Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

31 reviews

hailstorm3812's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is bursting with hope. It just keeps reminding you that yeah, life is hard, and people can be awful but also life should be great and people make it worth living. The POVs work really well to reinforce these ideas. My only thing is that sometimes the fantasy and scifi elements clash but that also kind of helps thematically.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Violence, Abandonment, Body horror, and Genocide

Minor: Pregnancy, Murder, Terminal illness, and Cannibalism

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Brilliant conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. I really had no idea where this was going and Jemisin absolutely nailed the finale with remarkable precision. So inventive and truly unlike any other fantasy series I’ve ever read. Everyone who loves fantasy must read this trilogy; an absolute masterclass in set up and pay off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Racism, Slavery, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Murder

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Confinement and Sexual content

deedubb's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This series is nothing short of a masterpiece. Social commentary, fantasy, great world building, interesting magic system, emotional moments, multiple POVs female main characters, POC characters. It’s got I all.

ending is bittersweet and satisfying.  All loose threads are tied up.  Not a wholly happy ending, Jemisin let’s us mourn with Nassun

this work will continue to resonate with me for many years to come. I definitely  have a book hangover after finishing the series 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, and Slavery

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, and Racial slurs

ecmbeanie's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Murder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Abandonment, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Physical abuse, Racism, Child abuse, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Pregnancy

ailsaod's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 There was a bit of what I like to call third book overbuildup here - the mysteries of books one and two were very intriguing but in this book there wasn't quite enough time to unpack everything so you feel a bit overwhelmed. There is a lot of ground to cover - both in terms of narrative and distance and while the getting there was interesting the final destination was a bit eh. I was pretty sure going in that there wasn't going to be a happy ending given the tone of this trilogy but I am still here asking what am I supposed to do with this?? (I shall not go into any further detail because spoilers but I did not find it satisfying at all!)

I did however appreciate there being an in universe reason for the trilogy being in second person, now that was very cool! I also enjoyed how cool some of the settings visited in this book were and how they still stick in my mind all these months later.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, Murder, Grief, Terminal illness, and Body horror

kathyreadsalot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Racism, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Cannibalism

leanne_miron's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Genocide, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Cannibalism

drips's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

a few tiny plot holes nagged at me but overall it's a beautiful heart wrenching conclusion to the trilogy. what a pleasure to raze through a series in a week again (and so much food for thought to boot! i'll probably read these again one day, maybe in paperback)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Genocide, Body horror, Blood, Child abuse, War, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Cannibalism, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Colonisation

Minor: Cursing and Vomit

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

After finishing The Stone Sky, the final installment in NJ Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, I MARVEL at how she pulled off these story arcs across three books. How she managed to examine slavery, motherhood, intergenerational trauma AND a climate crisis - without ANY of these layered allegories feeling incomplete or forced in any way - is genius. 

And while Jemisin deals in BIG global themes, she is also incredibly intimate. She gives such grace to each character that we are consistently pushed to reevaluate our sympathies and our own assumptions. I appreciate that while the fall-out for each character is complex, leaving each in morally grey spaces, the evil at the root of all this tragedy is very clear. Jemisin doesn't leave our interpretation to chance here - she (Hoa) will interject frequently, and we're reminded that for every single crime committed, other choices were always possible.

This series is HEAVY with lots of on-page trauma (please check content warnings!). But I highly recommend. I will be carrying these characters in my heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Body horror, Racism, Torture, Murder, Abandonment, Death, Racial slurs, and Genocide

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cannibalism

some_random_person_hi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

As the ending of the series, it more than delivered, with some of if not the best worldbuilding I have ever seen in my life (the other books in the series also had really good worldbuilding but this one took it to the next level) and everything is wrapped up better than I thought possible. The character arcs & relationships between characters are really well written and I got emotional at quite a few points. Only issue with the book was that a couple chapters dragged a little but overall one of the best books I have ever read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Abandonment, Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Stalking, Murder, Child death, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Blood, Pregnancy, Torture, Hate crime, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Colonisation, Cursing, and Sexual content