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

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? Yes

5.0

HOW DO I EVER PICK UP ANOTHER FANTASY SERIES? 

I’ve been sitting here - staring at the empty screen while trying to conjure words for my glowing review - and struggling to express how much this journey transfixed & transformed me.

Essun & Nassun … our mother-daughter pair at opposite ends of a gaping chasm. They made hard-to-bear choices. They acted out of fear, out of love, and out of a need to survive. We’ve witnessed Essun’s pain over a lifelong journey, and Nassun has had so much trauma in her tiny number of years. Jemisin writes in the afterward that in many ways, this series is her wrestling with motherhood – and I felt that come through deeply in this final chapter. 

And Hoa’s story? Wow. I almost wished we’d gotten some of this earlier, because it gave his life and the entire world of the story so much more depth. The world-building overall continued to amaze and delight and horrify me through the final moments.

Lots of little brilliant reveals, perfect pacing, and an ending that gave me chills. And a continuous sharp look at cycles of oppression and warping ideas of humanity to stay in power. 

Pick up this trilogy. Do it now.

CW: genocide, death, violence, grief, body horror, racism, slavery, child abuse, war, injury, blood, xenophobia, emotional abuse, gore, cannibalism, pregnancy, abandonment, forced institutionalization, colonization, torture, terminal illness, excrement, vomit

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