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fj_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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
5.0
This was everything I expected and everything it was hyped up to be. The multi-pov story telling and prose is some of the most beautiful I’ve read, and the character of Essun is definitely on my favorites list
peachy__'s review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
ellapontellier's review
adventurous
dark
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
A masterpiece of a novel. The timelines merging was beautifully executed. Took me completely by surprise, but the pieces were there all along. Each individual was compelling from the start, and every iteration of Essun benefited from added layers as the reader makes the connections. Woke me up, and made me desperate to dive back into the genre.
allyslibrary's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-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
4.75
kayyreadsbooks's review against another edition
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
I would give so much to read this book for the first time again immediately.
spenkevich's review
5.0
Read this entire series.
If you haven't, go buy a copy right now.
Buy seven extras and gift them to a parent or sibling to have them pass the copies out and form a bookclub.
If they already have a bookclub, join the bookclub.
Seduce everyone with baked goods and jokes. Then take over the book club. Call yourself the Book Baron or Supreme Reader if this is your thing.
Pick this book as the next choice.
They will love it, they will thank you, and they will likely shower you in gifts of baked goods.
Help them overthrow you because being a tyrant is bad, shame on you.
Feel better by reading the next two books and basking in their brilliance.
You are welcome.
Jokes aside (I am now your book club leader), this is an absolutely astonishing book and series. Its big, complex and doesn't pull any punches. Set in a world where periodic apocalyptic events are just part of the usual history, this story follows along as another end-times is ushering in. In a world with living conditions this harsh, society is harsher to match with an opressive caste system and an uneasy and often violent relationship with magic users and other races that inhabit the planet. Jemisin examines grief, responsibilites that go with power (and the horrors when it is abused), oppression and more in a tightly wound plot that hums with tension and dread as we watch the world implode along with the character's emotional states.
It's a book thats best read with as little information going into it as possible, which is also part of Jemisin's world building style. The world building is vast, robust and wonderfully imaginative, but she does not draw you in easily and instead drops you into a hostile world trusting that you can figure it out on your own. I tend to prefer this strategy.
Seriously, read this book. It's just beautiful and engrossing in ways few other books I've read have been. You'll fly through the entire series once you get going (be advised the first 100pgs can be a bit cumbersome to navigate but it REALLY opens up after that). Also there is some great LGBTQ+ representation and strong female leads. And every book in the series won a Hugo. You might as well read it now too because she is writing the script for the upcoming film trilogy. Stop reading this review and just read the book.
100/100
If you haven't, go buy a copy right now.
Buy seven extras and gift them to a parent or sibling to have them pass the copies out and form a bookclub.
If they already have a bookclub, join the bookclub.
Seduce everyone with baked goods and jokes. Then take over the book club. Call yourself the Book Baron or Supreme Reader if this is your thing.
Pick this book as the next choice.
They will love it, they will thank you, and they will likely shower you in gifts of baked goods.
Help them overthrow you because being a tyrant is bad, shame on you.
Feel better by reading the next two books and basking in their brilliance.
You are welcome.
Jokes aside (I am now your book club leader), this is an absolutely astonishing book and series. Its big, complex and doesn't pull any punches. Set in a world where periodic apocalyptic events are just part of the usual history, this story follows along as another end-times is ushering in. In a world with living conditions this harsh, society is harsher to match with an opressive caste system and an uneasy and often violent relationship with magic users and other races that inhabit the planet. Jemisin examines grief, responsibilites that go with power (and the horrors when it is abused), oppression and more in a tightly wound plot that hums with tension and dread as we watch the world implode along with the character's emotional states.
It's a book thats best read with as little information going into it as possible, which is also part of Jemisin's world building style. The world building is vast, robust and wonderfully imaginative, but she does not draw you in easily and instead drops you into a hostile world trusting that you can figure it out on your own. I tend to prefer this strategy.
Seriously, read this book. It's just beautiful and engrossing in ways few other books I've read have been. You'll fly through the entire series once you get going (be advised the first 100pgs can be a bit cumbersome to navigate but it REALLY opens up after that). Also there is some great LGBTQ+ representation and strong female leads. And every book in the series won a Hugo. You might as well read it now too because she is writing the script for the upcoming film trilogy. Stop reading this review and just read the book.
100/100
thalassemia's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
blvncv's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
aspasia17's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5