The Killing Moon by N. K. Jemison is the story of a world in which mercy killing is supervised by the religious group Hetawa and carried out by members of that group known as Gatherers. “Dreamblood” is then drawn from these “tithes” and can be used to heal other people. Unfortunately, because the collections can also include people who are corrupt, it opens the door to use these killings for political reasons. And that is exactly what the Prince, ruler of Gujaareh, is doing.
There are three main characters. Ehiru is a Gatherer who is starting to question some of his assignments, and Nijiri is his wide-eyed apprentice. On their first assignment together, they are sent to collect a tithe from Sunandi Jeh Kalawe, an ambassador from Kisua, a land where Gatherings are considered murder. These three band together to try and uncover the treachery misusing the Hetawa.
This book reminds somewhat of Throne of the Crescent Moon, another Nebula nominee that I reviewed earlier, partly because of the desert setting and partly because of the relationship between Ehiru and Nijiri. In both books, there is a somewhat contentious relationship between apprentice and mentor. In The Killing Moon, Nijiri must learn to trust Ehiru as they fight against the evil in the land.
I enjoyed this book, although it wasn’t what I would call a page-turner. Each of the main characters had lessons to learn and sacrifices to make. A moderate amount of suspense, along with very strong characters, kept me interested.