Reviews with content warning for Death - The Stone Sky

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.

Content Warnings

notsopithypriya's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

Perhaps it's because I didn't really want it to end (the next book on my TBR has had a couple of false starts already), but the pacing of this final book seemed slower than the first two.

The foreshadowing in the second book on Stone Eaters is fully explored in this one. On that note, some of the character "endings" are more hopeful than they'd be otherwise — all of the main characters undergo some major growth/transformation.

By the end, the second person POV also makes more sense as a choice.

All in all, would highly recommend — if you made it through the second book, this one is easier in some ways, and it wraps up the trilogy fairly neatly.

Content Warnings

ko2h3ckh's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

spellbindingtomes's review against another edition

Go to review page

I tried so hard to finish this, but I just couldn't. I was incredibly bored and confused the majority of the time. I felt like the plot wasn't going anywhere. I wasn't particularly attached to any of the characters. I'm so sad to be writing this because the first book of this trilogy was amazing. It just went downhill from there. I still think people should give this trilogy a try, as I'm definitely in the minority here.

Content Warnings

lunabbly's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging 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

SO GOOD.

I cannot imagine writing a trilogy ever. N.K Jemisin is talented. I read the afterword she wrote and learned that the trilogy was written as she was watching her mother transition to become an ancestor, which is why the trilogy captures such a nuanced, heartfelt, and incredibly complex relationship on motherhood, mothers, loving, relationships, and intergenerational trauma.

As I was reading, I think N.K Jemisin captured so beautifully the confusion of what is yet to come. We're reading about what the world was like before and what catalyzed all seasons, what made Father Earth so volatile, and it felt like as she was writing, she was also unraveling the storyline herself because that's how good the writing is!!! I'm not sure if I'm explaining it correctly lol.

Even though the ending felt so sudden, it was perfect. To capture Nassun's realization of what her mother intended and wanted as her mother gave up because Nassun was too powerful for her, and for Essun to finally return to Hua, for Essun to finally remember who she was and what she needed to be, it was all so beautiful. It was affirming because it was a cycle that concluded.

Highly recommend.

Content Warnings

laure_frompariswithbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

More...