A review by sleepycritter
The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous dark sad medium-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

2.5

I’m not a fan. I read the entire series, only because I was sucked in by the interesting plot, and wanted to see it through to the end. That’s where I give the writer some credit. The plot was engaging and the world that the writer created was unique enough, as far as my limited experience with dystopian, sci-if, fantasy is aware of.  What immediately jumped out at me was the atrocious writing itself. I’m specifically referring to either improper English, or a style with little sophistication.  Since our literacy comprehension is absorbed through reading, which then manifests itself intuitively in our language and writing, it makes me shudder in alarm for younger generations being exposed to such writing.  I just can’t reconcile with the reality that these books won multiple Hugo Awards?  I’m just not feeling it. Because the writing style was of such a concern to me, I conscientiously made an effort to read various writings by Abraham Lincoln at the same time as reading this series, in an effort to inoculate myself with a high level of eloquence with the written word. 

To give context, the book I read immediately before was; ‘Circe,’ by Madeline Miller. The book I read immediately after was; (Pulitzer Prize winner) ‘Lonesome Dove,’ by Larry McMurty.  Both of these beautifully written books, with soulful characters, are 5 stars reads for me, and as such, only served to heighten the flaws of the ‘Broken Earth’ series even further. N.K. Jemisin’s characters have such little depth, especially given that she had the opportunity to developed these characters over the course of THREE books. In comparison, Miller and McMurty were able to accomplish this feat better in just three pages.  I don’t mind an unlikable character one bit if they are well written.  Scarlett O’Hara, from Gone with the Wind, just jumped into my head. So, this isn’t the problem.  A good author gives their characters personality through context, and honestly, N.K. Jemisin’s characters seemed a bit dry, robotic and difficult to get emotionally invested in. She told us a little about the characters, but she never really shows us who they are, through cleverly imbued context.