Book Review: The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

You are your inflated ego. You think you know what the deal is. You read the first book and thought, 'well, wasn't that fun? A unique and intriguing tale about a mysterious world so familiar and yet not quite right.' Why not try another?

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Turns out you didn't know shit and neither did Essun or is it Syenite? What's your third name again? It doesn't matter. What matters is figuring out how to survive the current season of ash and death and finding your daughter Nassun. You know this season might last longer than any other and you were partly the reason for it and for the death of your newborn son Uchi and countless others. It's all your fault and so are a great many more things to come.

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The Obelisk Gate is the second in a trilogy by N.K. Jemisin called the Broken Earth Series. It is about a world missing its moon and in its place has gotten only turmoil and destruction. In this world, there are humans with the power to manipulate the energies of the earth and tap into its gravity and force. These Roggas or Orogenes, as they are known, have enemies too. Many many enemies. They are feared by most and hunted by others. Even the earth wants them dead, but the Earth wants everyone dead and it just might get what it wants.

We take up the story of Essun in her new life in Castrima, an underground sanctuary for both non-orogenes and orogenes. While she attempts to get along with her skeptical neighbors she is also longing to find her kidnapped daughter Nassun but while she waits she is learning from her dying old lover Alabaster who is teaching her about the reality of her gift and the immense potential power that she has yet to tap into. Unfortunately, there are those that want to take from strong communities like Castrima and when their enemy is at the gates will Essun join her neighbors or leave them to the hardened demons? Also, Castrima is low on protein and seriously contemplating cannibalism so there's that.

We also follow the adventures of Nassun, Essun's young and powerful daughter who was taken by her father after he killed her baby brother. We are there when she feels the truth of her father's undying hatred for her kind. As her love for her father fades her love for a new father, one from her mother's past, grows. He is a guardian, the only cast of people who can defeat the orogenes, but he seems different this time around and he is dedicated to protecting Nassun. While her powers are still unstable she is capable of things no other orogene has been able to do and soon her powers may rival Alabaster's and even worse, her mother's.

N.K. Jemisin has one of the most unique and compelling writing styles of anyone I have ever experienced and I am a huge fan of these books. Her writing is so effortlessly informal and yet so poetically poignant that I am transported to a vivid and emotional world with no effort on my part. The story is simply there waiting for a recipient to bathe in its smooth glow. It is playful and conversational but intentional and precise. It is exciting and intriguing and revelatory and fun while being mature and thoughtful. N.K. Jemisin accomplishes something rare in her writing and I am glad to take part.

Will Essun and Nassun be reunited? Will Catrima fall to the wolves? Will Alabaster finish his lessons before it's too late? WTF is an Obelisk Gate? Will you ever get enough of this great writing? Probably not but I guess you will have to get the third book and find out.

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