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Inheritance Trilogy #4
Shades in Shadow
Three brand new short stories by Hugo, Nebula & World Fantasy Award nominated author N.K. Jemisin, set in the world of the 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.
Return to the world of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in these three interconnected short tales.
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.
Return to the world of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms in these three interconnected short tales.
64 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 28, 2015
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About the author
N.K. Jemisin
113Ìýbooks59.7kÌýfollowersN. K. Jemisin lives and works in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 175 reviews
October 20, 2023
Five stars for the Nahadoth story, solid four for the other two (even though I didn't care that much about those characters). This is the best fan service!
Such a swoon-worthy series and I'm sad it's over.
Such a swoon-worthy series and I'm sad it's over.
January 27, 2016
Brilliant, as always! Three short stories:
1. The first one is about Nahadoth's imprisonment and takes place before the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It was really sad and uplifting at the same time! Perfect!
2. The second one is about Hado, the human vessel of the god of darkness and what happens to him after he's freed. Beautiful!
3. And the last one follows Glee, the daughter of the God of light, and her journey to finding her father and figuring his purpose in life.
Sill fangirling by the way!
I know it's selfish to do this, but I truly hope we get more stories from this universe. It's definitely my favorite from all of Miss Jemisin's work and I'm really grateful for this book! Now I feel like rereading the original trilogy!
1. The first one is about Nahadoth's imprisonment and takes place before the events of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It was really sad and uplifting at the same time! Perfect!
2. The second one is about Hado, the human vessel of the god of darkness and what happens to him after he's freed. Beautiful!
3. And the last one follows Glee, the daughter of the God of light, and her journey to finding her father and figuring his purpose in life.
Sill fangirling by the way!
I know it's selfish to do this, but I truly hope we get more stories from this universe. It's definitely my favorite from all of Miss Jemisin's work and I'm really grateful for this book! Now I feel like rereading the original trilogy!
January 15, 2017
First of all, I strongly recommend this to be read AFTER the main books in the trilogy, as it contains some (not so small) spoilers.
The collection consists of three very beautiful, yet somewhat cryptic, stories about discovering one’s true self and finding a meaning in life:
The Wild Boy is the story of Nahadoth’s early period of coping with Itempas’s betrayal;
The God Without a Name follows Hado (Nahadoth’s daytime vessel during his imprisonment) after he is freed and let to live his own life;
The Third Why is the story of Glee Shoth, searching and helping her father cope with mortality and atonement.
None of them was written in first PoV, as we were used from the main trilogy, Jemisin using instead an observer voice, very concise and yet somehow almost intimate, reminding me of 's and 's styles.
October 23, 2021
This little anthology of short novellas was really enjoyable. The first, especially, offered an interesting insight into the state of things in book one. The second made me almost wish book three had been by his perspective. And the third.. it was good, maybe just okay, but still a nice addition considering the connection to the second.
This is definitely a worthy read if you've read the series.
This is definitely a worthy read if you've read the series.
August 16, 2015
This ebook is a collection of three short stories set in the same universe as The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It revisits some of the characters and the consequences of the original trilogy, giving us a little more of Nahadoth, Hado and Glee Shoth, in turn. I’m fairly sure I missed out on some of the details because I haven’t read the books recently enough; I’m very sure I’ll reread this when I have, to fully appreciate it. As it is, though, they’re well-crafted stories, with the beautiful imagery and clarity I expect of Jemisin’s writing.
There are moments of characterisation that you don’t need to have recently read the trilogy to appreciate: Itempas, confronting change, his body treating it like an infection. Nahadoth, grieving and betrayed, betraying himself with the odd moment of affection for Tempa, with moments of regret. Glee Shoth, claiming her birthright, with strength from both her parents.
I think I liked the Nahadoth story the most, because it deals with that early aftermath of betrayal, and also most directly with Nahadoth’s nature. The various ways of describing him, “that which cannot be controlled�, etc, all work to crystallise the character, to get across in as few words as possible what Nahadoth is, and what he stands for.
There are moments of characterisation that you don’t need to have recently read the trilogy to appreciate: Itempas, confronting change, his body treating it like an infection. Nahadoth, grieving and betrayed, betraying himself with the odd moment of affection for Tempa, with moments of regret. Glee Shoth, claiming her birthright, with strength from both her parents.
I think I liked the Nahadoth story the most, because it deals with that early aftermath of betrayal, and also most directly with Nahadoth’s nature. The various ways of describing him, “that which cannot be controlled�, etc, all work to crystallise the character, to get across in as few words as possible what Nahadoth is, and what he stands for.
October 9, 2020
Enjoyable short story collection. The 1st story tells how Nahadoth got his semi-human doppelganger. The 2nd story tells of the doppelganger's life without Nahadoth. The 3rd story tells of one of Itempas' children who decides to change the world. Aside from the 1st story, I don't know that these tales introduce readers to any new Inheritance Trilogy lore, but it was fun to spend some more time with side characters that I'd enjoyed.
October 14, 2015
N. K. Jemisin's Shades in Shadow is a modest collection - three stories set in the universe of her Inheritance trilogy - but a welcome one. In a sense, these small gems are almost sidebars to the main story told in the trilogy, scenes that were not essential to the overall narrative, but enhance our understanding of some of the characters.
"The Wild Boy" is a prequel, set in the early days of Nahadoth's confinement, and tells a story of his relationship with a mortal determined to avenge himself against those who enslaved him.
In "The God without a Name," a new god born from the body used by Nahadoth during his enslavement searches for his nature and for a reason to continue living.
And in "The Third Why," Glee Oree, demon daughter of Itempas, seeks out her father in the hopes that through him she will find answers to questions she scarcely knows how to ask.
All three tales deal in some fashion with finding meaning in life and reason for living, even if the answers are not always the most productive. They are about understanding one's nature and one's self - and if even gods have trouble with these things, then perhaps in reading these stories we mortals can learn to take it easy on ourselves when we too lack all the answers.
I hope that Jemisin will continue to visit this universe from time to time and bring back more tales to inform and delight us.
"The Wild Boy" is a prequel, set in the early days of Nahadoth's confinement, and tells a story of his relationship with a mortal determined to avenge himself against those who enslaved him.
In "The God without a Name," a new god born from the body used by Nahadoth during his enslavement searches for his nature and for a reason to continue living.
And in "The Third Why," Glee Oree, demon daughter of Itempas, seeks out her father in the hopes that through him she will find answers to questions she scarcely knows how to ask.
All three tales deal in some fashion with finding meaning in life and reason for living, even if the answers are not always the most productive. They are about understanding one's nature and one's self - and if even gods have trouble with these things, then perhaps in reading these stories we mortals can learn to take it easy on ourselves when we too lack all the answers.
I hope that Jemisin will continue to visit this universe from time to time and bring back more tales to inform and delight us.
August 8, 2015
Excellent addition to the Inheritance trilogy, although I wouldn't classify it as a prequel. Each of the stories require knowledge from the original trilogy, even if one of them is set chronologically beforehand.
June 3, 2021
**30 Books in 30 Days**
Book 2/30
I pre-ordered this and it downloaded on release day. In July 2015. I did this little collection a disservice by waiting six years to read it. I really had to do some Google-fu to refresh my memory on the events and the characters in the series. In the end, I still think I would have given it three stars, maybe 3.5, but it wouldn't have been so much frickin' work. (The Awakened Kingdom, the novella Jemisin released as an addendum to this series, gave me a lot more satisfaction than these stories did. It's a truly a delightful little book.)
The first story is the best one, I think. It's a prequel to book one, and follows Nahadoth in the early days of his imprisonment by the Arameri, and how he became the character we meet in that book. I love Nahadoth as a character so I was probably always going to like this one the best, but I do think it does the best job of having a concrete story to tell that is interesting. 3.5/5 stars
The second story is about the shell Nahadoth spent 2,000 years inhabiting, but who is now his own person (godling) called Hado/Ahad. This was my least favorite by far. Some of that was that I really did not remember the nitty gritty details of book two, but mostly I just really didn't care about Hado at all and wasn't interested in what he was up to. 2/5 stars
The last story follows Glee (the daughter of Itempas and Oree Shoth) as she looks for her father and builds a relationship with him. I very much enjoyed this one because I love both characters, but it really didn't have all that much oomph for me as a story. (Again, this may have been different had book two been fresh in my mind.) 3/5 stars
Feels nice to get this one off my TBR! But as Jemisin is one of my favorite authors, I don't anticipate waiting this long to "finish" a series written by her again.
Book 2/30
I pre-ordered this and it downloaded on release day. In July 2015. I did this little collection a disservice by waiting six years to read it. I really had to do some Google-fu to refresh my memory on the events and the characters in the series. In the end, I still think I would have given it three stars, maybe 3.5, but it wouldn't have been so much frickin' work. (The Awakened Kingdom, the novella Jemisin released as an addendum to this series, gave me a lot more satisfaction than these stories did. It's a truly a delightful little book.)
The first story is the best one, I think. It's a prequel to book one, and follows Nahadoth in the early days of his imprisonment by the Arameri, and how he became the character we meet in that book. I love Nahadoth as a character so I was probably always going to like this one the best, but I do think it does the best job of having a concrete story to tell that is interesting. 3.5/5 stars
The second story is about the shell Nahadoth spent 2,000 years inhabiting, but who is now his own person (godling) called Hado/Ahad. This was my least favorite by far. Some of that was that I really did not remember the nitty gritty details of book two, but mostly I just really didn't care about Hado at all and wasn't interested in what he was up to. 2/5 stars
The last story follows Glee (the daughter of Itempas and Oree Shoth) as she looks for her father and builds a relationship with him. I very much enjoyed this one because I love both characters, but it really didn't have all that much oomph for me as a story. (Again, this may have been different had book two been fresh in my mind.) 3/5 stars
Feels nice to get this one off my TBR! But as Jemisin is one of my favorite authors, I don't anticipate waiting this long to "finish" a series written by her again.
February 28, 2021
I loved this trio of short stories set in The Inheritance Trilogy world. We get a little of how the Nightlord first dealt with his incarceration, how The Nameless God found his nature, and how Glee tracked down her father. I wouldn’t recommend reading them until you finish the main trilogy though, spoilers are involved if read before the last book. I will miss this world Jemisin created.
September 3, 2018
These short stories are an excellent addition to the main series. I particularly liked the Nahadoth story, as he is such an interesting force in the Inheritance universe.
September 8, 2016
N.K. Jemisin is one of my favourite authors and I absolutely loved her Inheritance trilogy. So when Shades in Shadow was released, I was so happy to get to go back to that world. I loved the way the stories connected to the three original books and to each other. Apart from featuring characters from the books, the stories also strongly echo some of the larger themes of the books: identity, free choice and self-determination, and how love takes many different forms.
Of the three stories, the final one, The Third Why, was my favourite, even if I have a huge weakness for Nahadoth. In The Third Why we follow Glee, Oree Shoth’s daughter, as she sets out to find her father. I loved Glee and her stubborn determination to find a way around the limitations set upon her father so she could accompany him on his journey of atonement.
For fans of the Inheritance trilogy Shades in Shadow is very much worth the effort of seeking it out, but one shouldn’t read these stories before finishing the books, because they certainly contain spoilers for the main series.
Of the three stories, the final one, The Third Why, was my favourite, even if I have a huge weakness for Nahadoth. In The Third Why we follow Glee, Oree Shoth’s daughter, as she sets out to find her father. I loved Glee and her stubborn determination to find a way around the limitations set upon her father so she could accompany him on his journey of atonement.
For fans of the Inheritance trilogy Shades in Shadow is very much worth the effort of seeking it out, but one shouldn’t read these stories before finishing the books, because they certainly contain spoilers for the main series.
March 8, 2019
From the mind of N. K. Jemisin comes three indisputably original short stories that give us another glimpse into the Inheritance universe.
These three stories take us into the mind of an imprisoned god as he drifts and bides his time for his escape; the god without a name sets out to discover what his nature is and also whether 'he' needs a name; Glee wants to find her father and in doing so uncovers her destiny and ushers in her father's 're-birth'.
All three were utterly enthralling and I did not want to put them down, each tale left me wanting more. An excellent collection. N. K. Jemisin is a master world builder and her characters are always evolving.
These three stories take us into the mind of an imprisoned god as he drifts and bides his time for his escape; the god without a name sets out to discover what his nature is and also whether 'he' needs a name; Glee wants to find her father and in doing so uncovers her destiny and ushers in her father's 're-birth'.
All three were utterly enthralling and I did not want to put them down, each tale left me wanting more. An excellent collection. N. K. Jemisin is a master world builder and her characters are always evolving.
August 19, 2015
This is a short story set in the Inheritance Trilogy, it focuses on 3 characters, fleshing out the stories they had in the books. While it was nice to see a little more background and it's always a treat to learn more about this world, I felt like the individual stories were all a little too short to really add much to the overall plot. It's a fun companion to the trilogy, but it can easily be skipped.
July 29, 2015
I think this novella is better enjoyed relatively soon after the Trilogy. I struggled in particular to remember what was going on with the middle character. I think I'm good now to leave this universe, and I'm looking forward to .
March 26, 2018
The short stories give nice insight into characters
December 12, 2024
Três contos curtinhos que explicam alguns pontos que "ficaram sem explicação" na trilogia original. Coloquei "ficaram sem explicação" porque não sei se precisavam de alguma explicação, além do "só sei que foi assim". Gostei de ler algumas delas, a Jemisin é uma ótima escritora (só teve um livro dela que eu não gostei) e essas histórias claramente foram cortadas dos livros originais e ainda bem que estão aqui. Estou com uma sensação meio agridoce, porque eu gostei muito de ter lido esses contos, mas acho que eles não deveriam existir. Mas ainda bem que eu os li. Mas não sei se eles deveriam existir. Mas gostei de ler.
January 7, 2018
Returning to Inheritance
To come back to the world of the Inheritance trilogy through this triptych reminded me why I fell so in love with the series. The characters are so uniquely loveable, and the way N.K. puts words down is simply magical.
To come back to the world of the Inheritance trilogy through this triptych reminded me why I fell so in love with the series. The characters are so uniquely loveable, and the way N.K. puts words down is simply magical.
September 12, 2022
These stories were fun, if a little too short to really accomplish much. I had to immediately re-read "The Broken Kingdoms" after stumbling over this on my Libby app. I think "The Hundred Thousand Kindgoms" is now officially on the re-read short list as well. Loved this series.
March 15, 2021
N.K. Jemisin is as good as ever.
April 19, 2018
I love this author, and I really liked the last story in this book, but the others not so much. I think it's because her world building works better in a longer tale, or that I didn't like the vagueness of her descriptions. The series which starts with is my favorite of her books, just fabulous.
December 31, 2017
Short stories continue to be problematic for me. I liked how they added bits of richness to the trilogy, but they didn't pull me in a thoroughly as The Awakened Kingdom is. I like Jemisin when she has a bit more room to wiggle.
That said, a worthwhile addition to the trilogy.
That said, a worthwhile addition to the trilogy.
June 29, 2020
Three little stories that fit in the Inheritance Trilogy -- read because I'm a completist, but enjoyed because they're wonderful. One more to go.
January 1, 2016
A collection of 3 Inheritance short stories about Nahadoth, Ahad and Glee. Timeline-wise it's all over the place, so it's best to read this after finishing the trilogy.
The first story features an enslaved Nahadoth and takes place before The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It explores his nature and was quite interesting. The ending had a twist that I didn't expect (surprising since it's a prequel), and answers some unexplained questions from the trilogy.
The second one focuses on Ahad/Hado and takes place across and beyond the trilogy. It was well-written, but I didn't find it as interesting as the Nahadoth story.
The final story is about Glee and Itempas and takes place in between The Broken Kingdoms and The Kingdom of Gods. This was excellent; I loved the way Jemisin explored their motivations and how differently they see the world. It's definitely the gem of the collection.
The first story features an enslaved Nahadoth and takes place before The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. It explores his nature and was quite interesting. The ending had a twist that I didn't expect (surprising since it's a prequel), and answers some unexplained questions from the trilogy.
The second one focuses on Ahad/Hado and takes place across and beyond the trilogy. It was well-written, but I didn't find it as interesting as the Nahadoth story.
The final story is about Glee and Itempas and takes place in between The Broken Kingdoms and The Kingdom of Gods. This was excellent; I loved the way Jemisin explored their motivations and how differently they see the world. It's definitely the gem of the collection.
February 27, 2018
Shades in Shadow is a very indulgent little collection. Jemison is extremely good at coming into story late, so that events are well in motion by the time the protagonist arrives on the scene. in the Inheritance series this means that many important characters go through significant development between books. Each of these stories focuses on showing that skipped over development. So these stories are filling in content that was deemed unnecessary in the novels. Fortunately I like indulgent stories if they're focused on characters I already like, and so it was a joy for me to just visit Nahadoth, Yeine, and especially Itempas again. The stories are slow and philosophical, more character studies than plots. Don't read it if you haven't read the novels because you'll have no idea who these people are. But if you loved the books and just want another small taste, it's perfect.
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June 3, 2016These are great short stories to learn more about some of the "Inheritance Trilogy" main characters. The first one features Nahadoth ("The Wild Boy"), the second one Ahad ("The God Without A Name") and the third one Glee ("The Third Why").
Nahadoth's story takes place before "A Hundred Thousand Kingdoms." Ahad's story is best understood after reading the whole trilogy. And Glee's story happens some time after "The Broken Kingdom."
Nahadoth's story takes place before "A Hundred Thousand Kingdoms." Ahad's story is best understood after reading the whole trilogy. And Glee's story happens some time after "The Broken Kingdom."
January 18, 2016
Tasty little ficlets.
February 23, 2017
It's been a while since I've been in this world, so I'd forgotten a lot of names and details, but it's still good reading.
March 11, 2025
It’s been a long time since I read Jemisin, and I didn’t remember much of the plot of the series. Reading this did bring back SOME memories, and I’m starting to think I didn’t properly appreciate her writing when I read it the first time, even though I loved it. There are so many subtleties and complexities, and such lush writing. I love how fallible the gods are.
Favorite character: probably Ahad
“Time is a thing too; Nahadoth knows this now, has accepted the conceptualization of beginningness and whereness and whoness because these are all things that make life more interesting, though it is also interesting to discard them.�
“He wells at the bottom of it, a living spring gushing forth everything that they hate� even if he did not do so, they would cease to exist.�
“I am a thing.�
I’ve been in a lot of literature and critical theory classes lately, and commodification of the human is a large focus. I feel like I must have missed so much rich commentary when I read Jemisin before.
“The unutterable tedium of a breathing, beating universe.�
“…mortals can be stronger than gods under certain circumstances. Daughters can be stronger than fathers.�
Jemisin has a very distinctive voice, and I am so here for it. I’m looking forward to rereading her.
I love the diverse representation and the lack of moral judgment in the writing, even in such a small collection of stories.
Would recommend reading The Witch King by Martha Wells if you like this series.
Favorite character: probably Ahad
“Time is a thing too; Nahadoth knows this now, has accepted the conceptualization of beginningness and whereness and whoness because these are all things that make life more interesting, though it is also interesting to discard them.�
“He wells at the bottom of it, a living spring gushing forth everything that they hate� even if he did not do so, they would cease to exist.�
“I am a thing.�
I’ve been in a lot of literature and critical theory classes lately, and commodification of the human is a large focus. I feel like I must have missed so much rich commentary when I read Jemisin before.
“The unutterable tedium of a breathing, beating universe.�
“…mortals can be stronger than gods under certain circumstances. Daughters can be stronger than fathers.�
Jemisin has a very distinctive voice, and I am so here for it. I’m looking forward to rereading her.
I love the diverse representation and the lack of moral judgment in the writing, even in such a small collection of stories.
Would recommend reading The Witch King by Martha Wells if you like this series.
May 1, 2021
The three stories in this collection are very short and give you a tiny piece of what happened between the stories in the Inheritance Trilogy. The stories focus on Nahadoth, whatever name you want to give the human who basically time-shared a body with Nahadoth in the first book, and Glee, respectively. They're pretty good if you'd like more of the Inheritance world, although I wish there was a 3.5 story as well. The stories read like extra ideas from the trilogy. Don't get me wrong, they're all good stories in their own right, but they wouldn't have fit well in the trilogy story. So they're basically the extras you used to get on DVDs. The whole thing is only 50 pages long, so you'll get through them quick. You'll learn a bit more about the characters the stories focus on, and you should definitely read the trilogy before this book so it makes more sense and there are no spoilers. 4/5 because it feels like the ideas could be a bit more fleshed out but are still entertaining and don't take long to read.
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