paperback, 512 pages
English language
Published Sept. 7, 2016 by Orbit.
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle …
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
God damn. I was NOT expecting the number and severity of gut punches this book delivered. Awesomely done.
I wasn't in love with her first trilogy, but this was amazing and I can't wait for the followup.
In my quest to read more current books, here's another review. I give this apocalyptic fantasy-with-a-bit-of-science 4.5 stars. The Inheritance trilogy by the same author is also definitely worth reading.
This book is set on an alternate earth which has a lot more seismic activity than our version.
There are so-called Stone Eaters that can travel through stone and presumably eat it as well. A dangerous magic ability called Orogeny that is powered by heat and can manipulate "Father Earth creates a sense of a fantastical world. Both of these elements place this book squarely in the realm of fantasy even though there are a number of allusions to this being a future version of our Earth, f.e. the 'asphalt' streets in Yumenes, and the limited existence of electricity.
Despite Orogenes being able to quell 'shakes, large seismic events regularly plunge the whole world into a pro-longed winter, a Fifth …
In my quest to read more current books, here's another review. I give this apocalyptic fantasy-with-a-bit-of-science 4.5 stars. The Inheritance trilogy by the same author is also definitely worth reading.
This book is set on an alternate earth which has a lot more seismic activity than our version.
There are so-called Stone Eaters that can travel through stone and presumably eat it as well. A dangerous magic ability called Orogeny that is powered by heat and can manipulate "Father Earth creates a sense of a fantastical world. Both of these elements place this book squarely in the realm of fantasy even though there are a number of allusions to this being a future version of our Earth, f.e. the 'asphalt' streets in Yumenes, and the limited existence of electricity.
Despite Orogenes being able to quell 'shakes, large seismic events regularly plunge the whole world into a pro-longed winter, a Fifth Season, that can last years or decades. Humankind has begun to live in constant preparation for just such an event, hoarding food and following "stone lore". Orogeny might help prevent these seasons but instead of being revered Orogenes are feared because while untrained their ability can easily kill. They are collected in the Fulcrum in the capital city of Yumenes and there trained control their magic, and to serve the Sanzed empire.
The book - I assume the first part of a trilogy - follows the story of three women: a child called Damaya who is being taken to the Fulcrum, Syenite an adult Orogene of the Fulcrum, and Essun, an Orogene who lives hidden among the stills.
I found the beginning somewhat confusing. Because in the prologue (not a big spoiler but still) Yumenes is destroyed by a powerful Orogene, and in two of the three story-lines Yumenes is obviously still standing. It kept me wondering how it would all fit together for about half of the book. After that things began to make more sense.
All three of POV characters are fleshed out nicely, along with an interesting supporting cast. I usually do not enjoy strongly (post-)apocalyptic settings (ever since I read The Road ...), they feel so leeched of color, made even more distinct by having ash rain from the sky, but the story and characters are so compelling I couldn't stop reading.
I particularly enjoyed the writing style. I liked the use of line-breaks for emphasis or series of short scenes for fast-paced sequences.
The sex and gender issues of the characters are generally well done. However, ... Tonkee being transgender(?) feels tacked on somehow. In this book at least it does not become relevant (also she has been disowned by her family but still boasts how she used their resources to track down Essun). The triad between Alabaster, Innon and Syenite feels more real. The way Syenite and Alabaster get started - I mean their sleeping together without either wanting it, bothers me on several levels. My guess is that is intended.
The other thing that I have an issue with is the ending. I was in the middle of reading, and all of a sudden "boom" the book ends. It's quite a cliff-hanger and I prefer books - even when part of a series, especially then - to have some kind of closure. Maybe the meeting with Alabaster should have been done in an epilogue.. This left me right in the middle of an arc, with unresolved tension, and now I'll have to wait for ... the next book to find out.
But none of this was enough to take away a whole star, I enjoyed the book way too much. So this is a 4.5 book for me.
I'd recommend this for advanced readers of fantasy or fans of the apocalypse. The author says in the closing notes that she got the idea during the NASA launchpad workshop. So maybe it is also enjoyable for science fiction fans - up to the point where she introduces magic of course ;) It's probably best for those readers who enjoy both scifi and fantasy.
PS: a fun analysis of the tropes in this book.
