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The Killing Moon
The Dreamblood, Book 1

Author: N. K. Jemisin
Pages: 404
Review Copy Acquired from: Orbit

Description from Goodreads:
In the city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Along its ancient stone streets, where time is marked by the river’s floods, there is no crime or violence. Within the city’s colored shadows, priests of the dream-goddess harvest the wild power of the sleeping mind as magic, using it to heal, soothe... and kill.

But when corruption blooms at the heart of Gujaareh’s great temple, Ehiru—most famous of the city’s Gatherers—cannot defeat it alone. With the aid of his cold-eyed apprentice and a beautiful foreign spy, he must thwart a conspiracy whose roots lie in his own past. And to prevent the unleashing of deadly forbidden magic, he must somehow defeat a Gatherer’s most terrifying nemesis: the Reaper.

First Sentence: "In the dark of waking, a soul has died."

Review:
The Killing Moon did not grab me right out of the gate. This wasn't a huge concern, though. I haven't read a ton of epic fantasy yet, but I've read enough to know that you have to give it time. Creating a new world, one so intricate and different from the one we live in takes time. You have to give the author a chance to set up the world and the characters.

A lot of readers have zero interest in epic fantasy. The books are long, and, as already mentioned, there is generally quite a bit of set up before you can really get to the good parts. This scares readers away, I think. Why is epic fantasy like The Killing Moon worth it? The world-building. The best world-building I have ever read has been in epic fantasy. The worlds are so completely different, and yet I will have this perfect mental image of the place. Jemisin did an amazing job with this for sure.

Epic fantasy also tends to have really fascinating, mind-blowing, unique concepts. In The Killing Moon, this is the idea of Dreamblood, and Gatherers/Reapers. I loved every bit of that. It's just so cool, and creepy. To try to explain why it was awesome would take many words and probably fail epically, so I'm going to spare you that. I just want to say how much I adored the idea of the power that can come from dreams.

Book two is definitely going to be in my future. I have no freaking clue what's going to happen next, but I must know! I especially want to know what will become of Sunandi. She is so fantastic, and I hope there's even more focus on her in The Shadowed Sun. You know how I like my powerful heroines.

The Killing Moon is a bit slow-moving and contemplative, but never did it drag for me. Jemisin will leave you thinking and perhaps inspire your dreams. I have the feeling this series is going to get better and better.

Note: You should also check out this review, because it's awesome: http://staffersmusings.blogspot.com/2012/04/killing-moon-nk-jemisin.html.

Rating: 3.5/5

Favorite Quote: " 'Suffering is part of life,' she said. 'All the parts of life are jumbled up together; you can't separate out just the one thing.' She parred his hand again, kindly. 'I could let you kill me now, lovely man, and have peace and good dreams forever. But who knows what I get instead, if I stay? Maybe time to see a new grandchild. Maybe a good joke that sets me laughing for days. Maybe another handsome young fellow flirting with me.' She grinned toothlessly, then let loose another horrible, racking cough. Ehiru steadies her with shaking hands. 'I want every moment of my life, pretty man, the painful and the sweet alike. Until the very end. If these are all the memories I get for eternity, I want to take as many of them with me as I can.' "

"Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight

Exit light
Enter night
Take my hand
Off to never never land

Something's wrong, shut the light
Heavy thoughts tonight
And they aren't of snow white

Dreams of war, dreams of liars"