#obelisk gate

[gettingovershame]

Schaffa in The Fifth Season vs Schaffa in The Obelisk Gate gives the same energy as “How my parents were with me” vs “How my parents are with their grandchildren”

#WHERE WAS THIS ENERGY WHEN I WAS GROWING UP!? #the broken earth trilogy #broken earth trilogy #fifth season #spoilers #broken earth trilogy spoilers #the broken earth trilogy spoilers #obelisk gate #the obelisk gate

[normal-draws]

Hoa, from the broken earth. You know when a character is introduced and something about their description just lands perfectly for you and you can see them crystal clear? Yeah. Hoa, from the broken earth. Genius books.

#fifth season #stone sky #obelisk gate #broken earth #sci-fi fanart #Hoa #Essen #nassun #nk jemisin #fifth season fanart #art by op #illustration #fanart

[wutheringmights]

I finished reading the second book in the Broken Earth Trilogy: "The Obelisk Gate" by NK Jemisin. I am happy to report that after a general "meh" feeling with my reread of the first book, I am back onboard with this series.

My absolute favorite part of this book is the plotline about Essun and Schaffa. They were both wildly underused in the original, and pairing them up together is a stroke of genius. I was hesitant about Schaffa's memories being warped from the get-go, but Jemisin pulled it off perfectly.

And I can't even begin to brush on Essun's relationship with Jija and Nassun, because, wow. Jeminsin can write great character dramas and studies.

That being said, Nassun's plotline was... meh. Nassun is such a fascinating character, but her storyline doesn't do much to show off everything about her that is fascinating.

Really, my issue is that I never once felt as though the Castrima plotline had to happen. Nassun pauses her quest to find her daughter to help with comme, and it's just not interesting. Sure, there are reasons why she is there, but it mostly feels like we're here because we needed to pad out the plot for a bit.

And that continues to be my problem with this series. It shouldn't take 200 pages to answer the question that was the cliffhanger ending for the first book. Alabaster shouldn't have to spend five pages verbally summarizing events that could have warranted giving him his own perspective. The pacing is slow, and some of the ways the story is told is near baffling to me.

Which leads to my mixed feelings about the way this series handles perspective. In theory, I love how Jemisin plays with perspective and identity. So far, the first and second book have used perspective to further their thematic elements. But sometimes, the perspectives get in the way of the story.

Honestly, I feel as though the first and second book could have been combined into one. Would that ruin the themes of identity in the first book and the themes of family in the second? Sure, but it would serve to tighten the plot and leave little space for the blotted mess that is the Castrima arc.

As a side note, Jeminsin's prose irks me in a way I'm not sure how to articulate yet. It's not bad, but the neutral narration as a style that I'm not sure I like. I need to think about it more.

Overall, 4/5. I'll get to the next book before the end of the year, but I'm going to break to read a different one first.

#I still have massive respect for these books because holy shit are they good and are incredible explorations of how being dehumanized #affects a person but jeminsin just makes some craft decisions that boggle the mind #i can't get over how perfect the quest to find a lost daughter is and how she throws it out for not good reason #me rambling #me reading #obelisk gate #obelisk gate by nk jemisin #broken earth #broken earth trilogy #bookblr

[wordsfromastone]

The Obelisk Gate

In the Castrima Comm, Essun struggles to navigate the many threats assailing her: her mentor is unwell, her daughter is missing out in the world somewhere, there are scheming Stone Eaters, and, oh, just a little thing about how the current Season won’t end in her lifetime and humanity, as she knows it, seems doomed to extinction. Y’know, normal stuff that happens every day. Also, what the heck is a moon....?

The Fifth Season had me stumbling a bit over Jemisin’s use of the Second Person voice and, if that was rough for the reader in that book, well, book two continues that same device. By now, I’ve settled into it, it doesn’t bother me. On the contrary, use of the Second Person voice makes it easier to accept moments in which the narrator withholds information.

That latter scenario is what convinced me that I actually was enjoying The Obelisk Gate; the narrator alluded to events but provided no details. Something inside me shrieked, “tell me!” From that point on, I was committed.

Even as I write this, I realize how cagey is the language I employ. Another bit of oblique evidence for how much I really liked the title: I don’t want to spoil anything for another prospective reader.

Essun is well-written, to my mind. She’s very capable in many ways, although she doesn’t always succeed in the way she hoped. Sometimes, her victories come at a cost, and sometimes that cost is paid by people she cares about. It helped keep me grounded in the world!

I have, however, discovered that I can’t comfortably read these books back-to-back. The setting, the characters, the unfolding events, all of them are GRIM. Moments of levity are rare. It wasn’t so severe that I needed to take a break mid-novel, but I did need time between to cleanse the palate a bit.

And that, really, is my endorsement. If you liked the first one, you’ll likely, uh, like this one, too. If you like your fantasy novels on the comedic side, maybe give The Obelisk Gate a miss. If you have a taste for apocalyptic survival fantasy, probably start with The Fifth Season. I’ll be shortly moving on to The Stone Sky!

#Obelisk Gate #ObeliskGate #NKJemisin #N.K. Jemisin #Book Review #BookReview

[honestlytoomuch]

Finished Obelisk Gate. It fucks so hard everyone should read it

#obelisk gate

[avatarofthewriting]

I just finished it and i'm NOT NORMAL ABOUT THESE BOOKS AAAAAHHHHH

#broken earth trilogy #obelisk gate

[nct616]

hoahoahoahoahoahoahoahoa

#nk jemisin #nkjemisin #the broken earth #hoa #broken earth trilogy #fanart #nk jemisin fanart #I keep forgetting to post shit on here sorry to all ≈4.3 of you who may care #the fifth season #the obelisk gate #the stone sky

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

#fantasy #books #The Broken Earth #The Obelisk Gate #N.K. Jemisin #poll #result: no #l: English

[syeniites]

tfw you have a crush on the woman who destroyed your hometown and now she stops by the infirmary where you work every day to bicker incomprehensibly with her ex-metamour-slash-baby-daddy who also triggered the apocalypse while he slowly turns to stone and is eaten by a rock person. but sometimes you just gotta shoot your shot ig

#broken earth trilogy #the obelisk gate #essun #alabaster tenring #lerna

[fantasiadelux]

#the fifth season #nk jemisin #science fiction #fantasy #scifi #broken earth trilogy #hugo awards #syenite #innon #the broken earth #the stone sky #the obelisk gate #damaya #essun #nassun #fanfic illustration #luxmeteora #luxnieve

[bi-nightmare]

My Halsin fan dragon grew up so I finally finished playing dressup. UwU

#fr #flight rising #obelisk #dragon share #fan dragon #halsin #baldur's gate 3

[woodsfae]

Have been blitzing through The Broken Earthtrilogy by N.K. Jemisin and may I just say this woman is a fucking powerhouse of a writer. Rarely have I been so upset at characters without wanting to stop reading. Like, I'm mad at them as people, while being totally engrossed in the story. GRIPPING.

#n.k. jemisin #nk jemisin #the fifth season #the obelisk gate #the stone sky #the broken earth #reading #currently reading #books #woodsfae

[sparklestheunicorn]

Essun: *trying to find her daughter*

Me:

#ME! #esp come the end of the obelisk gate #the broken earth #i have adopted her. #also: do ya think she was actually adopted by tonkee and hjarka bc i could so see that happening. not in any real way but in a way that #nassun knows she will have a place to sleep at night if all else fails #the fifth season

[genspiel]

was googling some broken earth stuff and somebody described what happens to certain characters throughout the series as "getting stoned" and i'm not okay dshjksdjdhf

#tre reads #broken earth #nk jemisin #essun #alabaster tenring #the way this makes it sound out of context LMAO #god can you even imagine alabaster on drugs. the world would not survive #((not that it's surviving him WITHOUT drugs either; but you know what i mean-)) #...incidentally though i was actually looking for information about maxixe #i feel like almost nobody ever talks about him :( #i know he's a pretty minor character but still #the fifth season #the obelisk gate #the stone sky

[lifblogs]

For anyone who loves geology and volcanology and also fantasy I would totally recommend reading The Broken Earth trilogy by N.K. Jemisin. Basically the world no longer has a moon, which in turn shattered the world and now it's very unstable. There are what they call Fifth Seasons which are basically volcanic winters. There are a lot of earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions. And it's theorized by one character that the characters called orogenes (the characters with powers) actually exist as a form of evolution to try and keep the human race alive because their powers deal with the earth. One character is so powerful that he ripped the continent in half! This of course is causing a volcanic winter that would most likely destroy all life on the planet and it would last for possibly millions of years.

#the broken earth #the broken earth trilogy #n.k. jemisin #the fifth season #the obelisk gate #the stone sky

[jedaos]

#i am unwell #first damaya..... now nassun #broken earth trilogy #the obelisk gate #📚