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ruxxxx 's review for:

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin
5.0

after reading the first two books i decided to put the final one on hold since they require a lot of brain power and i simply didn't want it to be over but the time has finally come after a year and now i can say wholeheartedly that the broken earth trilogy goes to my favourite book series list

i'm just gonna ramble a little about what i loved the most in this book/trilogy

the writing:
i feel like up until reading these books i didn't hold a high enough standard for writing in fantasies, i always paid more attention to world-building and characters so as long as the writing wasn't straight up bad or too cliche i wasn't bothered, but these books actually made me pay attention to the craft of this author because the way she writes is just beautiful and unique; can't decide if you like first, second or third person best? don't worry because Jemisin is gonna incorporate all three of them and make it make total sense story wise

the world:
hands down one of the best world-buildings in all of the fantasies i've read, the way you are thrown in in this world in "The fifth season" and the way you're discovering the secrets and origins of it throughout all of the books is definitely not for the weak of heart and i get why some people wouldn't like the series because of this but i'm the kind of reader who actually enjoys being a little confused so this was exactly my cup of tea.
i loved how unique the world Jemisin created is but at the same time how it reflects the issues we face in our world: racism, sexism, the mindless exploatation of resources from
the earth, climate change and many others;
i really loved that the "enemy" in this series was the Earth itself because of how far human greed can go
and i'm glad this book explored of the origins of sone eaters, i felt so bad for them considering the fact that they were just victims of an injust system and i really liked how this book humanized these mysterious creatures


the characters:
literally every single one of them is a victim and i couldn't help but feel for them , even Evil Earth and Steel and Schaffa 😭 Nassun and Essun's mother-daughter relationship was so tragic and complex their reunion literally ruined me and the parallels drawn between them were amazing; i also loved their relationships with other characters and how they were able to find someone to love and care for despite everything they've lost

the ending:
despite the fact that the narrative strongly hinted on the fact that Essun is gonna become a stone eater in the end i still couldn't prepare myself enough for the ending, i read the last two chapters while eating my dinner and had to take a pause from it because of how hard i was sobbing; needless to say i thought the ending was brilliant and devastating and hopeful at the same time, i liked how it was a little ambiguous about the fate of Nassun and the rest of the surviving characters and just showed us that their future is in their hands


Some of my fav quotes from this book to remember why i loved the writing so much:
- You were fond of Jija, after all, to the degree that your secrets allowed. You thought he loved you – and he did, to the degree that your secrets allowed. It’s just that love and hate aren’t mutually exclusive, as I first learned so very long ago.
- “One person’s normal is another person’s Shattering.” Your face aches from smiling. There is an art to smiling in a way that others will believe, and you’re terrible at it. “Would’ve been nice if we could’ve all had normal, of course, but not enough people wanted to share. So now we all burn.”
- Orogenes are essential. And yet because you are essential, you cannot be permitted to have a choice in the matter. You must be tools – and tools cannot be people. Guardians keep the tool… and to the degree possible, while still retaining the tool’s usefulness, kill the person.
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“The Earth – for the sake of good relations I will no longer call it Evil” - this one was just too funny