Mark Reads ‘100K Kingdoms’ Appendix / ‘The Broken Kingdoms’ Predictions

In the appendix of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, we learn the origins of the slavery of the Enefadeh. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms.

Appendix

I do like to complete as much of a series as possible for my sites, though I admit there are still some things I’ve missed, like Pullman’s auxiliary work for His Dark Materials and some of Gaiman’s smaller Sandman comics. You know, outside of Mark Reads and Watches, I’m actually far more obsessive about the things I love. I do research, I find out as much behind-the-scenes info as I can, and I amass a terrifying amount of trivia because why not. (I know more than any human should about The X-Files, I swear to y’all. I once scared someone with my ability to name any episode from just a fragment of dialogue or plot. DON’T JUDGE.) However, I have limited time these days, so it doesn’t happen as often. (Which, for the record, made Lord of the Rings fans very angry because I didn’t want to read the Silmarillion. Yeah, it’s not going to happen.) Plus, I’ve got so many fictional canons swimming around my head at any one time that it’s hard to let myself be consumed by another one. Seriously, think about it: Right now, I’ve got six full fictional worlds kicking around in my brain, and then I’ve got that seventh one that I’m creating AND I’M ALMOST DONE WITH OMG.

All of this is a very long way of saying that I’m very happy that this ancillary information for The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is just sitting at the end of the book. Not only is it fascinating, but I actually feel like it’s an intentional way to get us to reflect on this world. Appendix 2, titled “A Clarification of Terms,” is an unsettling piece that reads like an academic work. Which is terrifying once you realize what the content of it is: an introduction to the ways in which the Arameri can exploit the inherent weaknesses of the Enefadeh in order to enslave them. And Jemisin brilliantly captures that sort of detached academic speak that is so typical of pieces like this that support heinous behavior or laws or legislature. Of course, this also makes me think of the future! Now that the Gods are without chains, how the hell are they going to act? How is it going to affect the world???

Well, I’ll make some guesses in a bit, but let’s talk about Appendix 3, which I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET. BECAUSE HOLY SHIT, SHAHAR ARAMERI. The parallels present in her story to both Kinneth and Yeine are unreal, even if what Shahar did was inherently in support of Itempas. It’s her behavior – the way she valued things that were “harsh, glaring, hiding nothing” – that makes me think of the women who followed in her wake. She’s willing to kill to protect her family and herself, which Kinneth and Yeine both did at one point.

But this also serves to give us a glimpse of what the Gods’ War was like for everyone else near or in Sky, which is so fascinating to me because I WANT TO KNOW WHAT THE NON-ARAMERI PEOPLE WERE DOING THIS WHOLE BOOK. Which isn’t a complaint at all! I’m glad that Jemisin focused on this highly privileged culture, but if this Gods’ War caused this –

In between, when we dared look outside, we saw nightmares. Giggling black things, like cats but also monstrous children, flowed through the streets a-hunting. Red columns of fire, wide as mountains, fell in the distance; we saw the entire city of Dix immolated. We saw the shining bodies of the gods’ children falling from the sky, screaming and vanishing into aether before they hit the ground.

– then I am curious how the release of the Enefadeh is going to change the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. Will there be another war? What about that giant fucking tree that just sprung up and LITERALLY PIERCED THE SKY?

Oh god, y’all, I CAN’T WAIT TO START THE NEXT BOOK. Which is a perfect segue to my public embarrassment: I’m going to attempt to predict The Broken Kingdoms. So, if you’ve never participated in one of my prediction posts (since there are plenty of newbies about!), please keep the following in mind:

Don’t spoil me. I know that seems obvious, but you’d be surprised at how often people think it’s okay to use prediction posts to point out specific predictions and make very obvious references to whether they’re right or not. Please don’t do this!

Don’t spoil others. There will be folks posting their own predictions. The same rules apply to them. Stick to rot13 and don’t attempt to clue a person in on whether they are right or not on anything.

Do not post fake predictions. Y’all, I cannot count how many times people have attempted to post predictions, pretending to have never read the series, and they get everything right because they’re clearly a killjoy with no fun in their lives. Don’t do this. We will recognize this in a second, your comment will be deleted, and then I’ll probably make fun of you or something, I don’t know.

Anyway, let’s do this.

Mark’s (Horrible) Predictions for The Broken Kingdoms

• Gods, I don’t even feel like Jemisin left me much to go on, so… we will get to see Itempas as a human being?
• We will see how the people of Sky deal with Yeine’s SUPER GIANT TREE.
• This book will follow Yeine’s journey through the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in an attempt to repair them. (Which is my guess as to why this second book will be titled this way.)
• We will meet more Enefadeh that did not appear in the first book!
• We will go to at least five new kingdoms in the narrative.
• I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PREDICT ANY MORE. The neat thing about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is that it feels so complete. Granted, I want more of this world, but if that book had been a one-off, I would have been pleased with the ending. So, I don’t know what else there is left to predict!
• Um… Scimina will die?
• So will Dekarta?
• Okay, how about one big one? The end of the novel will feature the fall of the Arameri.
• Forever unprepared, y’all.

See y’all on Monday, when I start The Broken Kingdoms!

Mark Links Stuff

– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– I will be traveling for many events! Check the Tour Dates/Appearances page for up-to-date tour events.