N.K. Jemisin’s The Shadowed Sun picks up ten years after The Killing Moon. A few of the same characters have small roles to play, but the main action is carried out by Wanahomen–the son of the former Prince–and Hanani–a dream healer. Wanahomen wants to reclaim his princedom and Hanani wants to find a place for herself among the formerly all-male dream healers. Their journeys cross, leading to interesting revelations.
In the world that Jemisin created, dreams have the power to heal or kill. Only strictly observed religious rules keep the people of Gujaarah from abusing them. Or at least, the rules mostly keep this from happening. The plot of the last book was all about what happens when someone finds a way to abuse this power. For his crimes, the old Prince was killed and his city taken over by foreigners. Ten years later, the foreign occupation continues. Wanahomen lives in exile among the desert tribes, scheming to gain allies to retake Gujaareh. We meet Hanani as she attempts to pass her trial to become a full fledged healer. It takes a while for the plots to converge, but it was pretty entertaining to see the would be prince taken down a few pegs by the erstwhile healer.
I’ll be honest and tell you that the whole “retaking the city” thing goes much more smoothly than it would in real life, so that part feels like a bit of a let down. The resolution of the magical plague subplot is much more interesting and much more complicated.
This story is a lot more emotional than The Killing Moon, though it explores some of the same themes such as pursuing justice and being pure of heart. This one also looks at the complications of love and duty. Wanahomen, in particular, grows more human as he starts to realize the costs of his schemes the people around him.
For now, these are the only books in this series. I read an interview in which Jemisin says she has more Gujaarah stories, but there’s nothing in the works right now.