out that while it’s set in the same world, and likely deals with the fallout from the end of the trilogy, The Awakened Kingdom is full of original content.

“A few old faves will appear, but for the most part this is a new story with new characters,” Jemisin said. “Shill is a true child god — unlike Sieh, who just played at childhood — and frankly I’m loving her; writing her basically means contemplating how a being with an adult-level intellect, Phenomenal Cosmic Power, and no freaking clue about anything blunders through complicated events.” Read More »

The Fifth Season by N.K. JemisinEarlier this week, N.K. Jemisin revealed the cover and synopsis for her next novel, The Fifth Season. Since first debuting as a novelist with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, Jemisin has been blessed with some of the most inspired art direction in current fantasy. Lauren Panepinto, Art Director at Orbit Books, is responsible for Jemisin’s covers, so I gathered her up and we discussed The Fifth Season and the process of evolving an author’s brand as they mature and move from series-to-series.

“Working on N. K. Jemisin books are the best kind of challenge for me,” said Panepinto. Jemisin’s books are often praised for their strong worldbuilding, approach to magic and uniquely drawn characters, which turns out to be both something of a curse and a blessing for an art director. But Panepinto is never one to back down from challenges. “Really strong, fleshed out characters inhabiting intricately thought-out worlds means there’s always a wealth of material to draw from for the covers,” she explained. Read More »