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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
adventurous
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
An alluringly cryptic, dystopian-esque fantasy, this book was just so weird, in the best possible way. I was confused for the better part of the book, but captivatingly so. I would feel like I was on the verge of grasping things, and Jemisin would come in with a new whopper to make me rethink everything. So fun! I couldn't put this down. A very refreshing angle of sci-fi/fantasy.
The character development was emotionally compelling, as well. Raw, flawed, and deeply human — even when they were doing inhuman things. Jemisin doesn't just write characters; she carves them out of grief, rage, and love. I found myself rooting for them, aching with them, even when I wasn’t sure I fully understood them yet. And that slow, deliberate unfolding of who they are (and why) made every reveal hit that much harder.
Finally, the political landscape of the Stillness is woven in with such precision. Jemisin drops hints like breadcrumbs - fragments of history, small injustices, and strange societal norms that slowly merge into a chillingly relatable system of control. I still have so many questions - and that's the point. Jemisin trusts the reader to sit with the discomfort, to ask, to wonder, to ruminate. I'm not overly hopeful I'll get my answers in book two, though. I think I'm going to have to see this one all the way through before that lightbulb moment.
The character development was emotionally compelling, as well. Raw, flawed, and deeply human — even when they were doing inhuman things. Jemisin doesn't just write characters; she carves them out of grief, rage, and love. I found myself rooting for them, aching with them, even when I wasn’t sure I fully understood them yet. And that slow, deliberate unfolding of who they are (and why) made every reveal hit that much harder.
Finally, the political landscape of the Stillness is woven in with such precision. Jemisin drops hints like breadcrumbs - fragments of history, small injustices, and strange societal norms that slowly merge into a chillingly relatable system of control. I still have so many questions - and that's the point. Jemisin trusts the reader to sit with the discomfort, to ask, to wonder, to ruminate. I'm not overly hopeful I'll get my answers in book two, though. I think I'm going to have to see this one all the way through before that lightbulb moment.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One thing about me is that I LOVE a story and a world where things are not as honest or safe as they seem. I really look forward to seeing how the rest of the series progresses.
I love the writing style—it’s not overly complex but it’s super engaging, with a naturalness and a casualness to it that make it so compulsively readable. Normally I feel like I have to “get through” character introductions and expositions, but I tore through this book and enjoyed every minute of it. The pacing was also addictive and thoughtful, and the whole book felt packed with rewarding insights into the world and characters’ lives.
The story is definitely a metaphor about the enslavement of Black people and racism. Beyond that, it also touches on the suppression of information and history, the consequences of humans’ destruction of Earth, and even a little bit of queerness—and the intersectionality of it all.
Essun is such a fascinating character. For one she’s an older protagonist, and she doesn’t know who she really is anymore. She craves safety and simplicity and comfort, but she knows better than most that she will never truly have it as long as things remain as they are. She knows the world is rotten, but feels powerless to change it… the thing is, though, she’s never been as alone as she thought.
“You’re always restless. What are you looking for?”
[Sayenite] shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
But she thinks, almost but not quite subconsciously: A way to change things. Because this is not right.
“You can’t make anything better, [Alabaster] says, heavily. “The world is what it is. Unless you destroy it and start all over again, there’s no changing it”
…
“I don’t want you to fix it… It was collateral damage, but Yumenes got what it deserved. No, what I want you to do, my Damaya, my Syenite, my Essun, is make it worse.”
I love the writing style—it’s not overly complex but it’s super engaging, with a naturalness and a casualness to it that make it so compulsively readable. Normally I feel like I have to “get through” character introductions and expositions, but I tore through this book and enjoyed every minute of it. The pacing was also addictive and thoughtful, and the whole book felt packed with rewarding insights into the world and characters’ lives.
The story is definitely a metaphor about the enslavement of Black people and racism. Beyond that, it also touches on the suppression of information and history, the consequences of humans’ destruction of Earth, and even a little bit of queerness—and the intersectionality of it all.
Essun is such a fascinating character. For one she’s an older protagonist, and she doesn’t know who she really is anymore. She craves safety and simplicity and comfort, but she knows better than most that she will never truly have it as long as things remain as they are. She knows the world is rotten, but feels powerless to change it… the thing is, though, she’s never been as alone as she thought.
“You’re always restless. What are you looking for?”
[Sayenite] shakes her head. “I don’t know.”
But she thinks, almost but not quite subconsciously: A way to change things. Because this is not right.
“You can’t make anything better, [Alabaster] says, heavily. “The world is what it is. Unless you destroy it and start all over again, there’s no changing it”
…
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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:
No
An Exceptional Read. The kind of book you finish, then immediately flip to the front to re-read the first page.
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
Though set in very different society from mine there were still points, in which, I felt so seen, particularly as a black woman in the US. So many hard moments had a visceral feeling I know well. Besides that, it’s an incredibly imaginative and intriguing read! I found myself so eager to learn more and I finished this book pretty quickly (for me, I physically read very slowly).
I was genuinely surprised to learn that many find this book confusing or difficult to get into. There is so much you don’t know throughout most of the book and things you have to read the whole series to understand, but personally I never found it confusing just intriguing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I was genuinely surprised to learn that many find this book confusing or difficult to get into. There is so much you don’t know throughout most of the book and things you have to read the whole series to understand, but personally I never found it confusing just intriguing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯