The Obelisk Gate

What Hacker News says

1. drmpegJan 2018
   Although I very much like hard sci-fi, my favorite this year was the "Broken Earth" trilogy (The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky) from N.K. Jemisin.
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2. heisenbitAug 2017
   True hackers simply care about code and true readers care about words. Take the authors name away and it is not always obvious who wrote.

   I was a bit surprised that Jemisin got her second Hugo in a row. I liked the Obelisk Gate, eager for the third one but then there are other great ones on that shortlist - Becky Chambers made me chuckle more than I can remember.

   Still two in a row for the same person isn't that proof for a lack of diversity? /s <-- sadly needed these days 8-/

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3. TinkersWJul 2020
   I read the Broken Earth trilogy a few years ago-- didn't remember it had won the Hugo award for all 3 books, and don't really understand why it would have won, unless that was a particularly weak couple of year?

   It is a moderately decent fantasy series, but the writing is kind of clunky.

   Looking at the 2017 Hugo, I'd say Cixian Liu's "Death's End" was a much better novel than "The Obelisk Gate", and would have given it to that book.

   For the 2016 Hugo I've read 3 of the finalist("Fifth Season", "Ancillary Mercy", "Seveneves"), but I don't think any of them were all that great... guess just a weak year.

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4. int_19hFeb 2019
   So orogene/rogga didn't give you any obvious word associations?

   There's more if you look closely, though. Let me quote something straight from the second book in the series, "The Obelisk Gate":

   "Our position is thoroughly identified with the physical integrity of the Stillness — for the obvious interest of long-term survival. Maintenance of this land is peculiarly dependent upon seismic equilibrium, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the orogenic can establish such. A blow at their bondage is a blow at the very planet. We rule, therefore, that though they bear some resemblance to we of good and wholesome lineage, and though they must be managed with kind hand to the benefit of both bond and free, any degree of orogenic ability must be assumed to negate its corresponding personhood. They are rightfully to be held and regarded as an inferior and dependent species.

   — The Second Yumenescene Lore Council’s Declaration on the Rights of the Orogenically Afflicted"

   Recognize that wording? It's the Mississippi declaration of secession in the Civil War. Here's the original bit:

   "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product, which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization."

   Of course orogenes are not the same as African Americans (they're not a race, for one!), and the situation in the books is different in many ways. Nevertheless, there are many intentional parallels and call-outs like that there.

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5. KapuraDec 2018
   This year was a year in which, along with everything else, I read a number of standout scifi trilogies:

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   Binti by Nnedi Okorafor (African girl goes to space, becomes a unifying force in the galaxy)

   - Binti

   - Binti: Home

   - Binti: The Night Masquerade

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   Remembrance of Earth's Past by Liu Cixin (Humans make first contact and it doesn't go all that well)

   - The Three Body Problem

   - The Dark Forest

   - Death's End

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   Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (A spaceship's AI becomes confined to a single human body and seeks revenge)

   - Ancillary Justice

   - Ancillary Sword

   - Ancillary Mercy

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   Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin (Earth really hates humans, but some people have the power to control the earthquakes)

   - The Fifth Season

   - The Obelisk Gate

   - The Stone Sky

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6. MaysonLNov 2016
   The Obelisk Gate by Nora K Jemisin.
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