kenjari: (Govans)
kenjari ([personal profile] kenjari) wrote2019-02-05 09:12 pm
Entry tags:

Book Review

The Stone Sky
by N.K. Jemisin

This is the third and final book in The Broken Earth series, and it delivered everything I wanted and more. Not only does Essun's story continue, but we also find out what happened to Nassun, and get a lot more backstory on the world and its past. The Stone Sky was every bit as good as its predecessors, and the whole series is the best fantasy I have ever read. In no particular order, some of the things I loved about this book and the whole series:
The characters' complex relationships and feelings about and for each other, that grow and change in subtle and profound ways, organically as a result of their experiences both together and apart. I especially liked the relationship between Essun and Alabaster.
The running threads of social commentary about the effects of oppression and the dangers of callous exploitation of the environment that form a subtle undercurrent that every once in a while rises up and makes itself known in an un-ignorable fashion. Jemisin says so much through this story without it ever becoming pedantic or preachy, it's so firmly and beautifully a part of the story itself.
The whole atmosphere and tone of the series. This is a story about some very dark things and about the struggle to survive and find meaning during a terrible apocalypse. Yet it never truly falls into grimdark or becomes entirely pessimistic.
sovay: (PJ Harvey: crow)

[personal profile] sovay 2019-02-06 04:57 am (UTC)(link)
The whole atmosphere and tone of the series. This is a story about some very dark things and about the struggle to survive and find meaning during a terrible apocalypse. Yet it never truly falls into grimdark or becomes entirely pessimistic.

That is tricky and I'm so glad the series pulled it off.