Zo

It is apparently a twist to some people that

Damaya, Syenite, and Essun are the same people

This is bizarre to me. There is no way it could be otherwise. And I saw it when they were introduced.

Anyway,
Look, this book is 5 stars. The prose is tight and neat. The only things I would point out are
1. How confused she was. Her understanding seemed to always come later, and at some point I started to wonder why we couldn't join her at the end of her understanding, why we had to had to spend so long in that in-between. Then she understood. Then she saw. It got repetitive.

That's literally one thing. Huh.

Ok now more spoiler-y things:
That island interlude Jesus Christ. Innon, my God, and their little family. It broke my heart and I'm so glad Alabaster fucking ripped the world apart for it, just like he said he would. Syenite, poor Syenite. How did she even rebuild herself after that? And for it to happen again with Uche.Also that beginning, You are here, is insane. Fucking insane.The narrator for this book is a fucking goat. The whole thing is read so gloriously, all the right pauses in all the right places. I just had to mention. Some narrators get in the way, some are just a vehicle for the story, and some accentuate the story. This one took it to a whole new level.The foreshadowing in this book is great. When Damaya leaves and Jemisin writes she'll wish she had looked back is just one great example.The Guardians are fucking terrifying. I don't think I've read a book recently with terrifying villains. Most times they inspire rage or maybe just annoyance. But these ones, absolutely terrifying. Part of it has to do with how absolute they are, how even the strongest orogenes can be neutered by them. The oppression in this book is systemic and they are the architects of it.When Syenite sees burgundy at Allia, my heart was in my fucking stomach.

This book has temporarily ruined me. I'm trying to read Witness for the Dead and finding its prose too stuffy.