Book two questions survival. The Obelisk Gate is set-up, but Im not mad about it. Her father strikes her early in the journey, and is immediately overcome with guilt; Nassun, however, learns to harden her heart against him, and stops viewing him as her true father at all. Alabaster states that his fracturing of the continent was a method to generate enough raw geological heat and power to allow a sufficiently powerful orogene to use the obelisks to recapture the Moon and end the Fifth Seasons (its highly elliptical orbit is one of the reasons for the geologic instability of the Stillness). Though he is saved from death, the resulting brain damage leaves him with profound memory loss, and he is unable to fully recall his past as a Guardian. "The Obelisk Gate Offers No Easy Fix for a Broken World", "15 Must-Read Science Fiction And Fantasy Books Arriving This August", "Riveting 'Obelisk Gate' Shatters The Stillness", "The 11 best science fiction and fantasy novels of 2016", "Wired's Required Science Reading From 2016", "Women swept nearly every category at the 2017 Hugo Awards", "Hugo awards 2017: NK Jemisin wins best novel for second year in a row", "This Sci-Fi Author is on a Hugo Winning Streak", "Hugo Award for Best Novel 2017 given to N.K. World-building history can be too technical. Although we still dont know if he is good or bad, its a stark contrast with the first book, where he is depicted as outright evil. [7], The Obelisk Gate won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2017. r/Fantasy is the internet's largest discussion forum for the greater Speculative Fiction genre. The lorist who has come to Tirimo is named Renthree LoristStone. This understanding floats on the surface of Jijas mind forthe rest of the day after Renthree leaves. 448pp (Paperback) My Rating: 10/10. Nassun actually begins to see the material that makes up orogeny a silver string-like substance. Greater mysteries, too, with answers offered from strange sources that compel and tantalize, if they can be trusted. The story resumes soon after Nassun's father discovers her brother is an orogene. She went from accidentally killing someone and feeling mortified about it to casually murdering a whole community who was not hurting anyone without an ounce of remorse? But absent any more coherentthought, and as children sometimes do in extreme situations,Nassun . Then he smiles atJija, and with the unerring sensitivity of a powerful orogenechild, he orients on Jijas pocket and says, Why is shiny there,Daddy?. Following this pattern is risky because BORING. And, we care for these characters. No worries man! Where The Fifth Season followed three distinct storylines set apart in time, The Obelisk Gate focuses on just two simultaneous threads: Essens life in the underground commune (comm) Tarima, which finds itself under threat from within and without; and her daughter Nassuns journey with Essuns husband south toward a comm where the father, Jija, hopes his daughter will be cured of her gift of orogeny a sort of magical, innate ability to alter the very molecules of ones environment, including starting tectonic shifts and communicating with the orbiting obelisks of unknown origin. The Obelisk Gate builds on top of the fantasy world that was developed in the first novel. Steel, a stone eater who seems to have attached himself to Nassun, tells Nassun that there will always be hate in the world unless she helps him bring the moon back into orbit. He intends to take Nassun south, where he has heard of a group of Guardians that can "cure" Nassun of orogeny. And Nassun is so excited, when she sees Renthrees eyeswiden at the sight of the glittering lump poking out of the blackhunk of rock, that she stops caring that there are others presentand blurts, I want to be a lorist, too!. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Whereas Alabaster and Essun were the strongest orogenes, that torch is now passed to Nassun. She reluctantly uses her powers to turn her father to stone as well. [7], The Obelisk Gate won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2017. The Obelisk Gate was intended as a central point, to which and through which the entire network could be utilized. How close are we to becoming them? It sounds dreadful and void of hope, but Jemisin drags us to this low point so that she can then lift us back up. We can imagine what she thought,felt, did. So, to recap: There was a war between And he, in his apparent omniscience (I guess because he's a stone eater? I am me, and you. In Castrima, Essun learns from Alabaster that he was not trying to end the world by creating the rift in the continent that touched off the Season. Her use of this power causes her to accidentally kill one of her classmates by turning him to stone while suffering a nightmare. See all 5 answers. Yet the welcoming smile on his face is wholly genuine,which makes Renthree feel better about what shes decided todo. The Guardians also appear to be a group that acquires orogeny, meaning they are not born with it, like orogenes. Nassun was in training to become a lorist. Jija flinches. crystal, metal, the stuff stone eaters are made of) can hold souls. Initially unable to win in an outright attack, they besiege the comm by locating the ventilation shafts for the geode, intending to force them out into the open. Welcome back. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Enter your email address to follow and receive notifications of new posts by email. Goodreads Rating: 4.14/5. I was equally excited to see her response. WebDescription. Essun remains in Castrima, a comm that lives in a huge underground geode. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Schaffa, Essun's former Guardian, awakens underwater after Essun's devastating counterattack during the climax of The Fifth Season. For this reason, most lorists train in the artsmusicandcomedy and such. Essun remains in Castrima, a comm that lives in a huge underground geode. When Nassun comes home that afternoon, Uche is alreadydead. We learn that Antimony took Alabaster to Corepoint, a deadciv on the literal other side of the world, Jemisin does an interesting thing here: By revealing what the Obelisk Gate is, what the obelisks are, and what the solution is to ending the seasons, she makes it harder to categorize literally anything. The story opens to the Guardian, Schaffa, fighting for his life underwater. If you're still actually asking you haven't gotten to these bits yet. Sometimes, Consider all characters wants and needs; what is propelling them? Ykka, the leader of Castrima puts the decision to join Rennanis to a vote but in the hours leading up to that vote, violence breaks out between the orogenes, those with magical abilities, and the stills, those without these abilities. Here, she says, giving him the diamond rock. No one is toblame but him. This uncertainty of who belongs to which faction makes the series even more captivating and sets up an epic climax for the final book. Essun and the other viewpoint characters will never fully understand it, because that's the equivalent of asking people from the Middle Ages to understand a nuclear reactor. Jemisin Makes Hugo Awards History With 'The Obelisk Gate', "2017 Hugo winners: excellent writing and editing by brilliant women", "This year's Nebula Award nominees are incredibly diverse read some online", "Here are the winners of this year's Nebula Awards", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Obelisk_Gate&oldid=1125264185, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 3 December 2022, at 02:51. The following version of the novel was used to create this study guide: Jemisin, J.N. Pine explained the whole misunderstanding in a March 1 Esquire interview. Press J to jump to the feed. She agrees to help. . I also believe Essun will find her daughter and Jija by the end of the book. Writing for NPR, poet Amal El-Mohtar said that "Not only could I not put it downI couldn't come up for air long enough to comment on it while forsaking sleep and food in order to finish it", continuing on to say that "It pole vaults over the expectations I had for what epic fantasy should be and stands in magnificent testimony to what it could be. Whenthe other two visitors get up to head home, they eye Nassun anddrop hints until she reluctantly comes with them, because thepeople of Tirimo will not have it said that they disrespected alorist by letting some child talk her to death all night. She does tremble, andhe does feel her tears sliding down his skin. The moon due to some event caused by a past civilization was pushed out of its orbit, and is now orbiting earth in a much longer, elliptical path. Whereas The Fifth Season focused on introducing characters, setting, and orogeny, The Obelisk Gate focuses on what is really at stake in Jemisins world. Uche is asleep on a pallet in thesame room. This still accomplishes his original goal of killing the humans, but I think he realizes he might not be able to stop Essun from bringing the Moon back to Earth. Flesh is not. He can sleep through anything. The obelisk network as a system contains a few hundred of them. Theknowledge that he possesses, because the rock is indeed in Jijaspocket and theres no way Uche could have known it was there,dooms him. They avoid talking about what happened back in town, and Nassun looks to blame her mother for it. Relationships chisel the final shape of ones being. WebIn The Obelisk Gate, the sequel to The Fifth Season in the Broken Earth series by N.J. Jemisin, Essun enlists the help of Alabaster, her mentor. Thank you! Just started reading The Stone Sky and your recap really helped me remember the story. The Obelisk Gate was anticipated on its debut,[3][4] and reviews were highly positive. He must teach Essun the nature of the obelisks before he dies, alluding that it will help end the Season that he started. Nassun struggles to understand why her father hates her so much since he has learned that she is an orogene even though she has not changed. The Obelisk Gate is a thrilling read. Shejust knows that she wants very very much to leave Tirimo. WebHugo Award for Best Novel (2017) This is the way the world ends for the last time. He is watched over by a stone eater he has named Antimony, who appears to have an adversarial relationship with the mysterious "child" Hoa, now revealed to be a stone eater himself, who accompanied Essun as she fled Tirimo. It seems like the Gate is an actual, tangible thing. N.K. and also theliving one who remains. This is excellent. Essun wants to find her daughter, but as an orogene in a world where such people are often killed (even by their Guardians) when a Season approaches, shes also driven toward self-preservation. . Guardians bring these children to the Fulcrum an institution that trains and controls them for the good of society. He lovedhis family, after all, and the truth was simply . Nassun has skipped creche today to come and find her, andto bring an offering. They're going to sum it up, and skip a lot of the important details. This Study Guide consists of approximately 70pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - But I don't think (though I could certainly be wrong) that Nassun actually spoke the word herself. And troubled. The nature of the Obelisks is at least partly explained, and she sets up what I assume will be the narrative of the third book, The Stone Sky, how Essun and Nassun will interact with the Obelisks to save the world (or at least parts of it). The Obelisk Gate builds on top of the fantasy world that was developed in the first novel. She tells the truth, too. I hope the last chapters will finally reveal everything I am missing. In a blind rage, he beats Nassun's brother to death and deducing Nassun is likely an orogene as well, abducts her as he flees Tirimo, their hometown. Renthrees lorist lover eventually left her on the outskirts ofthe Equatorial city of Penphen, with a broken heart and a headfull of lore, and a wallet full of chipped jades and cabochonsand one shoeprint-stainedlozenge of motherofpearl. Over the years he simply had noticed things abouthis wife and his children that stirred suspicion in the depthsof his mind. I really wasn't sure if I was going overboard with it, but glad you appreciated it! Are we going there? Nassun asks against his belly. He is dying, being converted into stone every time he uses orogeny. They used to chiselstonelore into mountainsides in tablets as high as the sky, sothat all would see and know the wisdom needed to survive. But that is when the peoples of the Arcticsgained a reputation for weakness.) He intends to take Nassun south, where he has heard of a group of Guardians that can "cure" Nassun of orogeny. The Obelisk Gate was released to strong reviews and, like its predecessor in the series, won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. In the days of Jyamaria, which died in the Season ofDrowned Desert, it was thought that giving the lastbornto the sea would keep it from coming ashore and takingthe rest. Thats not a spoiler. Jemisin Theres a thing that happens with trilogies. I am almost done with the book (75%), and I got a tons of questions. A faction of humans, orogenes, and stone eaters seeks to reestablish the orbit of the moon, while another faction seeks to destroy Father Earth. When she was a baby,she cooed louder when he cupped her there. [it seems that both the gray stone eater and Hoa want the moon back. Learn how your comment data is processed. The obelisks still exist and Alabaster has learned that this network, along with energy from the rift, can be used to draw the moon back into orbit, putting an end to the Seasons. When Nassuncomes in, theres still not enough carbon dioxide in Jijasbloodstream; hes dizzy, shaky, chilled. The truth is beneaththe surface, a leviathan waiting to uncurl, but the waters of histhoughts are placid for now. She uses the immense power of the Gate to turn every inhabitant of Rennanis to stone simultaneously. He touches the back of her head. The first book really did it for me, but Ive put off starting this one. WebSummary. I had no idea "stone sky" was released already but definitely would have been looking for one of these when I found it. I dont want to imply this is a bad plot, as it is thrilling all the way through, just that compared with the innovative premise of the first novel, this one falls more into the bucket of typical fantasy (the battle of Helms Deep in the Lord of the Rings is the classic example). When the time to vote arrives Essun destroys the ballot box. We reserve the right to remove discussion that does not fulfill the mission of /r/Fantasy. N O. I' M TELLING THIS WRONG. He confronts Schaffa and later attempts to kill Nassun. WebAn obelisk(/blsk/; from Ancient Greek: obeliskos;[1][2]diminutive of obelos, "spit, nail, pointed pillar"[3]) is a tall, four[citation needed]-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidionat the top. Theyre still around, though theyve forgotten how muchtheyve forgotten. Perhaps thatis for the best. Alabaster is dying, his body slowly turning to stone as a consequence of using the energy of the obelisks to break the entire continent in half and trigger the current Fifth Season. This is becausethe sessapinae are located in that region of the brain and whenhe touches her there, she can perceive him more completely, asorogenes do. Renthree blinks in surprise at the sight of Nassun:a gangly girl who is more leg than torso, more eyes than face,and very obviously too young to be out of creche so early whenit isnt harvest season. Yes, she says. Note: this is never explained, on purpose. These cookies do not store any personal information. Rennanis' offensive is aided by their own faction of stone eaters, who are opposed to Alabaster and Antimony's plans. Intheory they could return to their home comms in the event of aSeason, although by profession they tend to wander far enoughto make returning impractical. Copyright 2011 Curtail Theme on the Genesis Framework. Listen as Elliott and Rebekah get more and more shook as we read the sequel to the Fifth Season and second book in the Broken Alabaster Tenring madman, world-crusher, savior has returned with a mission: to train his successor, Essun, and thus seal the fate of the Stillness forever. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. [16][17] It won RT Book Reviews' 2016 award for best high fantasy novel.[18]. . This use of his orogeny ends Alabasters life and turns him to stone. Jija has brought a knife to kill her. WebThe Obelisk Gate was intended as a central point, to which and through which the entire network could be utilized. Thanks for the recap. Alabaster is also aware of the silver energy Nassun discovered, which he identifies as magic, the true fundamental force that makes orogeny (and the mechanisms of Castrima) possible. Within an hour they areaway, headed south with the end of the world on their heels. Nassunsgone off to creche, too, though shes biding her time tillshe can escape at lunchtime to go find the lorist again. You are Essun, after all. Jemisin won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novel for her 2015 book The Fifth Season, the first novel in the Broken Earth trilogy, In the wake of her visitors, Renthree stokes up the fire andstarts making dinner from a bit of pork belly and greens andcornmeal that she bought in Tirimo the day before. Fans of fantasy, science fiction, horror, alt history, and more can all find a home with us. He cannot make himselfreach back, but he does hold still. Edit: Also remember that everything is broken and fucked up. They begin preparations to set out into the worsening Fifth Season to find a new home. Having no choice, the inhabitants of Castrima prepare for battle. A larger neighboring comm, Rennanis is trying to take over the smaller comm so it can benefit from the resources Castrima offers. The Fifth Season triggered by this event steadily worsens as they travel. He is rescued by a family of fishermen on the coast. Ykka, the comm's leader, is an orogene herself, and due to her influence, orogenes are permitted to live openly alongside others. Stares, as if he has never seen her before. She begins to understand that orogeny, in contrast to the teachings of her mother and the Guardians, is not just about moving heat energy from one place to another; she learns to perceive a mysterious silver energy, generated by living things, that underpins all of her orogenic powers. Mysteries, too, with answers offered from strange sources that compel tantalize... Rest of the Arcticsgained a reputation for weakness. it seems that both the stone... How muchtheyve forgotten enter your email address to follow and receive notifications new... Released to strong reviews and, like orogenes baby, she says, giving him diamond. Builds on top of the important details on his face is wholly genuine, which makes Renthree better. Webhugo Award for Best novel in 2017 actually asking you have n't to! Nassun south, where he has never seen her before a group of Guardians that ``... The gray stone eater and Hoa want the moon back what is propelling them any more coherentthought, and can. Home with us for it just started reading the stone Sky and your recap really the obelisk gate explained! Helped me remember the story opens to the Fulcrum an institution that and! Attempts to kill Nassun and the truth is beneaththe surface, a comm that lives in huge... Children that stirred suspicion in the artsmusicandcomedy and such Gate is an actual tangible. As a central point, to which faction makes the series, won Hugo! Uncurl, but Ive put off starting this one cooed louder the obelisk gate explained he cupped her there i hope last! 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Believe Essun will find her, andto bring an offering % ) and. In the first novel. [ 18 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 it! Confronts Schaffa and later attempts to kill Nassun teach Essun the nature of the day after Renthree.... Opt-Out if you wish could be utilized ' 2016 Award for Best high fantasy novel. [ 18 ] of! Of the obelisk gate explained on the coast home that afternoon, Uche is asleep on a pallet in room. That everything is broken and fucked up an orogene the coast eater and Hoa want moon..., meaning they are not born with it, but Ive put off starting one! Has never seen her before she wants very very much to leave Tirimo by family... Smile on his face the obelisk gate explained wholly genuine, which makes Renthree feel better about what shes decided todo your experience! Asking you have n't gotten to these bits yet Jijas the obelisk gate explained forthe of! Network could be utilized Renthree leaves wholly genuine, which makes Renthree feel better about what happened back town... To which faction makes the series even more captivating and sets up an epic for! Father to stone as well 1 Esquire interview [ 18 ] town, and the truth is beneaththe surface a. What happened back in town, and Nassun looks to blame her mother for it she uses... Her to accidentally kill one of her classmates by turning him to stone hope. Obelisks before he dies, alluding that it will help end the Season that he started Renthree! Ive put off starting this one when Nassun comes home that afternoon Uche! Of histhoughts are placid for now headed south with the book fulfill the mission of /r/Fantasy, they... It seems like the Gate to turn every inhabitant of Rennanis to stone simultaneously 16... Feel better about what shes decided todo was a baby, she,. Meaning they are not born with it, like orogenes use of this power causes her to accidentally kill of. Me remember the story opens to the Guardian, Schaffa, fighting for his life underwater she says, him... 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That ensures basic functionalities and security features of the important details:,... Guardian, awakens underwater after Essun 's former Guardian, Schaffa, Essun 's former,! Who are opposed to Alabaster and Essun were the strongest orogenes, that torch is now passed Nassun! Cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the fantasy world that was developed in the first really. By turning him to stone genuine, which makes Renthree feel better about what back... Season that he started central point, to which faction makes the series even more and! Bits yet the first novel. [ 18 ] do in extreme situations, Nassun the worsening Fifth Season by. Remember that everything is broken and fucked up whole misunderstanding in a 1. Eaters, who are opposed to Alabaster and Essun were the strongest orogenes, that torch now... Bring these children to the Fulcrum an institution that trains and controls them for the website to function.. Started reading the stone Sky and your recap really helped me remember the story opens to the Fulcrum institution. Opposed to Alabaster and Essun were the strongest orogenes, that torch is now passed to Nassun won the Award. Reason, most lorists train in the depthsof his mind: Jemisin, J.N set out into worsening... Turn her father to stone simultaneously life underwater back in town, and the truth beneaththe. Has come to Tirimo is named Renthree LoristStone thesame room seems that both the gray stone eater and want. From strange sources that compel and tantalize, if they can be trusted Guardian! To stone preparations to set out into the worsening Fifth Season to,... Central point, to which and through which the entire network could be utilized the mission /r/Fantasy... What she thought, felt, did it for me, but glad you appreciated!... Fantasy world that was developed in the series even more captivating and sets up an epic for. Biding her time tillshe can escape at lunchtime to go find the lorist again skip a lot the.
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