Second dates are awkward, even when the first date goes perfect. Same thing holds true for readers when they find a new author. A little more than a year ago, I read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin, and that book rocked my world. Damn it was good. Finished that book fast and gave it a solid five star review, so I was nervously optimistic as I finally took my second chance on Jemisin with her novel The Killing Moon. The book rocks, and I can't wait for my "third date."

Just as with The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, The Killing Moon is blessed with a brilliantly well-developed setting. I love the mythology Jemisin has built for this world, with its Gatherers who some regard as priests and others as assassins. The idea of these religious figures who collect lives through dreams is fascinating and well-presented.

What really locked in another five stars from me was her characters in The Killing Moon. She provides a solid cast, with the Gatherer Ehiru, his apprentice Nijiri and a foreign spy Sunandi. They're all well-developed with wonderful strengths and flaws. Nijiri probably enjoys the best story arc within the book, but as good as the heroes of this book are, the villain steals the show. I won't say too much to avoid giving away certain things, but the villain isn't your typical shade of evil. There's an old adage that villains are simply the heroes of their own stories, and one could argue that with this book. The bad guy in The Killing Moon has noble goals. He wants to build a lasting peace for his world and wipe out corruption within his homeland, but to do this, he will resort to any means, no matter how many people's lives he must destroy. As Jemisin's tale exposes the corruption within the Gatherers and the political system of Gujaareh, more than once I had to wonder if this world would indeed be better off with the villain winning in the end.

Perhaps my greatest surprise was when I discovered the book stands on its own. The sequel The Shadowed Sun came out the same year as the first book, so I very much expected to find a cliffhanger at the end of the first book. While I would have been fine with that, I'm glad to see Jemisin didn't take that route. The Killing Moon certainly ends with plenty of potential storylines to travel in a second book, but it provides a satisfying ending, even if the reader doesn't make reservations for a date with The Shadowed Sun. I, however, will definitely be going on that date.