I am so fascinated by this series.  I think we all know that at some point, the human race will do something catastrophic to our planet, we just don't know the exact when, how or who.  Jemisin has crafted what I assume to be the future Earth, tens of thousands of years in the future.  We learn about the origins of the stone eaters and orogenes, which I've been hoping to find out since book one.  We even find out how the Fifth Seasons started.  Most of my "big" questions were answered, and I ended up satisfied, if a little sad, at the end of the book.
Jemisin managed to make the world another character in her story.  She weaves in the landscape, the weather, the topography into the narrative.  The Earth is just as beaten down, just as abused as the orogenes.  The only difference is, the Earth fought back.  The orogenes, as a class of people, had been cast out of society, murdered on site or taken in by the Fulcrum to be used and bred.  Is it any wonder that Essun's daughter decided that, instead of fixing the world, she might as well make it burn?  I'm not going to give away any details here, you need to read the book to fully understand the magnificent scope of Jemisin's genius.  Trust me, it is so worth it.

Let's pretend for a moment that Weir didn't write The Martian.  Comparing any book against that juggernaut would result in disappointment.  That being said, Artemis is a fabulous story.  The first half of the novel felt like a lot of set up, having to explain how the community on the moon works, what the culture is, who the main characters are.  I have to say that I didn't particularly care for Jazz in the beginning.  She is gruff, prickly and self-destructive.  Understanding her motivations and her backstory helped to balance this, but I didn't immediately click with her.
The second half of the book clipped along at a great pace.  I found myself invested in the characters, almost rushing through the chapters to find out what was going to happen.  So imaginative, but realistic at the same time!  Really worth the read, even if you can't help but compare it to The Martian.  I am going to have to read this again, slowing it down so I can enjoy the ride all over again!

There is a lot going on here... time travel, magical "affinities," good guy, bad guys, bad guys you thought were good guys...  The way the story started, I thought there would be a lot more time jumping, more action from the characters introduced in the first few chapters.  This isn't a complaint, necessarily, but the beginning of the book feels very different from the rest of the story.  Don't go into this thinking you are going to hear about all the "pilfering from the past" Esta does. That would be an awesome story on its own!
What we do get is an engrossing story about life in the early 1900's.  I like that Maxwell discusses how segregated the gangs of New York were at that time, based on where people emigrated from, down to what village they left.  Esta drops in and manipulates her way into a heist that could change the future for those that still have magic left in them.  The cast of character is large, but Maxwell makes it work.  I didn't lose interest in the story once, and MAY have stayed up too late a night or two to finish the book!  Check this out, it's definitely worth it!!

You gotta love a good prequel!  And this is a good one!  It was so smart to concentrate on these two characters, they were a large part of what I loved from Every Heart A Doorway.  I am completely satisfied with this story arc, I wanted to know what turned Jack and Jill into what they are.  It was brilliant to include the bits about their parents, how Jack and Jill were raised.  Rebelling against the stereotypes they were forced into, warping their personalities so they accepted the world they entered into with little fuss. For such a slim novel there was a lot to digest.  I think you could read this book first, if chronology matters a lot to you, I may read #1 again with this better understanding of the twins, but I think Every Heart A Doorway sets the reader up to want more of a taste of the backstories of the characters.  I am fervently hoping to hear that McGuire is going to follow up with more prequels, one for every child, one for every adult in the Wayward Children universe!

It's all beginning to make sense now!  I love how so many seemingly random occurrences and throw away plot lines are converging to create a complex but exciting story.  Alex and the gang are finally understanding how they fit into the machinations of their enemies, making baby steps toward being powerful on their own.  This is a truly enjoyable series, if you like The Dresden Files, you really need to check this out.  There are the obvious similarities, but Jacka has his own unique voice and spin on the genre.

Holy convoluted sentence structures, batman! It's hard to parse out what is actually happening sometimes, the meandering descriptions and pretentiousness get in the way. I'm not sure if Ives is trying to impress with her knowledge of privilege in New York, or if she thinks it adds anything to the story, but I found it off putting. The actual plot is interesting.  The setting is fabulous.  I feel like I really could have liked this book, if there had been better editing; prune out the unnecessary and distracting verbosity, concentrate on the mystery and the characters more.  Meh.