Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Stone Sky

I was excited to read the close of this series, and I think it was mostly done quite well - by now, you are used to the unusual second-person narration and the plot moves along nicely, converging the various storylines. There are times when the author start to add in more world-building that feels a bit late and confusing - she can't get into it as much as previously, even if you want to know more. And in some ways, due to plot you spend less time with some characters you had loved. However, an admirable ending to the series overall! Definitely allegories to climate change, as well.

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boglord's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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hanarama's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

Book at a Glance:
• Series finale
• Epic science fantasy
• Parent and child dynamics
• End of the world
• CW: body horror, dismemberment, death of a parent, death, cannibalism, environmental disasters, starvation, brain injury

I can't imagine a better ending to this absolutely breathtaking trilogy. While I had suspected how the story would play out, I would never call this story predictable. Rather, N.K. Jemisin masterfully crafts this story, showing her characters' motivations clearly as well as their doubts, worries, and hopes.

Essun and Nassun are both compelling, messy, and flawed people. Jemisin breaths such life into both of them, that it feels impossible to root for either to succeed/fail against the other. Both of them have had such rough lives, their reactions to the harsh world they live in are understandable, even as they act in malice. The dynamic between them, as mother/daughter feels so real, even though they spend much of the book separated.

The framing device of this as well as the previous installments gives some hint towards the conclusion, however, like the rest of the book, is so unique in execution.

When I first read The Fifth Season, I had a hard time getting into the story initially. There was so much world building to take in, and Jemisin has a melodic style that I found, at times, difficult to focus on. However, as I continued, I found myself drawn deeper into the story, and understanding better. I'm sure that I missed things on my first readings, but I know that this is a story that deserves to be read multiple times. Even after finishing the trilogy, I frequently find myself just thinking about it. This is a really beautiful trilogy. I'm excited to read it again in the future.

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lilifane's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

5.0

This was probably the most epic story I've ever read in my entire life.
I don't... I don't understand how N.K. Jemisin pulled this off. How the hell did she come up with ... all of this?!?!? She's a genius and definitely a new fav author now.
If I didn't have so many other books to read, I would reread this whole trilogy immediately.
And... the plot is not even that interesting. I would understand if people find parts of it really boring. But the story is still epic and full of emotions. And the world building?! WTF was that?! It's SO wild and perfect? And I already miss the characters.
And the way the story is told? It's my favourite thing when authors use unconventional methods to tell their stories. And it seemed so random at first, but in the end... it all makes SO SO SO much sense.

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spellboundchapters's review

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adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

"They’re afraid because we exist, she says. There’s nothing we did to provoke their fear, other than exist. There’s nothing we can do to earn their approval, except stop existing – so we can either die like they want, or laugh at their cowardice and go on with our lives."

Oh what a way to end a series!
We finally get the whole story and I can tell you, it was worth the wait, although part of me can’t help but wish we had it in book 2. But at the same time, it makes more sense for it to be in book 3 I guess. Maybe it’s just due to my conflicted feelings with The Obelisk Gate haha.
My favourite thing in this series remains the themes N.K. Jemisin incorporated: family/found family (I especially loved the relationship between Nassun and Schaffa here), racism, colonialism and climate change. These were all well done, without it being too "in your face".
This wasn't a 5 stars for me as I found myself struggling more than with the previous books when it came to picturing everything that was going on, which is something I’m not used to so I felt extra frustrated. Maybe it’s the incorporation of sci-fi elements? I already know I’ll benefit from a re-read! I also had a few issues with the pacing, it was very slow at times and then the ending wrapped up so quickly… it kinda fell flat for me, and I was expecting more. It’s a shame because other than that, I overall liked the way it ended!

But what’s up with that useless pregnancy reveal? And Lerna’s death?? I feel like they were just added for the shock factor.

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rubybastille's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? Yes

5.0

These were challenging reads, both thematically and structurally, but well worth it. I did not expect such a satisfying ending. My heart broke so many times reading this and yet there were so many grains of hope scattered just where they were needed.

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quinnspired's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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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rainbowwitch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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