The Obelisk Gate

The Broken Earth, Book 2

By: N. K. Jemisin

Narrated by: Robin Miles

Essun's missing daughter grows more powerful every day, and her choices may destroy the world in this "magnificent" Hugo Award winner and NYT Notable Book. (NPR)

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.

N. K. Jemisin's award winning trilogy continues in the sequel to The Fifth Season.

Critic reviews

"Jemisin is now a pillar of speculative fiction, breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold."—Entertainment Weekly

"Beyond the meticulous pacing, the thorough character work, and the staggering ambition and revelations of the narration, Jemisin is telling a story of our present, our failures, our actions in the face of repeated trauma, our responses to the heat and pressure of our times. Her accomplishment in this series is tremendous. It pole-vaults over the expectations I had for what epic fantasy should be and stands in magnificent testimony to what it could be."—NPR on The Obelisk Gate

"Jemisin builds off of the strong foundation laid in The Fifth Season ... an interesting new series."
—Booklist on The Obelisk Gate

"Exceptional."—Library Journal (starred review) on The Obelisk Gate

"Stunning, again."—Kirkus (starred review) on The Obelisk Gate

"[How] can something as large and complex as this story exist in her head, and how does she manage to tell it to me so beautifully? I can't stand how much I love The Broken Earth trilogy so far.... Absolutely dazzling."—B&N Reviews on The Obelisk Gate

"Stunning.... Jemisin's most accomplished series yet."—RT Book Reviews on The Obelisk Gate

"Jemisin is a tremendously talented writer on every level and she's at the top of her game here. I love books that beat me up and take my lunch money, and this one left me bruised, breathless, and desperate for the final volume."—Rose Fox, senior reviews editor Publishers Weekly, (PW Staff Picks: The Best Books We Read in 2016) on The Obelisk Gate

"Brilliant characters, vivid world, and pacing . . . .The Obelisk Gate is an incredibly ambitious and important novel."—The Verge on The Obelisk Gate

"Intricate and extraordinary."—New York Times on The Fifth Season

"[The Fifth Season is] an ambitious book, with a shifting point of view, and a protagonist whose full complexity doesn't become apparent till toward the end ... Jemisin's work itself is part of a slow but definite change in sci-fi and fantasy."—Guardian on The Fifth Season

"Astounding... Jemisin maintains a gripping voice and an emotional core that not only carries the story through its complicated setting, but sets things up for even more staggering revelations to come."—NPR Books on The Fifth Season

"Jemisin's graceful prose and gritty setting provide the perfect backdrop for this fascinating tale of determined characters fighting to save a doomed world."—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) on The Fifth Season

"A must-buy...breaks uncharted ground."—Library Journal (starred review) on The Fifth Season

Finally, a fantasy book for geologists!!

Gets you from the start, surprises you along the way, and is for geologists. Alabaster.

Fantastic book!

A fantastic book and fantastic reading by the narrator. Such a deep and emotional journey!

I was hooked right from the beginning

The story is so wonderfully written. The perspectives are unique and insightful. Well done. I loved it.

it's a great series and a good book and I hate it.

I hate the feelings I feel when I read this. I'm a father and it makes me sick to my stomach over and over.
despite that (because of it?) I recognize the artistry in the book and the performance.
I'm going to finish this series. I want to know where it goes. I'm not looking forward to it

Well developed and unique world

Excellent narration with distinct voices. Writing style offers a unique, sophisticated presentation by shifting pronoun perspective between people, varying between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, which often helps with tracking the story lines. Although a very different world from ours, the characters are relatable and interesting, with plausible development. The best part for this reader is that it diverged from some of the standards tropes, while the focus of the story is on the lives of the characters.

The shape of the natural world drives the plot and the lives of the people. In this dystopian world, there are long cycles of apocalypse, and this shapes everything about the world and its people. And yet it is not without hope, revealing the human instinct to survive, prevail, and work toward a better life despite hardships and seemingly impossible hurdles.

The first book sets the scene, engages with characters, shows how the culture has developed with, and in spite of, periodic cataclysms. This book reveals more as the hardships continue, complete with clever twists. Some may also enjoy that it is is less predictable than most books of this genre. It also starts to mix some science into the mix with the fantasy and magic. It seems impossible to reveal the best parts of the story without spoilers.

Highly recommended for SciFi and fantasy lovers who are comfortable with exploring some of the darker sides of humanity. While generally clean and free of gory details of violence, the issues and challenges faced in the story are ones better appreciated by the more mature reader.