The Broken Earth is shaping up to be an outstanding trilogy, and I’m so nervous-yet-scared-to-death for its finale next year. And based on The Obelisk Gate’s climax… Oh my word. So I sat back, absorbed each chapter’s events and the characters’ choices, and let my speculations percolate. But after reading TFS and other novels by Jemisin over the past year, I’ve learned she has reasons for her unconventional choices – and those reasons always reveal themselves in time. Sure, The Obelisk Gate is intricate in its plotting and unorthodox in structure (e.g., Jemisin still uses second-person narration for Essun’s chapters). Normally I’d use this space for criticisms… But I have none. (That Hoa scene in particular nearly made me cry.) All the emotional investment and immersion made The Obelisk Gate impossible to put down – and when I was forced to put it down, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. There were also moments when I ached for Essun, Nassun, Alabaster, and Essun’s stone-eater friend Hoa. Questions that were posed during TFS are answered, and more mysteries arise. We learn much more about the Stillness, especially the obelisks and the stone eaters. But it’s difficult to say more without revealing too much of The Obelisk Gate’s incredible world-building and the story itself. I’m sure that summary will confuse people who haven’t read this series yet.
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