Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

17 reviews

cayliehausman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

An absolute must read series for anyone who enjoys fantasy, or social commentary. 

Wow, N.K. Jemisin knows how to rip your heart out of your chest and delicately place it in front of you on an offering plate. THIS. FINALE. WOW. WOW. WOW. The plot was brilliant, the ending even more so.

I can’t wait to dive into more of her books after finishing this series. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

terranstorm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-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

My favorite of the series, I think (or maybe tied with book 1? hard to say). The themes of motherhood throughout, and particularly the way it all peaks with the long-awaited confrontation between the equally-strong wills of mother and daughter? Those parts particularly gripped me, some even knocked the wind out of me. The Castrima comm as a kind of mangy found family. Weaving in the ancient history of the early Stone Eaters through Hoa, and the peoples who for even them were ancient history, connecting those last threads. Brilliant work! The final conflict and payoff was so, so satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery and Death of parent

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Racism

dkamada's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

kwthor's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Racism, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

lipstickitotheman's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring 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

Sobbed my way through the last chapter. 
This author is a genius. The world-building is wildly thorough. I know that I need to re-read this series so that I can understand it better because I do feel like some of it went over my head. She has such a powerful understanding of humanity and families that keeps wrecking my shit. 
This last book was honestly hard to want to read--because I just didn't like reading Nassun's POV (it's still excellent! I just wanted to spend time with Essun, but I know how important Nassun's POV was there)--but every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child death, Genocide, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Cannibalism, Murder, and Pregnancy

nilssjoberg's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cannibalism, and Death of parent

Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy

bergha1998's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.0

What an end to this series. The world building was incredible though very complex. I will ceaselessly love all three of the main characters. Very sad too, especially with getting all the background information and how everything is built on racism and xenophobia. Important for the very same reason. 

Found Family, Complex Discussions of Racism

“No need for guards when you can convince people to collaborate in their own internment.”

“Well, some worlds are built on a fault line of pain, held up by nightmares. Don’t lament when those worlds fall. Rage that they were built doomed in the first place.”

“(It bothers her that she does this, watching him constantly for shifts of mood or warnings of tension. It is another thing she learned from Jija. She cannot seem to shed it with Schaffa, or anyone else.)”

“But there are none so frightened, or so strange in their fear, as conquerors. They conjure phantoms endlessly, terrified that their victims will someday do back what was done to them—even if, in truth, their victims couldn’t care less about such pettiness and have moved on. Conquerors live in dread of the day when they are shown to be, not superior, but simply lucky.”

“I think,” Hoa says slowly, “that if you love someone, you don’t get to choose how they love you back.”

“There are stages to the process of being betrayed by your society. One is jolted from a place of complacency by the discovery of difference, by hypocrisy, by inexplicable or incongruous ill treatment. What follows is a time of confusion—unlearning what one thought to be the truth. Immersing oneself in the new truth. And then a decision must be made.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-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? No

4.25

A truly strange and wonderful story. The themes of exploitation, community, bigotry, and fear were carried through with a clever nuance that will have me thinking about this world for weeks. There was a fairly large plot hole (

if Hoa can take Essun, or anyone, through the Earth to a known location of another, why didn’t he just do it in the first book, or after Meov?

) that was quite distracting. Overall it came together in a satisfying and frustrating conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.75

Brilliant conclusion to a brilliant trilogy. I really had no idea where this was going and Jemisin absolutely nailed the finale with remarkable precision. So inventive and truly unlike any other fantasy series I’ve ever read. Everyone who loves fantasy must read this trilogy; an absolute masterclass in set up and pay off. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy

Minor: Confinement and Sexual content

lizclark81's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

Perfect conclusion to an incredible trilogy. The character development of Hoa especially rounded out everything so perfectly, and the fates of all the major characters (and the world!) were terrifically satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement and Grief