Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

77 reviews

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Very much a 2nd in a series. Still very good, but perhaps comparisons to Two Towers is not unreasonable.

The story continues from where the 1st left off. The basic structure is changed though. Where the first had a twist that united perspectives, this one follows 3 or 4 perspectives from different characters mostly focusing on 2 main plotlines.

There's more lore dump here, the majority of the book focuses on fleshing out the temporary home Essun has landed in, the social constructs, the way the world there works, the risks they run, the mysteries its shrouded in, and the mysteries Alabaster has to reveal.

It feels like you're waiting the majority of the book for pieces to fall into place, Essun's frustration with Alabaster not revealing more at once mirrors my own that Jemisin doesn't reveal it faster either. I understand it's meant to be revelations and take time, and reflect mastering something, create contrast between characters, but it did kinda feel like we were waiting for the inevitable conclusions to happen.
Luckily it is a pacey read.

The other main plot line revolves around Essun's daughter Nassun, who wasn't present in the first book and here has to grow up very quick, and learns much of what Essun does (both mechanically and morally) but does so more intuitively (because she just magical like that). Her struggles with morality are logical based on her surroundings, and the further I get into this series, the more worried I am about what kinds of ethical conclusions Nemisin is working towards. 

There's always been a heavy dose of sarcasm, trauma and sorrow, but in this book as Essun struggles to care about people, Nassun lands in nihilism, but both end up doing horrific things in the process and based on those positions. The recurring theme throughout seems to be "if someone has to die, it isn't going to be me or mine", which I've yet to see a moral center that counters this. Are these all horribly traumatised people, perhaps manipulated by society or ancient godlike entities? — Sure. — is Nemisin giving us any hope other than to crush your enemies and see them driven before you? ... not really.

It's incredibly readable though, the plot keeps plotting, the characters keep dramaing, and the style keeps styling, so 3rd book here I come.



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blastoise's profile picture

blastoise's review

4.5
adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad 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

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adventurous dark 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: Yes

A masterfully written story. As with the first one, there is a perfect sense of balance and inevitability and tragedy to this tale. The story is laid out plainly and cleanly and is just so engaging. Changing up the character perspectives from the first book was absolutely the right choice and the nuances that this book adds, particularly to our central character, is fantastic. Though I think I liked the first book more, this one is still phenomenal.

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challenging emotional tense slow-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

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jazhandz's profile picture

jazhandz's review

3.75
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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: Complicated

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poggles789's review

3.0
dark emotional tense 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

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dark emotional tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Even though I struggled with the pace, I really like what ultimately came of it, and am really excited to see what happens next!

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squidreader's review

5.0
adventurous dark emotional 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

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adventurous dark 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: Yes

What a great book to kickstart 2025. I gotta be honest when reviewing this book: I read the first in the series more than 7 months ago, picked this up 3 months ago and paused almost immediately because of me being a mood reader. Quite some details have already left my brain, but that did not hinder me from enjoying this book nevertheless. 

Understanding it though, I doubt me remembering all the details wouldn’t really help, as this book, same as the first, is as confusing as it is amazing. I felt like I’m watching Tenet again, I could only feel but can’t fully understand. Though not getting every single thing that’s happening or understanding all the mechanisms still allows me to catch up with all the important plot points and revelations, but some of you might not like the feeling of navigating in the dark. 

From the beginning of the series, the author used ‘you’ to refer to Essun. At first I simply thought it was a stylistic choice of using second person pov. Confusing but also refreshing all at once. But in this book you will see that it is actually first person pov, and the revelation of who is ‘I’ is definitely surprising. 
This book shifts the focus and dissection from the last, from systemic racism and oppression to internalized racism and all the love and pain we have with our parents. Nassun’s experience with her mother especially stood out to me. Our sentiment with our mother is never simple love, but often mixed with regret and hate. 

There is also lots of depiction on the romantic relationship surrounding Essun. I personally love the subtle expression and the contrast of them in comparison to the nature of that person. Slow burn all the way for me. 

As the first book I finished in 2025, this is definitely a 5 star (if not higher) and I’m definitely looking forward to reading the final book in this series. 

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