We still have so much to learn in the sequel to OBELISK, but Jemisin has teased me with enough juicy details that I can’t wait to see the strange and wonderful she has waiting for me.Įssun and Alabaster continue to be a complicated pair. We begin to understand the difference and connections between orogeny and magic. We learn about the obelisks, what they are, why they exist, and how Essun can use them. We learn more about Guardians, what they are, and why they do what they do. We learn more about the stone eaters and their strange connection to orogenes. The result of a world constantly in upheaval means that over the years knowledge is found and lost, so Alabaster and Essun have to re-learn the vital information they need to stop the Seasons altogether, a concept unthinkable to others. But what really makes this story engaging are its characters and its magic. Jemisin has created a world that is on the verge of breaking, and populated it with a varied people and cultures. Essun is glad to see her old mentor, but ultimately learns what he did and the consequences of using so much magic, as he slowly dies as his magic use turns his body to rock.īut Alabaster has sought out Essun for a reason, and is using the remaining days of his life teaching and preparing her to finish the monumental task he started: to return the moon to Earth’s orbit. It was Ykka’s magic that drew other orogenes to her, including Essun and Alabaster. It’s hard for Essun to believe it’s possible for regular people to accept a magic-user’s leadership until she learns that Castrima can only run on the power of an orogene’s magic. The amazing thing is that it’s run by an orogene, Ykka. That Alabaster caused the rift and the start of the Season in order to start the chain of events that could mean the end of Earth’s hatred of the humans that populate it.Įssun spends the book in Castrima, a community in a geode under the ground, where they’ve stored food and supplies to wait out the Season. OBELISK takes everything we’ve learned and builds on it in devastating and enlightening ways as Essun comes to understand what’s really going on: So when we left off FIFTH, we’d learned Essun’s backstory, why her husband killed her son and took off with their daughter, and enough about the culture and orogengy to understand it’s significance.
THE FIFTH SEASON ( EBR review) is worth reading, and I don’t think THE OBELISK GATE will make much sense unless you do. If you haven’t read the first book, there are all sorts of revelations I’ll be talking about here, so you may want to spare yourself spoilers. Of course Essun must follow, because her daughter Nassun is a magic-wielding orogene like her mother–and that was the reason her husband killed their son in the first place. We first met Essun in THE FIFTH SEASON, as she discovers that her husband has murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter.
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