The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky
1424 pages
English language
Published May 18, 2018 by Orbit.
This series took me to places I didn't know I needed or wanted to go. I feel like I just processed so much, and I understand a lot more about people and the world.
A great end to a great trilogy! Almost all my questions were answered by the end, and I was very satisfied with how the conflict resolved.
Deep and wide-ranging world-building, a complex and thrilling plot, and an uncoventional, convincing and immersive representation of slavery and exploitation. I especially liked how Jemisin managed to capture my attention and keep me guessing on three levels simultaneously: deep civilisational history, impending apocalypse, and finally family and personal sacrifice.
Wow. I think I'll need to reread this trilogy now.
Wow! What a breakthrough way of telling the story, shifting between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person views. Referring to the main character as "you" for much of the story really brings the story and messages much closer. In addition, the story itself was really good, and leans heavily on the effects of persecution and marginalization on individuals. It's a complex, non-linear story that really pulls you through it.
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/17/16156416/n-k-jemisin-broken-earth-trilogy-the-stone-sky-fantasy-book-review
A interesting and original piece of fantastical literature. With new paths and directions, not stuck in old tropes and conventions. At the same time not aiming to disentangle itself from its genre. But alas a bit to discontinuous and unclear, me hardly grasping even the most fundamental concepts of the book before I was half way through. Still, I'll read the rest of the series.
In a lot of ways the most personal, if perhaps the least cohesive, of the trilogy, enough is left unexplained to leave you curious, while also continuing all of the really compelling thematic elements from the first two books.
This entire series is amazing.
I listened to the audio books and Robin Miles is superb.
Took me a bit to get into the first one, but I loved the world-building, character development, and the originality of the entire series.
One of, if not the best, science-fiction series I've ever read.
I had really high hopes for this book and while I thought it was good, I found it a disappointing conclusion to an otherwise very strong trilogy. The plot felt VERY slow in this one, and on more than one occasion, I found myself thinking "Okay I understand what the city looks like. What do they do next??" I liked the additional story of the pre-stillness world and the origin of stone eaters, guardians, etc. But there were several times when I just got lost in the complex relationship between magic, obelisks, stone eaters, the moon, etc. I'd have liked the overall story in this book to be a bit more concise, but as a trilogy, I loved the series.
Wildly imaginative but I’m not convinced the POV shifts work.
A conclusion that feels inevitable yet satisfying. This series blends the personal with the political and manages to evoke so much with its themes, it is truly a masterpiece deserving of its awards. Yet the acknowledgement at the end reframes the whole story in a poignant manner that underlines the humanity at its heart.
The Stone Sky : 4 stars
This trilogy as a whole is 4 stars. It is different from what I usually read for this is very "adult".
The writing is great, a little confusing sometimes, in some chapters we aren't even told who the narrator is and what exactly it will lead to, but I think that English not being my maternal language impacted my reading ahah
The plot unfurls little by little from book 1 to book 3, we feel how much the author thought about this story and how to express it. Each character had a role and was interesting (tho the characters felt too "cold" at times for my taste), I was so curious to see how it would all end up.. and was pretty satisfied
Also the mystery regarding the "Seasons", and the revelations about the past, how it all came to be were sooo good, …
The Stone Sky : 4 stars
This trilogy as a whole is 4 stars. It is different from what I usually read for this is very "adult".
The writing is great, a little confusing sometimes, in some chapters we aren't even told who the narrator is and what exactly it will lead to, but I think that English not being my maternal language impacted my reading ahah
The plot unfurls little by little from book 1 to book 3, we feel how much the author thought about this story and how to express it. Each character had a role and was interesting (tho the characters felt too "cold" at times for my taste), I was so curious to see how it would all end up.. and was pretty satisfied
Also the mystery regarding the "Seasons", and the revelations about the past, how it all came to be were sooo good, anyway I really enjoyed reading this and of course recommend it, if it sounds interesting to you!
The final part of the trilogy wraps up this phenomenal story. The writing is achingly good, pulling me along each step of the way. More than the other two books, this one felt like it dragged on a bit at the middle/end, but I was still invested enough in the story to see it through. I felt like the plot did little to surprise me, but it was still satisfying to see it through to the end.
Jemisin writes characters with profound love & empathy, and they carry the story through a few slow patches where the story beats feel drawn out or repetitive as the epic conclusion is foreshadowed with a little more emphasis than strictly necessary.
