The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin

Book Title: The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth Trilogy #2)
Author: N. K. Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library

Amazon UK, Goodreads

As usual there will be NO spoilers for previous books in the series, so the summary is the one for the first book.

My review of the first book can be found here.

Goodreads Summary: A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, from which enough ash spews to darken the sky for years. Or centuries. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester. And it ends with you. You are the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where orogenes wield the power of the earth as a weapon and are feared far more than the long cold night. And you will have no mercy. 

What did I think? The Fifth Season was unlike anything  I'd read in a long time. A perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy in a fascinating world. But when I picked up The Obelisk Gate, I had just read something like it, not too long ago: The Fifth Season.

Don't get me wrong, the second book in the trilogy is just as good as the first, but I knew what to expect and was no longer blown away by the novelty of it.

It's very hard to write about this series without giving too much away, because I believe this world should be experienced without any prior knowledge. There are strong female characters, clever world building, an interesting and novel magic system and wonderful prose. Part of it is written in the 2nd POV, bringing you even closer to the main character. It takes a little getting used to at first, but Jemisin knows how to make it work.

A beautiful read that I recommend to every fantasy fan with a bit of patience, because Jemisin does ask for some patience with her slow and subtle reveals.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Book Title: The Color Purple
Author: Alice Walker
Genre: Literary, LGBT, 1001 Books
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥  ♥
Source: Paperback from library

Amazon UK, Goodreads

Goodreads Summary:Set in the deep American South between the wars, it is the tale of Celie, a young black girl born into poverty and segregation. Raped repeatedly by the man she calls 'father', she has two children taken away from her, is separated from her beloved sister Nettie and is trapped into an ugly marriage. But then she meets the glamorous Shug Avery, singer and magic-maker - a woman who has taken charge of her own destiny. Gradually, Celie discovers the power and joy of her own spirit, freeing her from her past and reuniting her with those she loves.

What did I think?

The very first thing I noticed was the language. It is told from the POV of a young, semi-literate woman through a series of letters to God, and her sister. The letters are written in dialect, littered with unusual spellings, and were hard to follow at first for me as a non-native speaker. After a while, however it starts to flow.

Its a devastating book and at the same time it's a very important book. I didn't know much about it when I started reading it. I knew it has LGBT elements, POC characters and abuse, but knowing that did not prepare me for how devastating it would be to read this book.

The characters are incredibly well fleshed out and the relationships surprisingly touching.

It's a memorable book filled with despair, tragedy and injustice but also hope. It's a quick read and I'd recommend it to everyone because of how powerful it is and how much it has to say about this world.

The reason I picked this one up was Uma's fantastically diverse read-a-thon over at Books.Bags.Burgers.

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

Book Title: Kindred
Author: Octavia E. Butler
Genre: Sci-Fi
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Paperback from the library

Amazon UK, Goodreads

Goodreads Summary: On her 26th birthday, Dana and her husband are moving into their apartment when she starts to feel dizzy. She falls to her knees, nauseous. Then the world falls away.

She finds herself at the edge of a green wood by a vast river. A child is screaming. Wading into the water, she pulls him to safety, only to find herself face to face with a very old looking rifle, in the hands of the boy's father. She's terrified. The next thing she knows she's back in her apartment, soaking wet. It's the most terrifying experience of her life ... until it happens again.

The longer Dana spends in 19th century Maryland - a very dangerous place for a black woman - the more aware she is that her life might be over before it's even begun.

What did I think?

Let me start by saying something negative: as a sci-fi novel I didn't really enjoy this one. It has a predictable and simple plot and is just not very interesting. The time travel just happens, isn't explained and doesn't seem to follow any rules.

But.

It is interesting and frightening, downright frightening, to read about a modern (well, 1976) black woman who suddenly finds herself in the 19th century.

Butler uses this novel to talk about a not so great period in American history and by using time travel she can do so from the point of view of a woman who grew up in a world where slavery is abolished and it is painful to read how shocked and outraged she is at how she's being treated.

After a while she realises where she is and most importantly when she is and it dawns on her why she's being treated this way and that she's in a hell of a lot of trouble...

And even though she knows why she's being treated this way, she is, obviously, still horrified and the reader is horrified alongside her.

As the reader you get to ask yourself a very important question: how would I have behaved if I'd been alive in the 19th century.

"I never realised how easily people could be trained to accept slavery."

An important book, well worth a read.

The reason I picked this one up was Uma's fantastically diverse read-a-thon over at Books.Bags.Burgers.

The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin

Book Title: The Fifth Season
Author: N. K. Jemisin
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library 

Goodreads, Amazon UK

Goodreads Summary: This is the way the world ends... for the last time.
A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun.
It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.
It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

What did I think? 4.5 Stars, most likely. Though not far from a full 5 Stars. The Fifth Season is unlike anything I've read in a long time. A perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy with a fascinating world.

The prose is very pretty, the world building interesting and the characters enticing. It's been a while since I've read a book where I liked everything. All POV characters (three female protagonists), the setting, the story and the prose.

It took me a few pages to get into Jemisin's style, especially the chapters told in the second point of view. I didn't think it would work. In fact when I saw that Jemisin had written part of it in present tense and used the second point of view, I almost didn't pick it up. But it works.

The world building and magic system are both well developed and interesting. In this world some people are Orogenes and they can control seismic activity and hence move mountains, create earthquakes or even still earthquakes. Because humans fear the unknown the Orogenes are feared and often killed or trained and treated as slaves.

I think The Fifth Season is best enjoyed going in blind. If you're confused at first, don't worry, it'll all come together and if in doubt use the glossary at the end of the book.

I read this as part of the fantastically diverse read-athon that Uma put together over @ Books.Bags.Burgers and I know I'm late by now, but I don't care. I have a few more I want to read even if it takes me all of 2017.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Book Title: Six of Crows (Six of Crows #1)
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Fantasy, YA
My Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥
Source: Library
Goodreads, Amazon UK 

Goodreads Summary: Criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker has been offered wealth beyond his wildest dreams. But to claim it, he'll have to pull off a seemingly impossible heist:
Break into the notorious Ice Court
(a military stronghold that has never been breached)
Retrieve a hostage
(who could unleash magical havoc on the world)
Survive long enough to collect his reward
(and spend it)
Kaz needs a crew desperate enough to take on this suicide mission and dangerous enough to get the job done - and he knows exactly who: six of the deadliest outcasts the city has to offer. Together, they just might be unstoppable - if they don't kill each other first.

I read this as part of the fantastically diverse challenge by Uma @ Books.Bags.Burgers

What did I think?

I'm not really sure how to explain my thoughts on this book.

Especially because everyone is in love with it and I'm just over here giving it three stars.

Bardugo portrays diversity in a fantasy setting, which is such an important thing. A diverse cast from different ethnic backgrounds and they're well rounded, natural and come with a lot of depth.

In fact, it's a great book. It has a terrific story and the writing is tight. The prose and pacing are both excellent and I thought the characters are well written, likeable and have a lot of depth. The world building is impressive, fresh and highly creative. There's great banter and the dialogue flows naturally.

All good things. But.

It's just not really my sort of story, I guess? I couldn't really bring myself to care about the success or failure of the heist. I enjoyed the ride. I enjoyed the story. But I wasn't invested...

Does that make sense?

So, I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who likes fast paced YA, who likes a good heist story and who is looking at reading some more fantasy.

Fantastically Diverse Read-A-Thon

This challenge is being hosted by Uma who blogs over at Books. Bags. Burgers and you can sign up for it here. 

The diversity discussion is always ongoing. To sum it up: we've got a lack of diversity. I'm personally not bothered if an author has an all white, all straight cast. I'm more bothered by the fact that the publishing industry is still not publishing enough POC, LGBT and other folks. I hope that at some point in the future, we no longer have to discuss this topic, because literature will be diverse by default. 

This is Uma's first Read-A-Thon and I really hope I'll find the time to participate. I'm being optimistic at the moment and signing up. It'll run from 5th January 2017 to 1st March 2017.

I'll be attempting to read one book in each category.

• POC Protagonist: The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
• Diverse Myths and Retellings: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
• LGBTQ Protagonist: The Color Purple by Alice Walker
• POC Cast: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
• Diverse MG Fantasy: Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor
• Disabled Characters: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• Diverse Fantasy from your TBR: Servant of the Underworld by Aliette de Bodard

I feel like maybe I'm pushing it by putting a Neil Gaiman book onto the list, but I've been meaning to read this one forever and it includes diverse mythology, so I'm giving it a try.