Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
An amazingly original fantasy novel with superb worldbuilding and a story that tackled many difficult themes. Sadly, the author's writing style did not quite support this goodness as well as it could.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this novel to be very affecting. The writing is expertly done. I felt invested in all the POVs, and the success of 2nd person narration is particularly noteworthy. I didn't find the story hard to follow, nor did I experience many twists in reading it since it felt clear to me early on that the POVs were one character at different stages of her life, and that Alabaster brought on this fifth season. That said, the novel feels consequential even when you can't exactly explain where it's headed and why.
adventurous
hopeful
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:
Complicated
This book is deserving of all the high acclaim it has gotten. Excellent storytelling, plot twists, character development and world building. I was fully immersed from the first page. Easy 5/5 ⭐️
4 stars.
This was such a hard book to rate. Everything that makes this book unique and interesting, also made me not like it as much. This is one of the most unique mystical blends of fantasy and some light sci fi I’ve read so far. The relationships although endearing made very little sense to me overall.
I did not like the way it was written. There was something so OFF about the POV’s and the switches between them. HOWEVER, I never felt like the switches made me want to stop reading like most other POV switches. This book dragged me in, and repelled me at the same time.
This book could’ve been as low as a 3 star, and as high as a 4.5 star for me. The ending, while sad, was just so expected. I really hate flashbacks because I know how it’s going to end and I know the twists so they don’t hit as hard.
I want to find out more about the world and the author did a great job with setting up a “type” of human that is oppressed and exploited, BUT IT ALSO MAKES NO SENSE. You’re telling me after hundreds of years, people with the power to move tectonic plates and create volcanos just DONT, because a guardian will get them eventually???? I don’t know man.
Im giving it a 4 star because it really is unique and I had such a mystical feeling while reading it. But it just was executed so poorly and unsatisfactory that I feel like I read an extra long prologue of nothing.
Am I gonna read the next one? Eventually
This was such a hard book to rate. Everything that makes this book unique and interesting, also made me not like it as much. This is one of the most unique mystical blends of fantasy and some light sci fi I’ve read so far. The relationships although endearing made very little sense to me overall.
I did not like the way it was written. There was something so OFF about the POV’s and the switches between them. HOWEVER, I never felt like the switches made me want to stop reading like most other POV switches. This book dragged me in, and repelled me at the same time.
This book could’ve been as low as a 3 star, and as high as a 4.5 star for me. The ending, while sad, was just so expected. I really hate flashbacks because I know how it’s going to end and I know the twists so they don’t hit as hard.
I want to find out more about the world and the author did a great job with setting up a “type” of human that is oppressed and exploited, BUT IT ALSO MAKES NO SENSE. You’re telling me after hundreds of years, people with the power to move tectonic plates and create volcanos just DONT, because a guardian will get them eventually???? I don’t know man.
Im giving it a 4 star because it really is unique and I had such a mystical feeling while reading it. But it just was executed so poorly and unsatisfactory that I feel like I read an extra long prologue of nothing.
Am I gonna read the next one? Eventually
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Wow. Just wow. It’s a little slow at times and Jemisin really likes to load up her paragraphs with descriptives but it’s so worth it.
I’ve never read a book so confusing and unique and GOOD. Worth every moment.
4.5/5 rounded down on GR
I’ve never read a book so confusing and unique and GOOD. Worth every moment.
4.5/5 rounded down on GR
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No