A review by bodagirl
The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Jemisin's world-building is a gradual puzzle, with pieces fed to you chapter by chapter from different points of view until the picture finally comes into focus. I started this trilogy a few years ago and finally got my hands on the last book. I tried just diving in, but found I needed to read some synopses in order to remember/understand what was going on in. In the earlier books, you knew that Jemisin's world had some issues with racism and colonialism, but in this final installment the puzzle is complete and you see exactly how the Stillness became so still.

Are Essun and Nassun the most loveable characters? No, but they are complicated characters and their journey is thought provoking just the same.

Some of my favorite quotes:
 "But breathing doesn't always mean living, and maybe... maybe genocide doesn't always leave bodies." 

 "But there are none so frightened, or so strange in their fears, as conquerors. They conjure phantoms endlessly, terrified that their victims will someday do back what was done to them - even if, in truth, their victims couldn't care less about such pettiness and have moved on. Conquerors live in dread of the day when they are shown to be, not superior, but simply lucky." 
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