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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
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)_/¯
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
HUH?????
well folks n.k. jemisin has done it again and i am frankly amazed even though i don't think i understood half of what was going on?? the writing style is just gorgeous, similarly to the inheritance trilogy, and it makes me not want to put the book down. i really loved the characters as well, though i think Syenite was my favorite POV (i mean, the enemies to best friends excellence!!)
i'm hoping things make more sense in the rest of the trilogy lol, but i can't wait to see where this goes and hopefully i get to them soon!
well folks n.k. jemisin has done it again and i am frankly amazed even though i don't think i understood half of what was going on?? the writing style is just gorgeous, similarly to the inheritance trilogy, and it makes me not want to put the book down. i really loved the characters as well, though i think Syenite was my favorite POV (i mean, the enemies to best friends excellence!!)
i'm hoping things make more sense in the rest of the trilogy lol, but i can't wait to see where this goes and hopefully i get to them soon!
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated