In my version of a perfect world, there are two kinds of fiction readers: Those who have already read (and loved) multi-award-winning author N.K Jemisin's work and those who will. Soon. If you find yourself in neither category (!), perhaps a peek inside this author's extraordinary mind will provide just the push you need. Obviously her blog is a good place to start, but if you'd rather start with an interview, try Jera Brown's March 29 chat with her in Writer's Digest about "Creating New Worlds and Playing with Imagination". If you enjoy podcasts as much as I do, give a listen to "N.K. Jemisin’s Master Class in World Building" on the The Ezra Klein Show.
Then, when you are finally inevitably thoroughly intrigued, head on over to your nearest neighborhood library and dive in to one of her many extraordinary worlds. The hardest part will be deciding where to go first, but here’s a little help…
The Inheritance Trilogy – Gods and mortals. Power and love. Death and revenge.
In the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, gods dwell among mortals and one powerful, corrupt family rules the earth. Three extraordinary people may be the key to humanity’s salvation.
Book 1. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2009)
Book 2. The Broken Kingdoms (2010)
Book 3. The Kingdom of Gods (2011)
The Dreamblood Duology – A tale of culture and empire, war and religion… and the realm of dreams.
In the desert city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Priests of the dream-goddess maintain order: harvesting the dreams of the citizens, healing the injured, and guiding the dreamers into the afterlife… whether they’re ready to die or not.
Book 1. The Killing Moon (2012)
Book 2. The Shadowed Sun (2012)
The Broken Earth Trilogy – This is the way the world ends. Again.
In this Hugo Award-winning series, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations for the resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
Book 1. The Fifth Season (2015)
Book 2. The Obelisk Gate (2016)
Book 3. The Stone Sky (2017)
Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.
Today's readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about space ships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and guest editor N. K. Jemisin, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2018 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today, with Jemisin bringing her lyrical, endlessly curious point of view to the series' latest edition.
Have a question for Free Library staff? Please submit it to our Ask a Librarian page and receive a response within two business days.