[Book Context]
SURPRISE: Essun, Damaya, and Syenite are ALL the same person! Damaya is Essun’s story as a child, Syenite is Essun in early adulthood, and Essun’s story is present day! Literally N.K. gooped all of our asses lol
[Book Plot Summary]
[Damaya]
Starts exploring the Main building in the Fulcrum
Meets a weird girl named Binof, a daughter of powerful Yemenes leadership
Binof convinces her to help her find an ancient artifact in the Fulcrum that points to a gap in the history of Yumenes—a place that used to be feared until Emperor Verishe, the first emperor, made it Bad Bitch Land
They find a pit with weird needles and sockets and shit
They get caught by a guardian named Timay who takes Damaya to an office and starts asking if the needles called to her and then just saying nonsense
Schaffa comes and grabs a weird implant out of Timay’s skull, killing her instantly
Damaya knows that what’s happening around her isn’t right and is told by Schaffa to pass her first ring test otherwise her ass is next
She says she’s picked a Rogga name for if she passes...her name will be Syenite. And she passes
[Syenite]
Syenite and Alabaster, a week later, are being told to wait in Allia by the Fulcrum—prolly so they can be useful when geomests and shit come
She and Alabaster go for a walk, during which she realizes that Alabaster’s kids are likely node slaves--like the boy back at the node was definitely Alabaster’s son. Then, the two get attacked by a Guardian for seemingly no reason
Syenite, within inches of being stabbed through the heart, harnesses the power of the weird obelisk floating above the water and it shatters
Syenite and Alabaster wake up on a weird island called Meov with an equally weird stone eater named Antimony who’s helped Alabaster in the past
Allia is now destroyed btw, unclear what happened lol
They meet these island pirate bitches. Harlas is the headman. It’s weird that this island has been around for centuries, pre-Sanze. Alabaster strangely speaks their language
They keep roggas in leadership roles in Meov, that’s why they’ve been able to survive for so long
Syenite and Alabaster are stuck in many ways because if they leave the island then the Guardians will fuck their shit up and blame them to save face for the Fulcrum
The captain of the pirate land is named Innon and he has the hots for both Syenite and Alabaster, which thank God. Syenite initially plays wing woman to get Innon and Alabaster together, but then they all three get together where they fuck and are merry
It becomes clear from a conversation with a local woman, that the comm needs an orogene and expects Syenite and Alabaster to make one. Innon has a dangerous job so they need more folks like him
They have a baby named Corundum, raised by three parents
Syen is bored boots and joins Innon on piracy adventures, she sinks some ships and goes back to Allia where she seals a hella dangerous volcano. In Allia, she sees a guardian in the distance, which YIKES
Later, back on Meov, the Guardians roll up, attack Meov, Alabaster gets dragged into the earth by a stone eater, Innon is exploded by a guardian bitch, Schaffa rolls up, and Syenite is finished and done, so she cusses everybody out and destroys the world through her obelisk lmao
[Essun]
Tonkee is the name of the commless woman, she’s implied to be trans. Tonkee joins Hoa and Essun
Hoa guides the three to where Nassun is (he can sense her orogeny), but after a while, feels too many orogenes in one spot to make clear decisions
They eventually get to the “land of orogenes” and meet Ykka (a self-proclaimed “rogga”) and a stone-eater woman and Hoa and the stone-eater instantly start beefin
Essun asks if they’ve seen Jija and Nassun (they haven’t), but she agrees to join the group in the hopes that something may come up
Essun and co. are led into the comm which is actually an underground comm that runs on orogeny--other hoes tried to live there but died
Ykka, the head orogene, is the one who draws orogenes near using a power that gets orogenes and stone-eaters to want to approach her
Come to find out Tonkee is Binof from hella chapters ago and has been following Essun since the obelisks have been following her
Oh yeah, the obelisks have been following Essun ever since she destroyed the world as Syenite lol
Hoa is a whole stone eater that follows Essun simply because he “likes her”
Lerna, a nigga from like page 12, makes a reappearance weirdly af
Alabaster shows up too
Antimony, Alabaster’s stone eater, is there and Essun and Alabaster get to chatting.
Turns out this mf started the damn season and destroyed Yemenes (#WontHeDoIt) and now wants Essun to help destroy everything else
The book ends with him asking Essun, “have you ever heard of a moon?”
[Book Thoughts and Feelings]
THIS REVEAL!!!
The Fulcrum is FUCKED UP - The fact that the Fulcrum would co-sign Syenite and Alabaster being scapegoats is literal garbage and a half
This gay shit with Alabaster and Innon—I love how queerness isn’t deep or even coded as queer, they just have an amorous relationship and it’s super fine. People in Meov joke about sex and literally it’s not that deep. The power of fantasy, yes!
LOVEEEEE the exploration of polyamorous families/communal child-rearing
Alabaster is OG for destroying the world, fuck them niggas LIKE WHO cares?!
Bruh if black people had super powers!?!
Flexibility of time - how NK was able to goop all of us into thinking there were 3 different characters
Who the FUCK is Hoa!?
Did everyone NEED to come back at the end?! Like girl is this a reunion special?!