The Stone Sky

NK Jemisin's seminal Broken Earth series is brought to a close with this epic book. This series is a literary marvel in my eyes - the dense but engaging prose, amazing world building, layered and interwoven relationships between the protagonists and fascinating overarching themes. Jemisin has tied together such themes as Gaia, mans hubris over nature, geological timescales, genocide, post apocalyptic society and extreme social ostracization. The implicit warnings about climate and the fragility of nature feel very apt for the modern era.

The Stone Sky neatly ties together the series, with a more detailed examination of what originally broke the Earth and the culmination of Essun and Nassun's story. Mysteries surrounding the Stone Eaters are resolved and the beginnings of Orogenes and Guardians are revealed. The story feels ‘completed' by the end of the novel, again an important achievement in a trilogy such as this.

Jemisin is a master story teller - her use of more interesting perspectives and conversational yet literary style makes this a story that really moves beyond the basic dystopian premise. I love her use of the second person, which helps to draw in and engage the reader and is too rarely used by modern authors. Her characters are complex and believable. They have their flaws as well as their virtues. There is a grimness, a darkness pervading most of the trilogy, but this book leaves some light at the end of the tunnel.

One of the most impressive trilogies out there and a must read for any speculative fiction fan.