Book Review
Jan. 30th, 2019 08:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kenjariThe Obelisk Gate
by N.K. Jemisin
This is the sequel to The Fifth Season and it is every bit as good. Essun has now found a new community, albeit a fragile one. Here she is reunited with her old friend, lover, and mentor, who trains her to take the final steps in the chain of events begun by the cataclysm that brought on the current season. At the same time, Essun's daughter Nassun has also found a fragile community where she is also being trained for endgame, although perhaps not with the same goals as Essun.
As far as plot goes, a lot of The Obelisk Gate is setup for what's going to happen in the third book, but Jemisin is so good that it never lacks drive, tension, or emotional weight. The world building remains amazing. The Stillness is a world of deep history, complexity in both its natural and societal aspects, and full of wonders and mysteries. A lot of my questions from The Fifth Season were answered (or at least the answers were sufficiently hinted at), and several more questions arose. All the characters remain awesome, even when I'm not thrilled with what they're doing. And the way all the relationships among them shift and change is beautiful. Essun is still my favorite, but I'm very interested in where Nassun's developmental arc is going. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
by N.K. Jemisin
This is the sequel to The Fifth Season and it is every bit as good. Essun has now found a new community, albeit a fragile one. Here she is reunited with her old friend, lover, and mentor, who trains her to take the final steps in the chain of events begun by the cataclysm that brought on the current season. At the same time, Essun's daughter Nassun has also found a fragile community where she is also being trained for endgame, although perhaps not with the same goals as Essun.
As far as plot goes, a lot of The Obelisk Gate is setup for what's going to happen in the third book, but Jemisin is so good that it never lacks drive, tension, or emotional weight. The world building remains amazing. The Stillness is a world of deep history, complexity in both its natural and societal aspects, and full of wonders and mysteries. A lot of my questions from The Fifth Season were answered (or at least the answers were sufficiently hinted at), and several more questions arose. All the characters remain awesome, even when I'm not thrilled with what they're doing. And the way all the relationships among them shift and change is beautiful. Essun is still my favorite, but I'm very interested in where Nassun's developmental arc is going. I can't wait to see how this all plays out.
