Review: The Stone Sky by N.K. Jemisin

BOOK STATS

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Title: The Stone Sky
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Series: The Broken Earth #3
Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy
Audience: Adult
Format: Paperback
Length: 416 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 15, 2017
Source: Personal Collection
Content Warnings: amputation, unplanned pregnancy, violence & abuse

SYNOPSIS

This is the way the world ends… for the last time.

The Moon will soon return. Whether this heralds the destruction of humankind or something worse will depend on two women.

Essun has inherited the power of Alabaster Tenring. With it, she hopes to find her daughter Nassun and forge a world in which every orogene child can grow up safe.

For Nassun, her mother’s mastery of the Obelisk Gate comes too late. She has seen the evil of the world, and accepted what her mother will not admit: that sometimes what is corrupt cannot be cleansed, only destroyed.

The remarkable conclusion to the post-apocalyptic and highly acclaimed trilogy that began with the multi-award-nominated The Fifth Season.

MY THOUGHTS

This series is astounding. The final installment in the trilogy follows parallel and opposing missions of mother and daughter Essun and Nassun as they struggle for control of the Obelisk Gate. The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, and their actions will either save the planet of destroy it for good.

We also get a lot more backstory with chapters from Hoa’s POV set tens of thousands of years prior to the main events of the story. These chapters provide background about the origins of the stone eaters, orogenes, and the Seasons.

While this story takes place unfathomably far in the future, its themes are incredibly relevant to our modern world, with commentary on humanity’s relationship with the Earth and climate change. This story is just as dark, disturbing, and fascinating as its predecessors, and it so much more than just a fantasy book.