Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

19 reviews

jess_always_reading's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely loved this story, I could hardly wait to get it from my local library after I finished book one and now I'm diving right into the third book (Stone Sky). Jemisin is such a gifted storyteller and her world-building is next level. There were also some wonderful twists and turns that I definitely didn't see coming. 

Highly recommend 10/10!

TW for some serious trauma (throughout the whole series it feels like) though not gratuitous. Mind the content warnings if it's important to you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Cannibalism

evelasco's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cannibalism

aniguy11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Less good than the first one, yet still devestating and interesting

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, and Violence

icewindgale's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Torture

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, and War

cptnstphy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Such a mastery of crafting the characters and plot to thicken and grow in complexity over time. The reader is trusted with increasingly complex, interesting, unbelievably imaginative worlds of magic and oregeny, and it's such a delicious reading experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and War

Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Grief, and Cannibalism

Minor: Confinement, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Obelisk Gate, book two in the Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin, built on everything I loved in book one and brought even more depth, complexity and heart-wrecking authenticity to each character. As I was thinking about how to describe the dominant themes in book two, I thought most of Beloved, by Toni Morrison, for how fearlessly both NKJ and Morrison explore the layered traumas of child loss and enslavement. I also kept thinking back to the second installment in Tracy Deonn's Legendborn Cycle, Bloodmarked, for how both NKJ and Deonn use fantasy to literally and explicitly call out colonization and the inter-generational trauma of enslaved peoples. NKJ has been very straightforward in her thoughts on the use of subtler forms of allegory to discuss racism in fantasy (as in, subtle doesn't work). In that vein, The Obelisk Gate leaves nothing to misinterpretation - this is a story about slavery.

At the start of The Obelisk Gate, our main character Essun has lost too many children, has sacrificed too much of herself, and has been hunted by too many of those she once loved, and her grief is all consuming. The tender moments between her and Alabaster destroyed me. And we finally get NESSUN in book two, and it's just as much of a gut punch as we expected. She gives up so much for survival - her "daughterhood," her childhood, her ideas of familial love. Through Nessun in particular, NKJ is constantly pushing us to examine our sympathies. Characters like Jija and Schaffa are head-spinning as we try to sort out good and evil in a world literally covered in gray ash.

And sweet, terrifying Hoa. I love him. I distrust him. I love him. I don't know.

Highly recommend this series and looking forward to book three!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Cannibalism

shingekiyes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

this book was SO SLOW but it really expanded on the incredible world established in The Fifth Season. the magic, the science, was all extremely fascinating and i was continually perplexed and in awe of this universe. 

i had to stop reading about 1/3rd through because of a few of the trigger warnings i list below, but i am very glad i kept going. 

NK Jemisin has such a unique way with words and her characters are all so tangible and emotive. Essun and Alabaster ripped my heart out time and time again, and i empathized with Nassun on so many unexpected  levels. i cannot wait to read the (what i have heard will be) thrilling conclusion to the trilogy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Medical content, Cannibalism, Murder, and War

Minor: Sexual content

fourfootedbeasts's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation

vasha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This installment wasn't quite up to the strengths of the previous volume. It still had lots of great writing but some passages weren't as good (and the device of second-person narration got odd at points). Good interweaving of themes but got baggy toward the end. Another commenter said Nassun often seemed to be "10 going on 30" and I can agree with that. I like the way the series as a whole is shaping up, though.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Excrement, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

readsandsuch's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The book overall meanders around which can get boring at times (though I personally enjoy that kind of writing) and the first half is rather info-dumpy which got frustrating. The stand out to me is the narrative about childhood. About growing up under abuse, realizing your parent no longer loves you, confronting the oppressive system that made them that way and choosing to break the cycle yourself. It was complex and breathtaking and heart wrenching.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Cannibalism

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