The Obelisk Gate

Wow. NK Jemisin is a force. Every bit as good as the Fifth Season, Jemisin has basically turned the genre on its head to produce something truly original, but with all of the nostalgic resonance deserving of an epic fantasy trilogy.

Keeping a brisk pace in this second book, with tons of plot reveals and twists Nassun taken in by Schaffa! and character development (including a deepening of the relationship between Alabaster and Essun, which may be my favorite relationship in a modern book.) The characters are rich, nuanced, broken (so broken) and really relatable. There's an intimacy to the story, which mostly takes place within the confines of Castrima in this middle book, despite having world-altering consequences.

I think one of the places where Obelisk Gate really shines is exploring the metaphysics of orogeny and depicting how it's much broader than Essun (and we!) have been given to believe from the Fulcrum. I was also really drawn in by Schaffa's story and the deepening of our understanding of Guardians in general.