The world building is so good, I really love the world, despite how just disgustingly BLEAK it is. My favourite games of all time are Dark Souls and Corpse Party, two of the darkest, depressing, despairing, horrible, sad ending shit of all time, and I love that here. Like Dark Souls it's almost like there's no point in going on in this world, it is so broken. While the magic system is incredibly interesting, it is also stupid hard to visualise (maybe on purpose? idk, but we will finally be on the same level as the readers who can't see things in their brains lol) Like if there's something happening with them using their magic, we have all this.. pseudo-scientific jargon for all the magic shit going on that is very hard to remember what it meant, and visualise, and it's like, is the author a genius and I can't understand or is it a bunch of bullshit? I can't fucking tell. There's all this stuff about threads, and falling up, and talking pieces of iron, and etc etc and it's just I can't tell if I need more or less details lmao

I can make a whole essay on in world swear words but all I will say is why do they say things like "what the rust" (which sounds stupid if you ask me LMAO) while at the same time they will also say "what the fuck"? If "rust" had replaced "fuck" it would've made much, much more sense and I wouldn't care, but having both the words used in the exact same way confuses me on how severe a curse word "rust" is supposed to be, is it like a second version of "fuck" or is it more of a "frick"? When someone says "I'm going to rusting kill you." it just sounds so fucking stupid LMAOOO

The characters continue to not be very bright. I already bitched about Essun's main problem in my short review of the last book, but it continues here, and Alabaster being intentionally vague about what he wants Essun to do for NO reason other than to have the main character and the reader in the dark until the very last moment when Essun figures out what he's been saying at the perfect moment when she needs to is incredibly annoying and I don't think is good writing (for lack of better words?) It happens constantly, he refuses to tell her shit straight, despite DESPERATELY needing her to understand something, and she won't understand until RIGHT when she needs to. Like girl, we don't need that to happen every single time On that note, way too often there is shit that is said with absolutely 0 context or explanation that the reader is apparently supposed to just understand. "The implications of what the stone eater has just done." Even with context, that line makes no fucking sense, but we are supposed to understand it... somehow. Which brings to some telling not showing, or rather, refusal to tell OR show. One chapter, Nassun does... something. Who knows what? Author refused to type it. "In a span of three breaths" and everyone is dead. Books have words for a reason, fucking tell us something holy shit. Sometimes I feel like these books are just a way for the author to show just how smart or clever they are and it's more of showing how annoying they can be lol

On the subject of the characters. I really, again, love the world, I just wish the characters were more enjoyable to follow. I understand when/if a character isn't supposed to be likeable, but if they aren't likeable then they need something else to make them worthwhile to read about, and I just really don't feel that here to be honest. I don't even understand the motivations of Essun anymore, if she even has any.

In conclusion, I really like it, and the last book will be a 5 star if everyone dies horribly. 3.75, 4 rounded up.