This is the third book in a trilogy. If you’re intrigued or concerned about mild spoilers, check out Book 1, The Fifth Season.
Wow.
Longtime readers know I am a big mood reader. I get bored reading in the same series back-to-back. So… I don’t do that. I savor a series I love, returning to those familiar waters every six-to-twelve months. This was a well-savored series. The end of The Broken Earth left me with that fuzzy good-book hangover. I’ll miss these characters and this world. It’s not an exaggeration to say they’ve taught me a lot about empathy and perseverance. This is the prestige television of the fantasy world. It’s Oscar season, folks. Come for the earthbenders and the seemless fusion of science-fiction and fantasy, stay for the deft allegorical dissection of all of American history since 1865.
Once again, Jemisin continues the pattern in this series by interweaving three main POV characters into a tightly bonded narrative. This time, we follow Essun (of course), her daughter Nassun, and a mysterious (familiar?!?) figure from the last great world-spanning empire, the civilization which caused the cataclysmic Seasons.
Let’s talk about it.
The Basics:
Title: The Stone Sky (The Broken Earth #3)
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Science Fiction, Drama
Published: Orbit, 2017
Spoiler-Free Summary:
The Obeslisk Gate ended with some big reveals, and a paradigm-shifting new mission for Essun… but first, there is business to attend to. Essun marches with the remnants of Castrima to Rennanis, a theoretically well-stocked settlement whose army was, as it just so happens, destroyed at the end of book 2. She would never tell them, but the people of Castrmia are her friends, and she owes them her life. She will see them safely through hundreds of miles of wilderness or die trying. Once that is accomplished, however, she must embark on her quest (she hatest that word) to find her daughter Nassun, and use the secrets of her former mentor and the long-lived stoneeaters to perform an unfathomable feat of orogeny (earth-magic) to end the cycle of Seasons of Death.
Nassun, meanwhile, has grown bitter from her experiences. She has grown powerful in a way neither she nor her mother could ever have imagined, and has her own radical plan for ending The Seasons. She travels with a familiar broken warden, who would have sought to control her in another life, but now strives to be a better person. They are shadowed by an angry stone-eater with his own agenda.
In a series of beautifully detailed flashbacks, we see the world as it was before the Seasons. We follow a “tuner” – a sort of precursor to the orogenes – in service to an empire which has mastered genetic engineering, magic, and all surrounding people-groups, and ultimately turns its sights on the final, audacious, unconquered domaint: the earth itself.
These stories crash together at the end of all things, the pivotal point when our heroes will either save the world… or destroy it.
Why You Will Love This Book:
This is the third book in a trilogy, so we could fairly say “did you enjoy The Fifth Season and The Obeslisk Gate? See how it ends!” But, that would be glib.
There is nobody who writes quite like Jemisin. She captures the essence of a big idea, distills it down to very human conflict, and helps you explore the idea from all angles through action and drama. The language is rich and luxurious. Her characters are raw and honest. As you may have gleaned from its presence on several of my “Top 5 2023” posts (search for the tag), this is one of my favorite series of all time, and I am very pleased that it stuck the landing.
Where Can You Learn More?
As always, check out the author’s website for blog posts, their backlist, and the latest announcements.
Happy Reading, Folks
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