bloa_h's review against another edition
4.0
Objectively, it's a fascinating story. Because English is my second language I had some issues understanding what is actually going on so I had to re-read frequently. I don't think I fully understood some parts but I liked what I understood! 8D
melaninny's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 rounded up. A fitting end to a gorgeous, complex trilogy.
jenno's review against another edition
5.0
Oh. My. Lord. This series has been a threat in every way. Adore all the books in this series. The finale, I mean what? So good. Can't even explain nor articulate how good these books are. Go read, do it now.
jdehart's review against another edition
5.0
I thought it was a very satisfying end. I don't think we learn everything there is to know about the world, but we come to accept that isn't realistic for the scope of the story and instead resolve things along with the characters.
jeroenz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
3.5
hskey's review against another edition
4.0
The third book loses a bit of steam for me - the pacing seems off, despite it being lean and had me interested enough to fly through the book. I found the flashback chapters a bit hard to follow, but I got it in the end.
Despite a few qualms, this was an awesome read and a fitting ending to a terrific trilogy. Books 2 and 3 don't approach the mastery of The Fifth Season, but they still are an absolute blast - Jemisin definitely struck gold here. The characters are interesting, the world building is unique, bleak and weighty. The whole interludes between Earth, the obelisks, the Guardians, the Orogenes, the Comms, the Moon and the regular folk stuck in the middle led to a fascinating story. An excellent fantasy trilogy with a poignant ending and relevant themes of slavery, patriarchy and environmental changes.
Despite a few qualms, this was an awesome read and a fitting ending to a terrific trilogy. Books 2 and 3 don't approach the mastery of The Fifth Season, but they still are an absolute blast - Jemisin definitely struck gold here. The characters are interesting, the world building is unique, bleak and weighty. The whole interludes between Earth, the obelisks, the Guardians, the Orogenes, the Comms, the Moon and the regular folk stuck in the middle led to a fascinating story. An excellent fantasy trilogy with a poignant ending and relevant themes of slavery, patriarchy and environmental changes.
dwheeler88's review against another edition
2.0
This book was so close to being good. I truly enjoy books that cover a larger span of time than a couple days or weeks like so many YA books recently have been. Typical to the first two books, Jemisin simultaneously follows multiple story arcs. I actually didn’t mind the 2nd person narrative, except at some point, “you” became Hoa instead of Essun and then it became harder to follow along.
I was really annoyed from the very first page of book 1 being told “this is how the world ends”...
In the 3rd book we learn where the Stone Eaters originated and we learn more about the origins of orogeny.
This trilogy clearly has some world view opinions - destroying the earth, hate, genocide, causal sex with whomever and however many (read: distracting).
The story I think had a lot of potential, but the characters were just not quite compelling enough. Essun’s repeated loss of children really sucks. Alabaster dies and it’s like nobody cares - myself included. What’s the point of Essun getting pregnant again? Total distractor. Lerna dies, which should be tragic but again, nothing from the other characters except, “oh yeah. Lerna’s gone”. In fact, I can’t tell you a single thing about Lerna except that he was a medic. I have no idea how old he is (besides younger than Essun) or what he looks like or anything. Then Essun finishes turning to stone. What happens to her baby? Should we assume it dies in the transformation? Then Shaffa dies.
The whole ending was just really disappointing. Sure, the moon is caught and returned to the planet and earth is happy again, but what about everyone else? Is this actually NOT a trilogy and we are supposed to wait for another book? I feel like I’m supposed to finish the series feeling like I am inspired to overcome diversity and figure out how to help the planet, but I just feel sour.
I was really annoyed from the very first page of book 1 being told “this is how the world ends”...
In the 3rd book we learn where the Stone Eaters originated and we learn more about the origins of orogeny.
This trilogy clearly has some world view opinions - destroying the earth, hate, genocide, causal sex with whomever and however many (read: distracting).
The story I think had a lot of potential, but the characters were just not quite compelling enough. Essun’s repeated loss of children really sucks. Alabaster dies and it’s like nobody cares - myself included. What’s the point of Essun getting pregnant again? Total distractor. Lerna dies, which should be tragic but again, nothing from the other characters except, “oh yeah. Lerna’s gone”. In fact, I can’t tell you a single thing about Lerna except that he was a medic. I have no idea how old he is (besides younger than Essun) or what he looks like or anything. Then Essun finishes turning to stone. What happens to her baby? Should we assume it dies in the transformation? Then Shaffa dies.
The whole ending was just really disappointing. Sure, the moon is caught and returned to the planet and earth is happy again, but what about everyone else? Is this actually NOT a trilogy and we are supposed to wait for another book? I feel like I’m supposed to finish the series feeling like I am inspired to overcome diversity and figure out how to help the planet, but I just feel sour.
missroachie's review against another edition
5.0
"Conquerors live in dread of the day when they are shown to be- not superior- but simply lucky.
everglot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
4.25