#THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS BY N.K. JEMISIN

[betterbooksandthings]

"All fantasy authors have to start somewhere. The best debut fantasy books ever written are a testament to what that starting line can look like. In fantasy, the delicate dance between worldbuilding, character, and craft is always difficult. Somehow, these authors got it just right with the first books they had published."

[lifblogs]

Yeine just had sex with two different people in one night (not a threesome, one after the other). Girl, how can you walk?

[thoughtsfromthe305]

[0mnemonic0]

"In a child's eyes, a mother is a goddess. She can be glorious or terrible, benevolent or filled with wrath, but she commands love either way. I am convinced that this is the greatest power in the universe."

~N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance, #1)

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

Well, again, the issue is not that Rhys has done bad things, it’s how those actions are framed in the story. Let’s think about this – if Rhysand’s actions UTM were framed as negative then perhaps we would not be having this conversation.

Of course, we can argue that Rhysand (1) has developed negative coping mechanisms / perspective (2) Rhysand’s trauma informs the things that he does (both pre, during, and after UTM), and (3) Rhysand’s position was uniquely isolating because of the nature of the role he was forced to play. These are points that I believe can be argued and offer an interesting view; but for any of that to happen, we have to acknowledge that the behaviors are negative. That’s often the problem with the arguments that begin to arise – no one wants to admit that Rhysand has developed (or just has) negative qualities and behaviors. No one wants to contend with the reality of consequences. “Rhysand has always admitted that he would be willing to do terrible things for his family” – and yet there’s no elaboration on those “terrible things.” No one wants to talk about those proposed negative qualities. The story (and the audience) don’t want to admit that Rhys doesn’t really have a solid moral high ground over Tamlin, or admittedly other villains. Just because Rhysand “admits” he’s prone to basically being abusive doesn’t…make it any less abusive.

My proposed argument about Rhysand’s actions UTM are this: he chose to sexually assault Feyre, he chose to “protect” Feyre in ways that were extremely sexually explicit. I believe these are choices that Rhys chooses to make – and I believe they say something about him. It’s noted, to me, that Amarantha scarcely makes Rhys do anything that he does to Feyre. I also believe that his actions regarding Feyre were done with an air of autonomy; as in, I believe Rhysand takes these measures into his own hands. Ultimately, I believe that while Rhysand has to contend with the horrors, he himself becomes beholden to them at some point and ends up perpetrating the same behaviors.

We cannot argue that Rhysand sexually assaulted Feyre, and then argue that it doesn’t say something about him. It does. In the realm of the story – from a writing standpoint – I think a good author can still make a character like that sympathetic and understandable (see: Nahadoth and Itempas from N.K. Jemisin’s Hundred Thousand Kingdom). If I were analyzing Rhysand’s actions, I would simply make the argument that perhaps Rhysand’s abuse of Feyre mirror’s his own abuse by Amarantha hands, and he potentially sees Feyre (and her hope) as something to be threatened – or even shamed by. If Rhysand’s actions were written in a way that clearly exemplified that his actions are not meant to be praised (and are NOT are reflection of love) then he could be salvaged. I actually believe a lot of the abusive things Rhysand does makes sense given the environment and if the story leaned into this from a storytelling perspective and did away with needing to moralize, then this would all be fine. Framing Rhysand’s abuse of Feyre as something to be praised, admired, and loved for is actually quite insane. If we frame his actions as purely preservational and self-serving, that would make so much sense. Imagine being in Rhysand’s position; I guarantee everyone would do whatever they could to stop such extreme amounts of abuse and sexual violence. And even then, the story could still create a narrative that warns of the danger of sexual violence and consent, it would just be subtextual and more allegorical than concretely written in the text. Starting Feyre and Rhysand off in such a tragic place, having Feyre and Rhysand acknowledged truly what happened, having them discuss ways for both of them to move forward while building up the mating bond in the background. Have Feyre acknowledge this untrusting, sly, slick part of Rhysand and have her not assume her mate does everything out of the kindness of his heart. Build their romance out of a place of mutual atonement – play on the theme of guilt Feyre feels and the whole premise of the court. Let the connection between Feyre and Rhys be that they truly acknowledge each others darkness (and also let Feyre do selfish things – maybe she knew damn well Clare Beddor’s family might suffer a bad fate but its not her family and Feyre would do anything for them; Let Feyre kill those fairies with ease because she cares about her life. Let her contend with reality that she would actually do anything for her family and then have that be a connection between Rhys and Feyre.

Something that has always bothered me about the “we don’t talk enough about Rhysand’s trauma” argument that gets thrown around when we earnestly discuss the validity of his actions is the presumption of innocence in that statement. The unwritten statement is that the trauma somehow explains and simultaneously absolves him of the implications of his actions. I objectively agree with the sentiment – Rhysand’s trauma is not talked about enough and it should be. The argument dancing in the corner is the fact that people believe that Rhysand’s extreme amount of trauma absolves him – even going as far as essentially say that Rhysand’s abuse operates out of fear (or because of fear) which is essentially the exact same ideology the book bashed Tamlin for. In the end, the cycle just comes back around and the abuse gets pushed into the backdrop.

[utilitycaster]

Just because it seems like your style, have you ever read anything by N.K. Jemisin? I just finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and the protagonist reminded me of a post of yours, about a type of character who tries, against the environment, against their own flaws, to be competent, and it definitely colored my perception of the book.

Yes, I haven't read that one (it's on my list, so good to know!) but I've read the Broken Earth trilogy and The City We Became/The World We Make (and the short story on which that was originally based).

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: great, unique and creative worldbuilding in fantasy books

A note: this is very much a subjective list. I typically do not care much for historical medieval-esque settings (though seeing as I'm a big critical role fan, obviously there are exceptions), but rather prefer settings that mix up historical and modern, fantastical and scientific, and make up entirely new things and societal structures not based on our world.

Other book rec posts:

Really cool sci-fi worldbuilding

Mermaid books

Dark sapphic romances

Vampire books

Without further ado, let’s go!

The Unspoken name by A.K. Larkwood

Honestly there's so much going on in this one worldbuilding-wise that it's kind of hard to explain. Portals, flying ships, orcs, elves, creepy snake gods, cults, immortal evil mages who traumatize teens as their hobby. It's also very queer!

A Master of Djinn by P. Djèli Clark

Set in an alternate 1910's steampunk Cairo, where djinn and other creatures (among other things, creepy steampunk angels) live alongside humans. We get to follow an investigator as she races to catch a criminal using a powerful object to control djinn and stir unrest. Fantastically creative and fresh, and also features a buddy cop dynamic between two female leads as well as a sapphic romance.

Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Urban fantasy on a level of its own, where dangerous magic exists alongside humans. It keeps you guessing and much is left unexplained; if you want clear answers and explanations to everything you might be disappointed, but if you want a world that feels mysterious and dangerous and lived in you'll probably like it. It follows a baker who, after getting kidnapped by vampires, gets embroiled in a dangerous struggle.

Radiant (Towers Trilogy) by Karina Sumner-Smith

A strange mix of fantasy, sci-fi and post apocalyptic, Radiant follows a girl without magic in a world where magic is currency. Those with much of it live in magically floating towers, while everyone else scrambles to survive in the ruins of an old city left devastated from an unknown cataclysm. The setting is creepy and mysterious and leaves me itching as I want to dig for more. Also there are ghosts.

Three Parts Dead (Craft Sequence) by Max Gladstone

This is one of those books where you just kind of have to let go and go along as it throws you all over the place. I started reading it expecting an urban fantasy, but it is much more and wholly unique. It features a world where gods and magic are deeply enmeshed with society at large, and a base of much of its technology and progress. It doesn't quite feel historical, but also not modern, but rather like you took a fantastical world and let it develop naturally into its own contemporary era.

Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer duology) by Laini Taylor

One of my favorite things is when the mysteries of the world and how it works become part of the plot, with characters trying to figure out their own world. Strange the Dreamer is beautiful and complex and will hurt your heart. Personally I didn't care much for the central romance, but the wonderful characters, themes, mysteries and world make up for it.

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach

Like Three Parts Dead, The Dawnhounds is a book where you just kind of have to let the story and the world wash over you. It skirts the line of scifi and fantasy, with a futuristic world of environmentally friendly mushroom houses and deadly fungi bio weapons next to literally god-given superpowers and near-immortality. It's really cool and unlike anything else I've ever read. Bonus: it’s also sapphic!

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin

Another example of a world that feels wholly like its own organically developed thing, with societal structures developed around the magical aspects and a presence of gods and demi-gods, many of whom walk the streets and will smite you if you piss them off.

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows series) by Kim Harrison

Okay, here we have an actual urban fantasy. While I got a bit worn out by the many, many love interests throughout the series, the worldbuilding is simply phenomenal and relies heavily on a well-developed alternate history. Basically, magical beings such as vampires, werewolves, elves, fairies, witches, etc, used to exist secretly alongside us, but when humanity delved into genetic research instead of the space race during the cold war, an engineered virus ended up wiping a good chunk of us out and the magical beings stepped in to stop us from going extinct. Now in the modern day, we co-exist but tensions remain. Our main character is a witch who, alongside her roommates (a vampire and a fairy) solve mysteries and crime and end up unveiling secrets about their world centuries in the making.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Another urban fantasy, this one aimed at young adults and featuring indigenous mythology alongside creatures such as vampires and ghosts. We follow a young apache girl with the ability to raise ghosts as she works to solve the murder of her cousin.

Red Sister (Book of the Ancestor trilogy) by Mark Lawrence

Honestly, most of what I've read by Mark Lawrence so far could be featured on this list (special shoutout to his Broken Empire trilogy!). We follow a young girl training to become an assassin in a slowly dying world, where ice is overtaking the land and only a small band along its middle is habitable, kept alive by a mirror in the sky sharpening the dying sun's light. Question is, how long will this machine last, and what even is it? Very dark but very good.

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth trilogy) by N.K. Jemisin

Listen, N.K. Jemisin gets to have two books on this list, okay, she is very good at what she does. In a world regularly torn apart by natural disasters, a big one finally strikes and society as we know it falls, leaving people floundering to survive in a post apocalyptic world, its secrets and past to be slowly revealed. We get to follow a mother as she races through this world to find and save her missing daughter.

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

AKA the book the killed me. Two boys travel throughout their land with the body of a god as her horrible, horrible children try to hunt them down. It's hard to explain more than that, but trust me when I say the narrative voice and literary techniques are incredibly unique in how they blend past and present, reality and story, lead and bystander. Truly an experience. Bonus: gay romance!

Wild Seed by Octavia Butler

Master of slightly fucked up romance, Octavia Butler knocks it out of the park in this story featuring two immortals struggling throughout the centuries. What do you do when there is only one other person remotely like you, and you simultaneously can't stand them and can't live without them? Apparently, you turn yourself into a dolphin for a while.

Birth of the Fire Bringer by Meredith Ann Pierce

Cards on the table, it has been a great many years since I actually read this, and just as many years spent meaning to read the sequels (I have a lot of stuff on my tbr okay, don’t judge me), but I do remember it making a great impact on me back in the day. Our main character is a unicorn! Fighting wyverns and gryphons! How cool is that!

Bonus AKA I haven’t read these yet but they seem really cool

The Surviving Sky by Kritika H. Rao

From Goodreads: This Hindu philosophy-inspired debut science fantasy follows a husband and wife racing to save their living city—and their troubled marriage—high above a jungle world besieged by cataclysmic storms.

High above a jungle-planet float the last refuges of humanity—plant-made civilizations held together by tradition, technology, and arcane science. In these living cities, architects are revered above anyone else. If not for their ability to psychically manipulate the architecture, the cities would plunge into the devastating earthrage storms below.

Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews

Urban fantasy but the vampires are aliens? Sign me the fuck up

The Gaslight Dogs by Karin Lowachee

From Goodreads: At the edge of the known world, an ancient nomadic tribe faces a new enemy-an Empire fueled by technology and war.

[nanowrimo]

Book Bracket: Favorite Novel by a NaNoWriMo Pep Talker

Did you know that nearly 70% of NaNoWriMo writers are women? This year for Women's History Month, we've gone through our list of NaNoWriMo Pep Talkers to find some of our favorite books written by women and featuring a strong female protagonist. In the spirit of March Madness, here's a just-for-fun book bracket featuring eight of our favorites. Which is yours?

To vote, choose your favorite on each individual poll that will be posted separately and linked below. We'll tally up the votes for all three rounds to find out which book you all like best!

We think all of these books are fantastic, and you should check them all out. If you want to see our full list of Pep Talk authors and read their inspiring messages, you can find them at https://nanowrimo.org/pep-talks

Round 1: Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce vs. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron: Vote in Poll 1.1 Pachinko by Min Jin Lee vs. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin: Vote in Poll 1.2 The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley vs. Victories Greater Than Death by Charlie Jane Anders: Vote in Poll 1.3 With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo vs. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik: Vote in Poll 1.4

[oldwinesoul]

“We can never be gods, after all-but we can become something less than human with frightening ease.”

—N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

[marietheran]

List of authors I wish I could read but cannot due to sexual content ™ (not exhaustive) because I need to get it out and also like to make lists:

N.K. Jemisin - Having read a few pages from the beginning of The Fifth Season and A Hundred Thousand Kingdoms both and seen a fair number of quotes, I can say she's got an absolutely incredible, really and truly poetic writing style. I know she got some criticism for writing a book in second person but I love second person pov. Alas, I can't allow myself to read them. (Maybe I wouldn't enjoy them even if they didn't have sexual content - it seems I would disagree with most of Jemisin's theses, and reviews I've read make me doubt if I'd find the characters likeable, but it's such a pity this writing style has to be lost on me)

Guy Gavriel Kay - he helped Christopher Tolkien put together my favourite book of all time; could there be a better recommendation? And I've seen dozens of beautiful quotes from him so it feels like this paid off, but... tbh I wouldn't have expected him to put explicit sex scenes in his books but apparently he does. Can you be disappointed in someone you've never met? Somehow I am, but mostly I'm sad and longing, because I crave those books and cannot read them.

Madeleine Miller - read a few pages from Circe, got slapped in the face with something quite vulgar and sexual, and didn't buy the book, but it was enough for me to tell the writing style flows in the best of ways. I know I've heard some doubtful statements about the literary value (and apparently she made numbers on Tiktok which is an anti-rec) but I've also seen examples of ways in which she succeeded to add something to the myths, and while I don't care for the mythology per se that deeply, I do love retellings. Unfortunately they're often no less (and perhaps more?) sexual than the source material and hers seem to be no exception (also I absolutely don't ship Achilles and Partoclus so I couldn't read SoA which interests me more anyway and I hate that)

G.R.R. Martin - On the one hand I've heard your standard griping about how he makes everything and everyone so dark and awful, and kills everyone off. But my favourite book is about a large, often dysfunctional, family with very complicated relationships between its members and everyone dies in it so I feel like the chances of me liking it are there. And writing styles are very important to me - and I've heard people call GRRM's poor - but the few quotes I've met with are more appealing rather than less. But either way I cannot even try it because of all the debauchery and I wish I could say I don't need to regret it, but it may be the opposite.

[kalapacskapitany]

Könyvértékelő 2023

44 könyvet olvastam idén tavaly. Nagyon finnyás voltam, 7 lett csak ötcsillagos.

Ebből három Seanan McGuire (tumblistárs, hehe!) volt, ő volt az idei év nagy felfedezése nálam. A Middlegame-re nincsenek szavak, alkimistás, found-familys, (spoiler)-es, hát egy csoda. A másik kettő tőle a Velveteen vs. sorozat két kötete (a háromból, a harmadik kicsit szétesik), aranyos-vicces epizódok egy korán kiégett szuperhős életéből. A könyveket nem lehet kapni, de fenn van az összes epizód a blogján ingyér, itt az első: Velveteen vs. The Isley Crayfish Festival.

A többi:

Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, N.K. Jemisin (tumblizik ő is!). Nehéz úgy leírni, hogy ne klisésen hngozzon, de egészen friss, ő az egyik "új" író aki szerintem megérdemelten nyeri a díjakat szerteszét. fantasy hatalmi játszmák, naív főhős beledobva a ravasz oroszlánok közé, legyőzött-rabszolga istenek (démonok), intrika, káosz. Enyhén emó főhős, de üdítően okos.

Dark Lord of Derkholm, Diana Wynne Jones (nem tumblizik, mert meg van halva). Szegény Derk a világ legjámborabb varázslója, nemesítgetné a beszélő lovait meg repülő disznóit, de őt jelölik ki az ezévi sötét nagyúrnak. Csak a szívás van vele, és vagy 40 turistacsoportot kell végigvezetni a világmegmentő túrán, sötétnagyúrlegyőzéssel.

Második magyar köztársaság, Kondor Vilmos. Alternatív történelem, 1956-ban megjött a nyugati segítség, 69-ben Magyarország semleges, mint Ausztria, virágzik a kelet-nyugat közötti csempészetből. A pesti Beatles-koncert alatt megölik az egyik roadot. A krimi átlagos, az alternatív Budapest szívfájdítóan szép.

Hench, N.Z. Welschots. A főhős éhbérért tengődő henchman for hire (bérsegédgonosz?). Felháborítóan kicsesz vele egy hős, bosszút esküszik, ahogy ezt szokás. Excelben kiszámolja, hogy a szuperhősök károsak, innen nincs megállás, excel lesz a szuperképessége

Ami jó volt még:

Scott Pilgrim képregény

Revenge of the Sluts

Legends and Lattes (de azért nem annyira jó, mint amennyire hájpolják)

Starter Villain Scalzitól

Paradox Hotel, jó kis időanomáliás agyzsibbasztó mystery

[enchantedentries]

I’m back in Houston today, traveling for work. It’s my third time being here this year and I can honestly say I am sick of this place! I want to be home journaling😔 But it’s only for a week and then I can relax this weekend. I was able to read a bit on the plane ride and I am almost finished with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K Jemisin. I plan on finishing it tonight or tomorrow morning📚✨

[redheadgleek]

October books

Only 6 books completed this month, although I have a few that are in-progress. 

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (friend recommodation). Some absolutely incredible world building here; I was completely absorbed in the story, but I'm also not sure if I want to read the sequels?

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (friend recommendation). At one point, I had to go find the summary to make sure the kid made it through the story alive and unhurt (he does). The villain was a little too cartoonish, but it was a really creepy, haunting story. 

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. Slow burn second chance romance. I liked alternating between the different time periods, the romance was definitely real and messy and I had serious issues with the proposal. The part that intrigued me the most: the call out to Stephenie Meyer in the acknowledgements. Maybe Corienne was written by them both? 

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune. The House in the Cerulean Sea is what got me into reading and I really enjoyed going back to this universe. Did we need a sequel? No. Did it get awfully preachy in places? Yes. Were the kids the best and did we need even more of them? Absolutely.

Swordcrossed by Freya Marske. There was a little too much focus on world-building here and the story got lost, but still, it's a romance novel, and that romance was smoking.

The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York by Deborah Bloom (friend recommendation, audiobook). Fascinating history (man, what old medical examiners had to do to get answers on toxins!), lots of science that was easy to understand, and dramatic cases. The narrator had a weird voice and rhythm though and there were parts that dragged.

[pre-raphaelitepunk]

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

So, I (finally) just finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (THTK) by N.K. Jemisin (Book 1 of the Inheritance Trilogy) and it was phenomenal! It was exactly the fantasy story that I needed to read right now in the middle of nanowrimo. Full of lore, divinity, soft magic system, character development, mystery, and characters with a diversity of phenotypes and ethnicities. The book also came to a very satisfying end despite being part of a trilogy which is rare these days. THTK is not a romance per se but a a romance reader, I found the development of the characters' chemistry to be well done and contributive to the overall political and magical intrigue.

This book in particular reminds me of Octavia Butler, both in themes and style, despite their differing genres; the staccato text, though Jemisin is more descriptive and... fluid? The themes of power and love and jealousy and slavery/freedom/choice and world-ending cataclysm are shared between the two authors a well.

Something about THTK reminds me specifically of Wildseed. I could see the ending of Itempas being a sort of prologue for Doro... the lore doesn't match up but the characters really do; if you've read both books I'd love to hear your thoughts on the comparison.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, plan on reading the rest of the series, and I highly recommend this book <3

[cutestkilla]

9 books

thank you for the tag @petrodobreva! You opened the door for series by putting one on your list, and I have abused that loophole so this is actually a list of possibly 30 books now.

This list is presented in no particular order because I can't be expected to figure that out.

The Simon Snow Trilogy (Carry On/Wayward Son/Any Way the Wind Blows) - Rainbow Rowell

The Inheritance Trilogy (The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms/The Broken Kingdoms/The Kingdom of Gods) - N.K. Jemisin (I LOVE ALL N.K. JEMISIN)

The Raven Cycle (The Raven Boys/Blue Lily, Lily Blue/The Dream Thieves/The Raven King) - Maggie Stiefvater

A Little Life - Hanya Yanagihara

Anne of Green Gables Series - L.M. Montgomery

The Bone Season Series (The Bone Season/The Mime Order/The Song Rising/The Mask Falling) - Samantha Shannon

His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass/The Subtle Knife/The Amber Spyglass) - Phillip Pullman

Normal People - Sally Rooney

The Dark Tower Series (The Gunslinger/The Drawing of the Three/The Waste Lands/Wizard and Glass/Wolves of the Calla/Song of Susannah/The Dark Tower) - Stephen King

This list could not possibly encompass all of my favourite books, or else it would be filled with Vonnegut and Austen and Bronte and Tolkien and and and but these are the ones I felt belonged together on a list when I looked at my bookshelf.

Tagging 9 people I haven't seen tagged @artsyunderstudy @iamamythologicalcreature @hushed-chorus @shrekgogurt @thewholelemon @facewithoutheart @bookish-bogwitch @technetiumai @aristocratic-otter

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

It's always the 40% mark that gets me on these books. It's just that Fourth Wing particularly doesn't seem to want to commit to a genre (and this is the case for many others like it). Is this a fantasy romance, where our focus should be primarily on the romance with a fantasy backdrop? Or is this an ambitious fantasy focused on the plot, intrigue, character motivations, etc.,

Because the characters are so flat...and so is the romance. Like we're told that Xaden should hate Violet, and yet he doesn't really seem to. There's not much depth to these characters. The character deaths either (1) make no sense or (2) add no value to the story. Like-in N.K. Jemisin's The Hundred Thousand Kingdom we have two important, expositionary deaths: (1) Yeine's mother and (2) Enefa (These deaths are introduced in the beginning). They drive the entirety of the plot. They mean something, and they echo across the story like ghosts. But they aren't senseless, unfounded tragedies for shock value. Or even the deaths that occur within the actual events of the story mean something to the plot.

Fourth Wing is written in a very careless, relaxed way. Does not imbue the characters with anything actual character goals, and then shoves them into these 2D cutouts.

Enter Dain, who raises absolutely valid concerns but he's written so obnoxiously that it's obvious the story doesn't want us to consider any other alternatives. Why is Violet continuing on this path when one option is (1) death and the other is what? being shunned by a mother she doesn't even have a relationship with? Violet trained her whole life to be a scribe, her father is a scribe (and she seems to have had a relationship with him) and yet when she's offered an opportunity to become a scribe when Dain gives her multiple opportunities to a scribe -- he's somehow boring. The girl can't even mount the dragon. She gets hit once and she's got broken bones. Cadets die everyday. And we've watched like two people die (who are much more qualified) because???? And then -- just as I guessed she gets not only the biggest dragon of the lot but TWO. I literally wrote in my notes when we hear about the black dragon 'she's probably gonna get that one despite being the least qualified in the lot'

And if they need these cadets and dragons so badly -- why are they allowing hundreds of cadets to die senseless deaths (see: the parapet and all the other tasks)? It's dumb, and it makes no sense. How are y'all letting HUNDREDS of people die in BASIC TRAINING? Like allowing people to die fighting their own mates??? How is that even building camaraderie?????

Look, I like parts of Violet's character -- like when she finds innovative ways to combat her inexperience and shortcomings or her seemingly genuine tenacity for kindness. But the book is losing me here because we're 40% into the book and the WB is bad and the romance is just as flat. It's getting to the point that I can't ignore some of the plot holes.