The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin

Title: The Obelisk Gate

Author: N. K. Jemisin

Pages: 391

Finished: March 17, 2021

First Sentence: Hm. No. I'm telling this wrong.

Summary: As Essun struggles to fit in at Castrima, the Comm is threatened by an Equatorial Comm that wants nothing to do with orogenes or roggas. Meanwhile, her daughter Nassun finds shelter in Found Moon with Schaffa, the corrupted Guardian.

Thoughts: The dedication in this one is "To those who have no choice but to prepare their children for the battlefield."

This book picks up almost entirely where the first book left off though we now add Nassun's story into the mix. I feel about her much the way I feel about all the other characters. I may sympathize with how things have happened, but I don't find her all that likeable. 

This book is a strange balancing act of compelling and depressing. The world-building is top notch and I really want to see what these obelisks are and how Essun is going to solve everything that's happening. There's a number of mysteries at play that will hopefully fall into place in the third novel. And there's a Revolution brewing that I desperately want to end happily.

The prejudice, the hate, and the acts of violence that come from that are just depressing. I don't trust most of the characters, and I start crying when certain bits come across. Which is the point. I must say, Jemisin manages to really do a fantastic job of portraying the anger of a class of people who've been enslaved, mistreated, and attacked simply because they're different. But if you're not looking for that, then this may not be the book for you.

After finishing this book, I immediately started the final in the trilogy. I'm so very curious to see where this is all headed.

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

Title: The Fifth Season

Author: N. K. Jemisin

Pages: 449

Finished: March 7, 2021

First Sentence: Let's start with the end of the world, why don't we?

Summary: This is the story of Damaya, a young orogene sent to the Fulcrum for her ability to control rock. This is the story of Syenite, a 4-ringed orogene sent to be a mate to the mighty ten-ringed orogene Alabaster. This is the story of Essun, orogene in hiding who must hunt for her husband, the man who killed her son all while the world ends.

Thoughts: The book opens with the body of a toddler who was beaten to death by his father. I have to admit, I considered dropping the book then and there. It's not a happy image, nor is it one I particularly want in books I read for fun. I pressed on, however. The prologue includes someone ripping the world apart by controlling the bedrock of the continent, a boy made of rock being born out of a geode, and a woman who must enact revenge on her husband. Happy stuff.

This isn't the happiest of books, but I found myself engrossed in the story. Right off the bat, this is a book with its own world, its own vocabulary, and its own social system. It's not explicitly spelled out either. There's a glossary in the back, and with careful reading, you can pick it up fairly quickly, but if you don't like that, this may not be for you. 

If, however, you're of fan of worldbuilding, then this could be right up your alley. It's billed as an epic fantasy, but I feel it runs into more dystopia than anything. The world they live in is clearly a far-future version of our world

The characters are frustrating. All of them were a bit tough for me to like. I don't know that you have to like a character to make a book rewarding, but I found them to be on the acerbic and standoffish side. Of course, it did make sense considering they were members of what is essentially an enslaved people. And those that enslaved them are such masters of gaslighting it makes your skin crawl.

The writing style was interesting. Two of the characters' POVs were in the third person while the third was in the second person. I've never read a book in second person POV. It took a few chapters to figure it out. 

N. K. Jemisin is a black author. Her dedication reads  "For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question." She's also described herself as an author who likes "to write about ordinary people -- all kids of ordinary people -- in extraordinary situations, preferably in non-Earth worlds which nevertheless reflect our own. I'm trying to write decolonized fiction, for our postcolonial world. And at the end of the day I just want to tell a good story" (from her author blurb on Amazon). It's very clear that that's what she's doing with people in power controlling others. And it's interesting to see what happens when the controlled end up in communities where they can control themselves.

Also interesting to note, the characters are default darker-skinned. This is one of those things that shouldn't be surprising, but if you read enough fantasy, it seems in general that characters tend to be default white, so that was cool to see once I figured it out. I was also pleased to see LGBTQIA+ representation as well. 

The book ends on a cliff-hanger so if you find yourself enjoying it, make sure you have the second one either checked-out or on hold already so you can keep moving along. I have a feeling the books are going to move along as one big story.

I'd recommend this for anyone who enjoys epic fantasy or dystopia and maybe even sci-fi fans.

A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle

Title: A Study in Scarlet

Author: Arthur Conan Doyle

Pages: 142

Finished: March 1, 2021

First Sentence: In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army.

Summary: Dr. Watson, just home from Afghan wars, finds himself in need of a roommate. He takes up lodgings with the enigmatical Sherlock Holmes who, it turns out, is a consulting detective. Watson writes up the strange case of a dead man found in an abandoned house and how Holmes solved it.

Thoughts: Reading the source material for Sherlock Holmes is always interesting because I came to the source material after I was already aware of the character. My first remembered experience with Sherlock Holmes is from the Disney movie The Great Mouse Detective. Following that, I saw some various BBC versions - some actual Sherlock Holmes adaptations. At one point we listened to some Sherlock Holmes audiobooks on a family vacation. I remember the Speckled Band. Then there's all the various movies, Sherlock and Elementary, Data pretending to be Sherlock Holmes on Star Trek. 

All that to say, I've seen so many Sherlock Holmes characterizations that coming back to the source was interesting. The book itself is broken into two parts. The first part is the set up of meeting Sherlock, the mystery, and the investigation leading to an arrest. The second part begins in America with two people on death's door being saved by Mormons. It was such a jarring switch that I actually thought the ebook I was reading had a different story in it. Nope, all good. It's just the context for why the murderer became a murderer. After we get all that context, we get the wrap up of how Holmes solved the case and the aftermath. 

Weirdly enough, because I'm more familiar with pop culture Holmes, I found myself comparing the original to what I know. He's a cocky jackass for sure. I'm not sure if I'll continue reading more Holmes. 

This does count as one book off my Classics Club list and I'll be using it for a category in Back to the Classics, though I'm not yet sure which one.