The Obelisk Gate (March 2021) Buddy Read Discussion - May & Mina

[May]

Or (view spoiler)[ maybe the contamination thing means both Schaffa and Umber are being controlled by evil Earth more than normal Guardians and Schaffa is suffering the most compared to Umber. (hide spoiler)]

[May]

One last thing about chapter 15: (view spoiler)[ I'm impressed Nassun stood up to Umber. She truly cares about Schaffa and is willing to protect him out of love. (hide spoiler)]

[May]

Chapter 16: (view spoiler)[ The amount of effort Hoa puts in to protect Essun... He ate the other stone eaters. I don't trust that his intentions for following her around is just to help her.

Also, the stone eaters all want to kill Essun, thinking she's the only one left who can end the season. Since Nassun appears to have a lot of power, I have a feeling once the other stone eaters find out, they'll go after her next. (hide spoiler)]

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

@May ch16 The Steel stone-eater already is going for Nassun.. it's just what exactly does he want with her. Since she stoned every Orogene in the Fulcrum maybe he wants to use her to stone all Orogenes because they are wrong because they were trained by the Fulcrum... also he could be in the group that wants people/Orogenes extinguished *shrugs* I guess we'll see.

On the implant controlling the Guardians. I just thought of something, and maybe I was just too slow to connect it. Nassun sees a silver thread at Schaffa's neck where the implant is.. Essun sees the silver thread when she sessed Alabaster and discovered that that's magic.. What if Orogeny is a thing like Father Earth? We think of it as a skill people have but what if it's a real conscious thing? 🤔🤔🤔🤔

[Maria]

@Mina: guardians...I went back to go look up in Fifth Season (sometimes odd things stand out to me) in Ch8, when Alabaster and Syen are discussing their child and what would happen to it (after visiting the "dead" node), Syen hypothesized their child could be a still. Alabaster explains a still born of two origenes would become a guardian. Is that the only way guardians recruit... Just one way???

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

that's interesting, and it also must be very rare.. or at least it sounds rare for it to happen. Hopefully the Guardians mystery will be discovered to us.

[Maria]

So I finished early...the action picks up in the last 4 chapters. It's hard not to keep going when a chapter title says "You are ready to rumble" :)

ch15 (view spoiler)[it's still not clear to me if it's Father Earth that has contaminated the Umbra/Nida/Schaffa? If Father Earth wants to kill all origenes, then regular guardians somehow must be resistant to that? Then what's a regular guardian?

I'm still puzzled about the origins of guardians. End of Ch3, the emperor warned guardians were old and to not trust them. What if the regular guardians started out as the original group of origenes that pushed the moon and dug that big tunnel? They'd have vested interest in keeping the origenes around and ignorant of their real power. Maybe Father Earth has managed to somehow corrupt the three particular implants for Umbra/Nida/Schaffa. Where the original implants a way to control Father Earth? since guardians can disable origeny? (hide spoiler)]

Ch 17 (view spoiler)[ I think Nassun would do quite a bit for/to Schaffa, seeing as he's only person that she's encountered that loves and accepts her as she is. Which is all she really wants. I suspecting this is going to make her vulnerable. (hide spoiler)]

ch18. (view spoiler)[some stone-eaters want to kill Essun because she can open the obelisk can't but they can't control her. (hide spoiler)] ch19(view spoiler)[ They also want to kill the all the origenes in Castrima, I'm assuming because Ykka can network...and Essun needs a network to open the obelisk gate...I'm assuming the stone-eaters knew this? (hide spoiler)] in ch20 (view spoiler)[the gray stone-eater makes a play for Nassun, as she is also capable of opening the obelisk gate...but we have to wait for Book 3 to see how that plays out. (hide spoiler)]

Ch19 and Interlude (view spoiler)[I think Alabaster did become a stone-eater! And sounds like those are Hoa's plans for Essun...because he loves her? I don't think that love story doesn't make sense yet...but Essun doesn realize she loves Hoa...there's gotta be something a little more to it? (hide spoiler)]

Ch20. (view spoiler)[we get more info about the gray stone-eaters agenda...he wants the gate open to bring the moon to earth, and if I read correctly, quite literally! He wants Nassun to crash the moon into the earth. Okay, and somebody really needs to give that kid a big hug. But I will say, there is no question that Essun is her mother's daughter.

Sides are Father Earth, people who want to control Father Earth, and people who want to fix Father Earth? people being humans/origenes/stone-eaters/guardian? I'm assuming that maybe Father Earth has never been a fan of people.

I wonder what kind of sparks will fly when Essun and Nassun will finally meet up? Considering that Nassun doesn't realize she's being recruited to faction opposite to the one her mother's on. I wonder if Schaffa will be okay with Hoa, considering they both seem to be on the fix it side? And Alabaster stone-eater...I guess he's going to continue helping Essun now? (hide spoiler)]

[May]

Maria wrote: "@Mina: guardians...I went back to go look up in Fifth Season (sometimes odd things stand out to me) in Ch8, when Alabaster and Syen are discussing their child and what would happen to it (after vis..."

Oh that's interesting, I didn't notice that! Maybe that's a rare case and all the other guardians were made through installing that thing in them?

[May]

@Maria: Wow you already finished! I'm glad to hear the last four chapters are action packed!

I might be able to finish this tomorrow!

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

If the Guardians and the implant were explained everything would just click for me.. at the moment that's what's confusing me. I tried thinking what how might be, but I'm giving up.. because I can think of a few things but they are not really holding water, and if they did I still wouldn't know.

I'm going to finish the book today too. I'm just starting chapter 18. It's interesting plus I want to reread King of Scars and I'm behind on that schedule.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

I'm going to read chapters and write my thoughts as I go.. and then I'm going to read Maria's spoilers.

CH18(view spoiler)[" It’s like what that Guardian did to Innon, except localized, and not overtly horrific. And you didn’t realize roggas could do anything like it." So Ykka has similarities with Guardians? I mean ever since we met her we were told she's different, and the way she uses orogeny is different...is she Guardian material, or is she maybe an uncontrolled Guardian? (hide spoiler)]

CH19(view spoiler)[ Aaaaaah, is the new stone-eater Alabaster?
@Maria I predicted Alabaster becoming a stone-eater, yay for me. That's actually cool. I like Alabaster so I'm glad he still exists in some form. And yeah.. the love story.. is ??? and I don't feel connected to it. I get why Hoa might love Essun, because she freed him from the obelisk.. and she.. well, they were in Castrima for a year or so and plus the travel so she grew attached to him, and he appeared as a child so that she would connect with him more easily. (hide spoiler)]

CH20(view spoiler)[ oh, it actually sounds like Steel wants to crash the moon. I had to reread it because the first time I read it like he was on the good side and that just didn't feel right 😂

I'm really exiced for the next book and to see how everything will play out. I wanna know what Hoa will do, and what will Alabaster do. It's interesting how somehow Alabaster became one of my favorites characters because I wasn't liking him much at first.. although the only reason I didn't like him was because of the age difference between him and Essun when they had to make an offspring. I don't like and feel uncomfortable when characters with a big age difference are in a romantic-ish relationship. (hide spoiler)]

[Maria]

@Mina: I agree, all the theorizing about guardians doesn't add up. (view spoiler)[It's looking like we are going to have for book 3 to get the answers on their origins (hide spoiler)]

I'm waiting for May for the final thoughts (no rush!)

In the meantime, I still want to get a group read in, so now I can start Ember in the Ashes before the weekend, even though the group part is mostly done by now

[May]

Chapter 18: (view spoiler)[ I knew that Alabster would have eventually died but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon and in that way. It's so sad how he turned to stone completely because he used his remaining energy to stop Essun...

Also Ykka's abilities makes me think that she has the potential to be a guardian. (hide spoiler)]

I think I might be able to finish it tonight!

[May]

Chapter 19: (view spoiler)[ Wasn't expecting Alabster to come back as a stone eater!! I'm glad to see he's back, even if its in a different form. 😄 And this chapter was pretty cool! I liked seeing Essun figure out how to form a network and use the obelisks to defend the comm against the invaders. (hide spoiler)]

[May]

Interlude: (view spoiler)[ I guess Hoa loves her also because how she treated him made him feel human? I think that's what he wanted, to feel human. Though the love story here is a little unusual (hide spoiler)]

[May]

And I'm done! Chapter 20 had some interesting events. (view spoiler)[ I'm glad Nassun finally realized her father will never really love her and that she stood up to him. I also thought that Steel was on the same side as Essun when he told Nassun to bring the moon back. But now I see that he's hoping to crash the moon into the Earth.

It seems to me that what Essun and Nassun are recruited to do will ultimately lead to the end of the seasons. Is the difference that Essun's way will bring back Father Earth's child and Nassun's way will just anger Father Earth?

(hide spoiler)]

[May]

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I'd say I liked this book more than the first one, probably because I was more familiar with the world and it didn't feel slow to me.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

I enjoyed this one much more than book one too! I want to write a "review" for it but I wanna say that my rating is the same as you guys.

[Maria]

me three! I liked it more than the 1st book. I'm definitely looking forward to the 3rd book.

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Yeah, there was a jump for me. Book one 3.5 stars, rounded to 3 GR stars, and now this one is 5*

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

I took the liberty to make a reading plan for The Stone sky because I'm making the BR threads now. I put 2 chapters a day like for this BR, but realistically with the interlude chapters it's 3 chapters a day. The book has 14 chapters so that's 7 days.

The only question is.. when? I can read it after the 10th like I mentioned.

[May]

I'm good with any day so we can start immediately after the 10th or a different day depending on when Maria is free

[Maria]

I'm good with any day. So if after the 10th works best, that works for me.

[May]

Okay so we can read it from the 11th to the 17th!

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Okay, than I'll let you know about the day closer to the date.

[May]

Sounds good!

[mina, Group/Buddy Reads Procrastinator]

Hey guys :D
I finished my BR today so I'm free to start The Stone Sky on the 10th.

[May]

Cool! Looking forward to starting it :)