Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin

Title: Emergency Skin (Forward #3)

Author: NK Jemisin

Publisher: Amazon Original Stories 2019

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 38

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: COYER

What will become of our self-destructed planet? The answer shatters all expectations in this subversive speculation from the Hugo Award–winning author of the Broken Earth trilogy.

An explorer returns to gather information from a climate-ravaged Earth that his ancestors, and others among the planet’s finest, fled centuries ago. The mission comes with a warning: a graveyard world awaits him. But so do those left behind—hopeless and unbeautiful wastes of humanity who should have died out ages ago. After all this time, there’s no telling how they’ve devolved. Steel yourself, soldier. Get in. Get out. And try not to stare.

My favorite story from this collection! Jemisin is a master at dropping the reader into new worlds but not overwhelming you with confusion. We learn about the world as we need to, adding layer and layer to the story being told. In this case, when the characters name the resource the traveler needs to retrieve, I gasped out loud. Jemisin manages to connect this fantastical story directly to our current world with a commentary on social justice and environmental responsibility. She packs a punch in this very short story.

Forward

#1 Ark by Veronica Roth
#2 Summer Frost by Blake Crouch
#3 Emergency Skin by NK Jemisin
#4 You Have Arrived at Your Destination by Amor Towles
#5 The Last Conversation by Paul Tremblay
#6 Randomize by Andy Weir

Next up on the TBR pile:

Far Sector by N.K. Jemisin

Title: Far Sector by

Author: N.K. Jemisin, Jamal Campbell

Publisher: DC Comics 2021

Genre: Comics

Pages: 213

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

The first murder in 500 years. Twenty billion suspects. One hope.

The City Enduring, a booming metropolis at the edge of the universe, hasn’t experienced a violent crime in generations. The Emotion Exploit has erased its citizens’ full range of feelings, allowing three resident races to overlook their turbulent history and coexist peacefully—until now.

Rookie Green Lantern Sojourner “Jo” Mullein is still adjusting to her assignment to protect this strange world when a brutal murder rattles its social order, threatening to undo centu r ies of controversia l pro gress . As the populace rises up against the legacy of the Emotion Exploit and leaders grapple for power under threat of a new war, Jo must rely on her unique instincts—as a Green Lantern and the only human in this sector—to solve the crime and guide the City Enduring toward a more promi sing future.

I don’t usually read “cape” comics, but I made an exception for one written by N.K. Jemisin. I mean, who an resist another story from Jemisin? For this one, Gerard Way resurrected some of the side stories from the DC Universe into a new series called Young Animals. In this volume, we get a story about a solo Green Lantern in the far searches of the sector struggling to understand the culture, the people, and the murder of a citizen. Immediately, I fell for the complicated society full of rogues and confusion. And then we get the murder mystery to keep up going. And finally, we get Sojourner herself. I loved the weaving of her background on Earth and her current standing as a Lantern. Strong, yet flawed women are my catnip and Sojourner is exactly what I needed. I really enjoyed this story.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

Title: The City We Became (The Great Cities #!)

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2020

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 449

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Ebook; MMD 2020

In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power.
In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it's as if the paint is literally calling to her.
In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels.
And they're not the only ones.

Jemisin has officially landed on my must-read author list. I have enjoyed everything that I have read by her so far and I have more to read. The start of these series came from an intriguing short story about cities being born. She takes the idea and expands the story in an epic multiverse. I loved how Jemisin weaves real-world characters with otherworldly characters and supernatural horrors. Jemisin really takes inspiration from a variety of sources and it shows. I loved how she connects personalities to each of the New York City boroughs. It all makes sense. I kept having ah-ha moments in every chapter! I cannot wait to see where this story goes next.

Next up on the TBR pile:

How Long 'til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin

Title: How Long ‘til Black Future Month?

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2018

Genre: Short Stories

Pages: 416

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Modern Mrs. Marcy - Been Meaning To Read; Dancing with Fantasy and Scifi - Classic Fantasy

N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, which includes never-before-seen stories, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.

Spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.

A beautiful collection of stories running the gamut of science fiction and fantasy. I really enjoyed the stories set in our world but with something a little different. Anything dealing with ghosts or spirits was favorite. Some of the stories that were a direct response to classic stories fell slightly flatter for me. I was much more intrigued when Jemisin created something totally new. I also enjoyed the stories that were clear precursors to The Broken Earth trilogy. Short stories are not my favorite style of fiction, but this collection was very interesting and entertaining.

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

Title: The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth #3)

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2017

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 416

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Library Love; Modern Mrs. Darcy - Recommendation from Someone with Great Taste; Dancing with Fantasy and Science Fiction - Finish a Series

The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.

Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.

For Nassun, her mother's mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

I have such a book hangover from this series. Goodness! After the second book, I figured out a lot of what was going to happen in the third book, but that doesn’t mean that I didn’t love every single page. I love love loved the intertwining stories of Essun and Nassun plus the beautiful overarching narrative from Hoa with glimpses into the past. The parts that I found most intriguing were the sections about Syl Anagist. Such a fascinating society. I loved puzzling out exactly what was going on and how all the technology worked. Beyond that the relationship between Essun and Nassun is fascinating and I loved how Jemisin explores the themes of love and identity. The series is high on world-building, but what really moves the story along is the characters. I must now read Jemisin’s other works (already have How Long ‘til Black Future Month checked out from the library).

The Broken Earth:

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin

Title: The Obelisk Gate (The Broken Earth #2)

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2016

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 448

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Alphabet Soup - J; Dancing with Scifi and Fantasy - Under 500 Pages; Seasonal Series - Trilogy

This is the way the world ends, for the last time.

The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night.

Essun -- once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger -- has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever.

Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power - and her choices will break the world.

What a ride! I was drawn back in on page one and was upset that I got to page 448 and there wasn’t anymore in this volume. Of course we get to learn more about what happens to our main characters, but more importantly, the world more fully revealed itself. I was amazed at the story of the stone eaters. Hoa is one of my favorite now! And we get more information about how orogeny works and what other secrets lay deep in the earth just waiting to be revealed. While I’m not a fan of Schaffa (not that any read is supposed to be a fan), this volume led me to a better understanding of his motivations and actions. Plus we get great narration from Nassun’s point of view. And I finally figured out who was talking in the interludes. Duh! Can’t believe I didn’t see that one in the last book. Can’t wait to finish the trilogy, though it’s going to have to wait until March so I can focus on my UnRead Shelf.

The Broken Earth:

#1 The Fifth Season
#2 The Obelisk Gate
#3 The Stone Sky

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Title: The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1)

Author: N.K. Jemisin

Publisher: Orbit 2015

Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 496

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Random TBR Pick; Women Authors; Dancing with Fantasy/Scifi - By a Woman of Color

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.

It took me years to finally pick this one up, but my goodness, why did I wait so long? This was just amazing. I was sucked into the world and the story within the first few pages. Jemisin creates a compelling world. I immediately had to know what was going on and what was going to happened. I fell for Damaya, Syenite, and Essun and had to know them more. I loved how each woman’s story progresses and we learn more and more as the pages go on. The reader is thrown into the world without much preparation, but Jemisin make is easy to understand what is happening. (There’s also a small glossary at the back of the book to help the reader) The last 75 pages of this book I read in one sitting, not being able to wait to find out what happens. The next book in the trilogy is going on my shortlist.

The Broken Earth:

#1 The Fifth Season
#2 The Obelisk Gate
#3 The Stone Sky

Next up on the TBR pile: