The Obelisk Gate

Pros: everything good about the first book returns. It still handles apocalyptic topics in serious ways like The Stand and perhaps even The Road; it still handles grief in a way that's not only “good for fantasy,” but simply “great for fiction.” Jemisin remains the most thoughtful, insightful writer on emotional trauma I've read since The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I also appreciated the daughter's viewpoint, giving another shade of gray to the moral spectrum of the world.

Cons: the pacing felt slightly off to me; took me a while to get through the first third, then I read the second half at a sprint