The Stone Sky
Ratings590
Average rating4.4
The trilogy as a whole is a crystal-clear five stars from me. The finale gets 4 stars because it is so poignant to love a story so much that reading the whole last book is suffused with the resignation that the story is going to come to an end! I think the penultimate chapter is a squee bit rushed in terms of pacing, but the final chapter makes up for it. I'm sure I'm going to read the series again, and probably not even all that long from now!
To be quite honest, I'm not sure how I feel about The Stone Sky. I finished reading, and then just kinda sat there, holding my Kindle. I think my first thought was, “Well, that's done.” I think maybe I feel kind of let down? There was no huge twist at the end (not all stories need to have one, but this one felt like there might be one coming), no OMG moments, nothing like that. Essun knew what she was setting out to do at the beginning of this book, and by the end she had accomplished what she wanted. Boom. Done.
Mostly I think, as a last book in a trilogy, The Stone Sky was anticlimactic. After building up this story for two books, and then getting to this one, it just felt a little flat. Most of the book was enjoyable, so a solid three stars from me.
Evil Earth What. A. Ride. Recommend recommend recommend.
Couldn't put it down. The trilogy utterly gripped me. And at some point in the not too distant future I hope I can go back and re read the series, I know there'll be so much to pick up on, on the next round.
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.
I just love this series now. Not only does it have a unique storytelling style (use of first-, second-, and third-person narrative point of views, with a strong voice). It has a unique idea (a post-apocalyptic/dystopian world in a fantasy setting), and it executes it greatly. The characters are memorable (maybe because there are three point of view characters, one for each of the three narrative point of views), and they have a great overarching story arch.
The only problem I have is that there are a few continuity errors between this book and the previous two, and the fact that the softback book I borrowed from the library had a cover that was sharp and actually hurt to hold :(.
Overall, excellent read. Would reread the series.
I just love this series now. Not only does it have a unique storytelling style (use of first-, second-, and third-person narrative point of views, with a strong voice). It has a unique idea (a post-apocalyptic/dystopian world in a fantasy setting), and it executes it greatly. The characters are memorable (maybe because there are three point of view characters, one for each of the three narrative point of views), and they have a great overarching story arch.
The only problem I have is that there are a few continuity errors between this book and the previous two, and the fact that the softback book I borrowed from the library had a cover that was sharp and actually hurt to hold :(.
Overall, excellent read. Would reread the series.
Jemisin caps off the best fantasy trilogy with a conclusion that is deeply & profoundly personal to the protagonist, and also about changing the world. Jemisin is endlessly imaginative, but her books capture a grittiness about our world, about self-sacrifice and cultural conflicts and about what people in power inflict on others. This is one of the darkest books I've read in ages and I was sitting on a friend's floor trying to convince her to read it anyway: “When Jemisin's characters die, it's about something. She cares about her characters. They aren't forgotten. The other characters don't just magically heal their trauma. They find ways to construct meaning to move forward.” This is a story about being in community and how we do that, despite hurting each other, despite being unable to save each other. This is a story about unconventional loves (and more about Alabaster and Essun) including platonic and familial. I loved every page.
Waauw, ik ben een beetje sprakeloos. Wat een perfect einde. Zo bitterzoet. Zo mooi.
Contains spoilers
Good ending to a great story. Bringing the moon back and ending the war with “evil earth”
Our characters must make some tremendous sacrifices for the greater good of humanity.
I loved how the book goes back into the past, exploring the origins of orogenes and stone eaters so we can learn about the culture and people who created the obelisks in an attempt to harness the energies and magics of the earth.
The book really sends a message of the consequences of exploitation of earth's resources and resulting environmental disasters that result. The earth is in turmoil and fighting back against the slavery and exploitation of its resources and won't be stabilized again until those who did so restore the earth back to it's natural state.
Good read and enjoyable all around.
Sob! I finished it. The Broken Earth series is over. I've actually had this book for a year but I just didn't want the story to end. I put off reading it, but I'd wonder: what was next for Essun? And oh, Nellie, does it end with a showdown! I think N.K. Jemisin is one of the greatest living writers we have today and her world building just astounds me. The good news is that she has back list I can explore. I think I picked The Fifth Season up on a whim and was blown away. I took copious notes during the Obelisk Gate (which I NEEDED because so much time had passed between publications). I probably should have read them all back to back, but that's not how it played out. Now I'm loving her short fiction.
Pros: A compelling (and in fantasy, unique to the best of my knowledge) central conflict between a mother and her daughter, which I didn't see coming (although it did feel inevitable in hindsight). I thought the daughter's viewpoint and sympathies were believable, which requires the audience to see a villain in a completely new light, so bravo on that. The twist about sentient earth felt clever instead of gimmicky, tying in well with the moon's orbital mechanics. It's also a part 3 of an excellent trilogy that doesn't feel like a let-down, which is always hard to pull off.
Cons: I'm a pretty attentive reader, but I felt like I was always a half-step behind on the worldbuilding. Why did they need the Rifting again? Alabaster said it was necessary, but they didn't seem to harness it when the time came. Why do their bodies turn to stone after accessing an obelisk, again? Unclear. The same felt true of Hoa's chapters, in the sense that I always felt I needed just a little more information to follow things clearly. I know mystery can serve to heighten curiosity, and this may just be a clash between preferences. On the whole, I thought her strongest writing was about questions of survival and emotional trauma, compared to the “high fantasy” elements.
Overall, congrats to her for being the first to win 3 consecutive Hugos.
“Hace poco te hablé de la guerra entre la Tierra y la vida que había en su superficie. Un poco de psicología de nuestro enemigo: el Padre Tierra no nos diferencia. Orogenes, táticos, sylanagistinos, niesos, futuro, pasado... Para él, la humanidad es la humanidad. Y aunque otros hayan dirigido mi nacimiento y mi desarrollo, aunque la Geoarcanidad haya sido un sueño de Syl Anagist desde mucho antes de que nacieran mis directores, aunque yo siguiese órdenes, aunque los seis quisiéramos contraatacar..., a la Tierra le dio igual. Todos éramos culpables. Todos fuimos cómplices del crimen de intentar esclavizar al mismísimo planeta.”
Yumenes, Allia, Meov, Tirimo, Castrima, Rennanis, Nucleobase. ¡Qué viaje!
He amado esta trilogía de principio a fin. Me gustó como inyectó ciencia ficción en esta última entrega, qué manera tan magistral de mezclar la serie. Conecté mucho con lo que Jemisin ha transmitido en la trilogía: dolor, rabia, amor. Es una escritora estupenda y siento mucho que esto tenga que terminar. Diablos, cómo voy a extrañar la Quietud. Buscaré consuelo en otras páginas.
Brilliant......the whole trilogy has entered my favourite books list. The world building, the writing, the characters are all magnificent.
Now I want to read Jemisin's other works.
Five stars for a dynamic conclusion to an incredible journey with characters unlike most you'll find in speculative fiction or fantasy.
What to add to all the words that have been said about this book/series? Really enjoyed all the installments and the ending was powerful/hopeful. Highly recommended.
This entire series was outstanding, and the third book a fitting finale. I'm sorry there can't be any more after this.
The world building in this trilogy is so beautiful. One of those series where at the end you feel like you have left part of yourself behind.
I will definitely be rereading.
A phantastic read. Thank you Nora! The language is amazing, the story background outstanding.
In terms of relevance to me, the trilogy is right next to Asimovs Foundation and Simmons Hyperion.
Tough going. You're going to read it anyway, because you loved the first two so much, but you're going to struggle through the first four-fifths. The characters will seem hollower, their motivations somehow more mechanical; the Dei ex Machina more handwavy. You will find yourself stumbling more than you expected. You will be rewarded with infrequent jewels—beautiful sentences, powerful sentiments, moments of recognition of your life and your world—and you will be invigorated. You will espy glimpses of the ending, but no, you will not expect it. Not really. Your breath will catch as you get to the finale. And it will be worth it.
What an ending! What a series! The moment I finished it, I wanted to read it again. So much happened in this last book, that looking back at the way I felt about the first book, the story was just so much bigger, I think this would be just as fun of a re-read as it was a read.
And some of the quotes and ideas in this final one are just incredibly powerful. I thought that the first book would be the strongest for these social racial analogies and that the others would focus more on the created world and the plot, which was mostly the case with the second one. This one though was just as hard hitting as the first, with analogies about cyclical racial dominance and racial superiority being dependant on creating the idea of a dangerous and inferior race.
I loved the way Hoa's own story finally comes in to play in this book as well. The last two were very intriguing partly because there were so many questions and loose ends, and the Syl Analgist chapters bring it all together in such a fascinating way.
If I had any criticism, it is that I never had a comfortable grasp on how the magic/silver could be used, but because the main characters felt it more than understood it, I think it was written so that the readers could also feel what was possible without necessarily knowing, so I don't think my confusion was a fault of the writing or my reading but kind of intentional. It was a little odd, but I was ok with that ambiguity in the end.
I cannot recommend this series enough. Stop reading reviews and read it now!
What a fantastic trilogy. One of the best book series I have read in a long time.
Still, the last book, while really good, was not up to par with the previous two books.
The book lost me a bit in the last third part. While overall satisfied, I cannot say I was 100% happy.
Nonetheless I super highly recommend this series
An excellent final book to the trilogy which was a rich a satisfying series. Not a dynamic book and sometimes confusing (if, like me you waited too long to read 2 and 3 after 1) it does paint strong characters and gives them strong presences.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would recommend it to anyone. Definitely one of my favorite trilogies now. The last book brought the story to a beautiful close. In particular, I enjoyed the backstory and how it was incorporated into the main plot.