Paperback, 391 pages

English language

Published Sept. 9, 2016 by Orbit.

ISBN:
978-0-316-22926-5
Copied ISBN!
OCLC Number:
932174108
Goodreads:
28118494

View on OpenLibrary

4 stars (94 reviews)

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD ENDS ... FOR THE LAST TIME. The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun -- once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger -- has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever. Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power - and her choices will break the world. For more from N.K. Jemisin, check out: The Inheritance Trilogy The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms The Kingdom of Gods The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition) Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction) The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella) Dreamblood Duology The Killing Moon The Shadowed Sun The Broken Earth The Fifth SeasonThe Obelisk Gate"--

"Essun--once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger--has found …

11 editions

Brilliant world-building and character-building

5 stars

As with the first book in this trilogy, I read this obsessively, this time a bit better prepared for the sudden transitions in viewpoint/time/space, but still confused enough to keep it interesting, and this world and cast of characters (species) just gets weirder but not at the expese of the feels. I have no idea what to expect in the finale, but that's next on my reading list.

Un épico relato emocional

4 stars

Mientras que no tiene la frenética energía del primer libro, "The Obelisk Gate" es una maravilla. Se revelan secretos, se crean relaciones, se rompen corazones, y la historia de Essun y su familia en su intento por sobrevivir a esta temporada continúa siendo una de las mejores cosas que he leído en 2021.

Almost as good as the first

4 stars

I read The Fifth Season under special circumstances: waiting in a hospital emergency room, and enthralled by a fantasy novel about deeply felt characters facing much worse problems than I was. (I'm fine now.) The Obelisk Gate is just as good: intense and at times brutal fantasy with immediate connections to the politics, racial and otherwise, of our world, without being in any way limited by this. I didn't find the multiple viewpoints quite as clear in this volume but I still loved it.

Review of 'The Obelisk Gate' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Exquisite.

[b:Fifth Season|19161852|The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386803701s/19161852.jpg|26115977] was epic; Obelisk Gate grows it into capital-S Saga. Complex characters, tensions within and between whom parallel the seismic ones in Jemisin’s tortured Earth and with similar cataclysmic results when faults shift. Factions whose goals you’re never quite sure you understand or trust. Imperfect people acting on incomplete knowledge, doing what they think is best—but best for whom? And what if malevolent agents are manipulating those well-intentioned people, abusing trust for their own ends? (Any similarities to post-2016 USA are purely coincidental.) (Or are they?)

There’s a whole lotta killin’ here too, as in the first one. And prejudice, crippling and so destructive. Also kindnesses, small and large, sometimes more meaningful than intended. Complicated and inconsistent love, often reluctant or baffling (then again, love is like that). Difficult circumstances bringing out the best and worst in people, sometimes all at …

Review of 'The Obelisk Gate' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Winner of the 2017 Hugo Award and second in the trilogy. I didn't think this book was quite as interesting as the first, but then, it's hard for a second book to live up to the first since it doesn't have that "everything's new" element of surprise. Still, there were a few new things introduced or elaborated on; we learned more about the Guardians, and a lot more about the other intelligent species present on this world beside humans, the Stone Eaters.

Like the first book, this one alternates between viewpoints of different characters. This time our three main storytellers are Essun, from the first book; Nassun, her daughter; and one of the Stone Eaters (though only a small amount from him). The book is basically a search journey, following Essun until she settles in Castrima; and Nassun, following her separate journey and eventual settling into a new home also. …

Review of 'The Obelisk Gate' on 'GoodReads'

4 stars

Hard to put down, for me. I was pretty invested in learning more about the various characters that I had gotten to know in The Fifth Season - Alabaster, Schaffa, Hoa, and Essun in particular. We didn't get to learn too much more about Essun's backstory, which, fine, that was all The Fifth Season was about. But it was very cool to see how Schaffa has changed and learn about Hoa as well. I also enjoyed the bits and pieces of post-apocalyptic political machinations that began to emerge. Overall, though, the book felt a little confused / lacking in focus, which was not the case for the Fifth Season. I have high hopes that the next book will, if not solve every mystery, at least end the story in a satisfying way.

Review of 'The Obelisk Gate' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It's hard not to continue to come up with geological metaphors for this book. It's dense, striated, complicated, a few pockets that formed that needed shoring up, but overall a great cross section that continues to evolve.

For some reason, I didn't finish writing this before I switched books--so I've got more of a genuflection than a good reflection from the moment the cover closes.

The passions seemed a bit more equalized in this book. No forced hooks or relationships that left you wondering for their inclusion. Once again we are exposed to something more..grand in scale, sometimes we learn a few flights down but we really don't grok the wholeness. Orogenes and their "Magic", Guardians, broken Guardians, Stoneaters--maybe the making of?, Then you've got this great setup for a showdown between families that is sure to be epic. I'm curious if we'll ever know more of the past besides …

Review of 'The obelisk gate' on 'Unknown'

4 stars

As with [b:The Fifth Season|19161852|The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)|N.K. Jemisin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386803701s/19161852.jpg|26115977], I found this book (well, eBook) hard to put down. I am now looking forward to the followup, [b:The Stone Sky|31817749|The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth, #3)|N.K. Jemisin|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1478547421s/31817749.jpg|52472813], with great anticipation.

The continuing adventures of the characters, and the addition of a few new ones, kept me going long into the night and I probably would have missed my metro stop if it were not he last stop on the line. I preferred the "multiple story arcs at the same time that are in fact the same story" of the first book but still enjoyed visiting other parts of this fantastic world.

Review of 'The Obelisk Gate' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Engrossing and a fantastic page turner, but had some short comings as the middle book in the trilogy. The Obelisk Gate suffers because The Fifth Season was so good and any faults of this story are only visible when you compare it to the book that preceded it.

Narration that worked in the first story felt repetitive here and lacking a genuine hook. The first instalment covered so much time and story that it was hard to top, and that could be why the pace felt a little slow here. All of those nitpicks aside, The Obelisk Gate expanded the scope of this series and revealed there is a lot of history and depth at play here.

The introduction of Nassun was great and she helped continue to build on an already fascinating world. Her story helped carry the weight as Essun's story in Castrima was a little slow...but then …

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