Category Archives: Reason: Mind Voyages

The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin

The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin

The Obelisk Gate is the second book in the Broken Earth series and, like the first book, I spent the majority of this one completely confused about what was going on. It would seem that that would make the book not very enjoyable, but it’s actually pretty great. Hoa is continuing to tell the story to “you” (the book is written to Essun, the main character, which is a very interesting and effective writing style choice). In this book you get to know Essun’s daughter Nassun better and it turns out she’s pretty awesome (and powerful) and it is quite interesting watching her come into and start to understand what she can do. I hope I am less confused by the third book, but even if I’m not I am sure it will be a good book, too. I recommend The Obelisk Gate to people who enjoyed the first book in the series.

4 (out of 5) Stars
Books Read in 2022: 8
Pages Read in 2022: 2784

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Filed under Dystopian, Reason: LitHub Bingo, Reason: Mind Voyages, Reason: We Be Book'N, Science Fiction

The Fifth Season by NK Jemisin

The world laid out in The Fifth Season, the first of The Broken Earth series, is complicated. For this reason, I was confused more often that not for more than the first half of the book. That wasn’t really a problem, though, because the result of putting it all together and figuring out all the rules was incredibly rich and interesting. So many things happened that I just wasn’t expecting. Through most of the book, three stories are being told in alternating chapters, more or less. One of those stories is told in second person. I have never read a book in second person before and I found it to be very effective, especially once you figure out just who “you” are and why the choice to use that point of view was made. I did have one big problem with the book and that is the use of occasional normal English cuss words. They wouldn’t have been a problem if the world itself didn’t have their own expletives. The addition of English ones kind of jarred me out of the story every time like they didn’t belong in the world the author had created. Overall, I found The Fifth Season to have excellent storytelling and world-building. I highly recommend it to people who enjoy sci-fi and fantasy.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2019: 67
Pages Read in 2019: 18,172
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)

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Filed under Fantasy, Reason: Mind Voyages, Science Fiction

Ringworld by Larry Niven

Louis Wu, Teela Brown, Speaker-to-Animals, and Nessus embark on a trip to Ringworld, a place three million times the area of Earth. What they find there is not what they expected at all.

Ringworld is strange and sometimes enjoyable. The worlds and aliens can be quite confusing at first to keep straight. Louis and Teela’s relationship is downright bizarre and a little creepy since he’s 10 times older than she is and had a relationship with her great-great-grandmother. For people who like sci-fi, it’s probably a great pick.

3 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 58
Pages Read in 2018: 14,067
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)

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Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card

Called to a distant planet to speak for the dead, the simultaneously young and ancient Ender uncovers way more than he ever expected. What he finds just may redeem him and what he did to the Buggers.

Speaker for the Dead starts out very slow, but picks up just before the halfway point. The characters are very well developed, including the piggies. The use of so much Portuguese was pretty unnecessary and sometimes distracting. The last about 1/3 was excellent. I recommend reading this book to anyone who loved Ender’s Game.

4 (out of 5) Stars

Books Read in 2018: 47
Pages Read in 2018: 11,434
Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks (more book reviews!)

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Filed under Reason: Mind Voyages, Science Fiction