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fiveredhens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
favorite serious quotes:
Hoa says to your slumped back, "I can't die."
You frown, jarred out of melancholy by this apparent non sequitur. Then you understand: He's saying you won't ever lose him. He will not crumble away like Alabaster. You can't ever be surprised by the pain of Hoa's loss the way you were with Corundum or Innon or Alabaster or Uche, or now Jija. You can't hurt Hoa in any way that matters. "It's safe to love you," you murmur, in startled realization.
"Yes."
She draws up her feet and wraps her arms around her knees, curiously vulnerable for someone whose presence within the strata is as deep and dense as a mountain. I reach up to touch her ankle, greatly daring, and she blinks and smiles at me, reaching down to cover my fingers with her hand. I will not understand my feelings for centuries afterward.
The onyx says, in its ponderous, wordless way:
Execute Y/N?
And in the cold stone silence, alone, Nassun chooses.
YES
"It might take some time."
"I don't think I'm very patient."
But you take my hand. Don't be patient. Don't ever be. This is the way a new world begins.
"Neither am I," I say. "So let's get to it."
It's almost like the old days, except that now Hoa appears as you walk, gets left behind as you keep walking, then appears again somewhere ahead of you. Most times he adopts a neutral posture, but occasionally he's doing something ridiculous, like the time you find him in a running pose.
Remwha crouches to run a hand along the wooden slats of the floor. I don't know why he does anything.
Asked Tinimony to take me into the hole today and she said no. What's in the hole, huh? What's in the hole.
complex mother-daughter relationships fraught with abuse and they have tocatch the moon ? sign me up
Hoa says to your slumped back, "I can't die."
You frown, jarred out of melancholy by this apparent non sequitur. Then you understand: He's saying you won't ever lose him. He will not crumble away like Alabaster. You can't ever be surprised by the pain of Hoa's loss the way you were with Corundum or Innon or Alabaster or Uche, or now Jija. You can't hurt Hoa in any way that matters. "It's safe to love you," you murmur, in startled realization.
"Yes."
She draws up her feet and wraps her arms around her knees, curiously vulnerable for someone whose presence within the strata is as deep and dense as a mountain. I reach up to touch her ankle, greatly daring, and she blinks and smiles at me, reaching down to cover my fingers with her hand. I will not understand my feelings for centuries afterward.
The onyx says, in its ponderous, wordless way:
Execute Y/N?
And in the cold stone silence, alone, Nassun chooses.
YES
"It might take some time."
"I don't think I'm very patient."
But you take my hand. Don't be patient. Don't ever be. This is the way a new world begins.
"Neither am I," I say. "So let's get to it."
It's almost like the old days, except that now Hoa appears as you walk, gets left behind as you keep walking, then appears again somewhere ahead of you. Most times he adopts a neutral posture, but occasionally he's doing something ridiculous, like the time you find him in a running pose.
Remwha crouches to run a hand along the wooden slats of the floor. I don't know why he does anything.
Asked Tinimony to take me into the hole today and she said no. What's in the hole, huh? What's in the hole.
complex mother-daughter relationships fraught with abuse and they have to
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, and Vomit
troisha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Xenophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Drug use, Excrement, Infertility, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
dunollie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-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
5.0
What an incredible and wholly satisfying ending to the trilogy.
Jemisin’s complexity and depth of world building weaves so well into the individual stories and development of her characters, and draws parallels to our world without hitting you on the nose with them — to me, this is a sublimely perfect example of how speculative fiction should be.
And, on top of that rich and meaty content, diversity of race and gender and sexuality adds another layer of depth and resonance and importance. This book shows us why representation matters. Because the human experience is varied and so much more than just the white-hetero-male-experience, our stories need to reflect that variety.
As a new mom who is a lifelong reader of spec-fic, I can’t express how satisfying it was to find motherhood dealt with in the story with such complexity and depth and realness. My heart ached for Essun and Nassun and the inevitability of their story trajectories. And seeing the link of motherhood with resilience, necessity, love and saving the world... oof, that was so refreshing and inspiring. Makes me want to never read another book by an old straight white guy — not when there’s stuff like this out there that will speak to me and my life so much better.
Jemisin’s complexity and depth of world building weaves so well into the individual stories and development of her characters, and draws parallels to our world without hitting you on the nose with them — to me, this is a sublimely perfect example of how speculative fiction should be.
And, on top of that rich and meaty content, diversity of race and gender and sexuality adds another layer of depth and resonance and importance. This book shows us why representation matters. Because the human experience is varied and so much more than just the white-hetero-male-experience, our stories need to reflect that variety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
- 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
4.0
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ I highly recommend reading this book immediately after finishing the second one. I waited a month or so in between and it was hard for me to remember a lot of important details and world-building that are crucial to the story.
⁕ I don’t know how it’s possible, but the character development in this one was EVEN BETTER than the previous two novels. I especially appreciated how Jemisin delves deeper into the main characters’ impact on each other.
⁕ The way that Jemisin explores the binary of supremacy and oppression, how one cannot exist without the other, is just... wow. This story will not leave me for some time.
⁕ Because the first two books of this series were SO good, I was worried that the ending wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it was satisfying on both a smaller, character-based level and on a larger scale, plot-driven level.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ I highly recommend reading this book immediately after finishing the second one. I waited a month or so in between and it was hard for me to remember a lot of important details and world-building that are crucial to the story.
⁕ I don’t know how it’s possible, but the character development in this one was EVEN BETTER than the previous two novels. I especially appreciated how Jemisin delves deeper into the main characters’ impact on each other.
⁕ The way that Jemisin explores the binary of supremacy and oppression, how one cannot exist without the other, is just... wow. This story will not leave me for some time.
⁕ Because the first two books of this series were SO good, I was worried that the ending wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it was satisfying on both a smaller, character-based level and on a larger scale, plot-driven level.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Racism, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
Ughhh so gooood!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
natcat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Amazing. This series is fantastic. So many parts of this broke me a little, emotionally speaking, and the writing style is so precise and gorgeous. Incredibly well-crafted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Body horror, and Grief
Moderate: Cannibalism, Child death, Child abuse, Xenophobia, and Slavery
Minor: Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
tachyondecay's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Look at me, finishing a series within a year! Who even am I?
The Stone Sky is the last book of The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. She give us answers to some of the questions from the first two books, as well as closure—of sorts—for most of the main characters. I’m not sure I would call the ending satisfying, but it is certainly thoughtful. This is how I’ve come to regard Jemisin’s storytelling and how it interacts with my sensibilities as a reader: she doesn’t always deliver the type of story I want, but I can appreciate that she is delivering a top-quality story.
Spoilers for the first two books but not this one.
Picking up just a few days after the end of The Obelisk Gate, this book is narrated in the second person. Hoa the Stone Eater tells Essun her own story, beginning with her return to consciousness after successfully using the obelisks at the end of the last book. Essun’s ability to use magic as well as orogeny now means that any such actions will petrify a part of her body. Nevertheless she remains committed to using the Obelisk Gate to recapture the Moon. She also needs to find Nassun—and here Jemisin alternates perspectives, allowing us to follow Nassun’s parallel journey to take control of the Gate and execute a plan, far more destructive, suggested by a rival Stone Eater. Who will make it to the Gate first? And what’s with the interspersed chapters about the ancient city of Syl Anagist?
I’d forgotten how young Nassun is! Only 11 years old! I’m trying to remember what I was like at 11—certainly not that capable. Of course, much of her apparent maturity has been forged in the painful crucible of necessity. Jemisin does a good job of displaying the trauma that weighs on Nassun’s young shoulders, the mistakes in judgment, etc. In a genre littered with youthful chosen ones, Nassun stands out. She has been chosen in the sense that others found her, groomed her, influenced her. Yet she is also broken; she is not serving out a destiny but rather stumbling towards something resembling the resolution of millennia of stagnation.
Both Nassun and Essun’s stories are about family. In the most narrow sense, both protagonists are attempting to find or reform their family: Nassun, having literally killed her biological father, chooses Schaffa as a new father; Essun becomes closer to Lerna even as she searches for a hint of belonging in Castrima. And of course, Essun yearns for reunion with Nassun, even if the latter has no idea her mother is still out there. As the world enters another apocalyptic Season, as the survivors of Castrima march desperately through a desert towards the ruined city of their would-be conquerors, these characters strive for those simplest, most basic connections.
In a broader sense, The Stone Sky questions who we consider family at a species level. Bigotry has been a bedrock of this series from the beginning. As Jemisin fills in some of the gaps about the origin story of orogenes, we understand that this isn’t merely about “roggas versus stills.” This is a rondo of discrimination: throughout thousands of years, humans repeat a pattern of discrimination caused by needing a narrative of difference to justify the subjugation of people who can be exploited. In this way, Jemisin tackles the white supremacy of our society from a high-concept, highly abstract perspective—the parallels are not exact; the correspondences are not one-to-one, but they are present in the themes and variations of these stories.
As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, Jemisin is a writer whose words I have come to respect and admire even if I don’t always enjoy the stories they create. The Broken Earth series has impressed me. And I would say I enjoyed it on some level. The style, particularly the characterization and narration, don’t appeal to me. Yet these are decorations atop a much more compelling and careful story that does have something important to say. Moreover, Jemisin is doing good work elevating and energizing fantasy and science fiction with these stories. I love the diversity of voices and storytelling happening in these genres these days, and The Stone Sky is the end of a series that epitomizes that diversity.
Originally posted at Kara.Reviews.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, and Violence
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