Reviews

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

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lynwho's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I’m crying and I don’t know why

This is a really really good finale. God I can’t take it

The expansive world building is both a pro and a con of this book. There’s so much to cover, and we learn so much about the early history, the Shattering and pre-Shattering Syl Anagiste. But it feels a bit overbearing because there’s so much new information. I do think I finally understand a lot tho. The magic system kinda finally makes sense

This story is about climate change. About injustice, war, systems of oppression. The unsustainable impacts of taking and taking and taking, whether that be the Earth’s resources or a people’s labor. But most importantly it is about relationships, and people, and golly when Essun and Nassun finally meet..

laurenbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

read4coots's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense 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? Yes

5.0

morganrae5601's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

This was an incredibly power and complex story, it is hard to not draw connections to the symbolism of what we are doing to our world. The layers unfolding in this last book was perfect, I cried.

I am fascinated by the complexities in the societal structure and the authors ability to truly show the absolute worst and best in humankind, holding it in perfect tension .

This story will stick with me for a very long time.

endotheline's review against another edition

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4.0

I wasn't sure if I liked this but the ending devastated me so I think it's safe to say that I liked it.

This was not an easy book to read. Every time I read it, I felt more and more dread about what horrible things were going to inevitably happen to the characters. I especially did not look forward to reading about what horrible things were going to happen to the child characters. It also forced me to sympathize with characters I did not like and reconsider my hypocritical tendency to favor one character of another despite their similarities. It was just a constant barrage of desperate characters resorting to violence and destruction in response to the violence and destruction inflicted upon them.

I finished reading this book with a headache and a dull pain in my chest, as if I'd been dragged through the dense, fiery depths of the earth along with the characters. So no, this was not an easy book to read, but I still read it. I was invested in the characters, even the ones I didn't like. I understood what they were feeling and how that influenced their actions. I tried (and maybe failed, lol) to understand the complex mechanics and magic systems of this world. I simply kept reading even though I dreaded it every single time. I would not have done that if I didn't like this book.

So overall, this was a really well-written series with complex characters and a fascinating world. I don't think I could read it again but I'm glad I did.

Rating: 4/5

nailahreads's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I was a little skeptical at first but by the end I was so amazed at the character development and the way the story evolves and ends! The ending was especially satisfying!! Loved the whole series