This was a good ending to this series. It’s still not my favorite thing from N.K. Jemisin, but I very much enjoyed reading it (and it’s a fast read). I’m also glad that we didn’t get the original story or ending that Jemisin had planned (she talks about it in her author’s note); it sounded much bleaker and the series was originally going to be a trilogy instead of a duology. We’ve done the bleak N.K. Jemisin trilogy before. I appreciate that this ended on such a hopeful note.
I’m not even going to try to talk about the plot here, because everything that happens is a straight spoiler for book one, as it pretty much picks up directly where we left off (with a short three month break in between). Squigglebitch (their name for the interdimensional entity that is trying to destroy everything) is still at it, Staten Island has regrets, and the other NYC avatars are just trying to figure things out.
I will admit the interdimensional math stuff didn’t quite land in my brain, so some of the climax went a little over my head, but the most important part of the story (the characters) was very well-served. Each of the avatars got a satisfying ending. I was also very pleased to find out that Padmini was ace! Made me happy.
This isn’t a great review but some books I just can’t review properly, and I guess this is one of them.
