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I was iffy in the beginning and well into the middle, but i cried over children for the last couple of chapters. (Im not sure i actually care that much about any of the adults??)

At first i was annoyed that they got magic in my scifi, but it was a fun ride and the third book brought it home. I feel satisfied by this series.

And it broke my heart

I’m not quite done, but i double checked I’m on the last story and it’s so good. Most of the Earthsea stories were kind of a slog, but i loved the entire set of Hain/Werel ones, and I’ll be recommending the four generations of oregon women one forever.

I like the world, and i think i will read more.

But there’s a lot going on - the central relationship is not simple, the main plot revolving around the government (following nicely from the previous two books), a bit of a mystery, sympathy for characters hard done by. It was short and i read it fast, but still i needed a minute between most chapters to make room for all the feelings before diving into what next?

This is book four, as is right for an elemental series. I’m glad i got to read them after they were all published, and i just really like them. The characters are great and despite the sprawling family I almost never think there are too many of them. It feels almost fan fiction y at times, but only in the best way. Yes i want them all to care about each other and come up with happy endings. And mostly i get that.

The plot is good, but i almost don’t care because i care so much about the characters.

In a lot of ways, i think this book could stand alone instead of being book three. It kind of starts the timeline over in the near future instead of picking up where the other books left off. With hibernation we are able to mostly follow a single person through the book, and that makes it feel coherent in a new way. It’s about the relationship with the larger universe much more than it’s about the Trisolarans. I’m glad we read these

It’s two distinct stories and only one of them is about kitchens. But they are both tender stories of survivors and how they cope with the death around them. Big ole don’t read if you don’t want to think about death.

Four.five, thank you

It does a perfect job of being informed by a weird scifi setting, but not being just an exploration of the world. It’s about love and family and the way we’re tied to people.

But Also about really cool aliens and a world that’s hard for humans to live on.

Sad, but not only sad. I felt close to the characters, and comfortable with our narrator. It’s so Artsy and New York-y that it is almost a literary parody. But the important thing is the friendships.

I found it unsatisfying enough that it is ending my streak of reading her books. I liked all the ones up to this point (publication order) and i still heartily recommend Fingersmith.