Scan barcode
nytephoenyx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
What a fantastic ending to this trilogy.
Every book in the Broken Earth trilogy ramped up the pacing a little bit until we reached the steady jogging pace of The Stone Sky. I feel like I flew through this book. It kept me engaged and enraptured. Which is amazing. I’m still in awe of the world building of this one and fascinated to find out a little more of the true distance of this timeline – more than 40,000 years in Earth’s future.
Sections in The Stone Sky were both finale as well as prequel. In The Obelisk Gate, Nassun’s voice was added to the narration. In The Stone Sky, we learn about Hoa and the Stone Eater’s history… and a little more about the distant history of orogeny. I continue to enjoy the depth of the storytelling here – the slow, thoughtful way it is shared (and now there’s even a reason why which I didn’t see coming and probably should have… but I won’t spoil it!).
More than The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate… there is a lot of thinking in The Stone Sky. There are Major Decisions to be made and much about the peoples and the Earth itself to understand. The breadth of this story encompasses not just Essun, not just her kin, but the greater story of ancient peoples and their greed for power and luxury. There are reminders in this book about human greed and about the dangers of not respecting the planet that gives us life. Earth is a formidable force in this book, thirsty for revenge. The outcome of the war feels a bit easy for me, a bit sudden… but I’m happy to accept it because this is science-fiction-slash-high-fantasy and it’s understood that some suspension of disbelief is required.
From a character perspective, though, I thought The Stone Sky was excellent. There was a lot of closure for me in regards to Hoa’s character as well as Essun. I liked that Tonkee continued forward in the story as well and grew as a person because of her time in the comm. In most books in this vein, the climax is thrilling, filled with magic or otherworldly things. In The Stone Sky this is still true, but Jemisin has infused it with heartbreak, so just as much as you feel like the ending is coming together… things are also falling apart even more. And that’s the sacrifice.
While I very much recommend the whole Broken Earth trilogy, it does take some patience to get into it. For me, that made the audiobooks the best possible way to ingest this story – you can disappear into the world without having to hold your attention on to the book, particularly in The Fifth Season where the POVs are a little confusing and the pace is much slower. Regardless of all that, though, Jemisin’s prose is absolutely breathtaking and for that alone is this series worth reading – I know I’ll be reading more of her work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Genocide
Moderate: Grief and Violence
anna_23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror and Racism
dunollie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What an incredible and wholly satisfying ending to the trilogy.
Jemisin’s complexity and depth of world building weaves so well into the individual stories and development of her characters, and draws parallels to our world without hitting you on the nose with them — to me, this is a sublimely perfect example of how speculative fiction should be.
And, on top of that rich and meaty content, diversity of race and gender and sexuality adds another layer of depth and resonance and importance. This book shows us why representation matters. Because the human experience is varied and so much more than just the white-hetero-male-experience, our stories need to reflect that variety.
As a new mom who is a lifelong reader of spec-fic, I can’t express how satisfying it was to find motherhood dealt with in the story with such complexity and depth and realness. My heart ached for Essun and Nassun and the inevitability of their story trajectories. And seeing the link of motherhood with resilience, necessity, love and saving the world... oof, that was so refreshing and inspiring. Makes me want to never read another book by an old straight white guy — not when there’s stuff like this out there that will speak to me and my life so much better.
Jemisin’s complexity and depth of world building weaves so well into the individual stories and development of her characters, and draws parallels to our world without hitting you on the nose with them — to me, this is a sublimely perfect example of how speculative fiction should be.
And, on top of that rich and meaty content, diversity of race and gender and sexuality adds another layer of depth and resonance and importance. This book shows us why representation matters. Because the human experience is varied and so much more than just the white-hetero-male-experience, our stories need to reflect that variety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
blakethebookeater's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Stone Sky is the final book in the Broken Earth trilogy and I feel like it *mostly* sticks the landing.
I kid you not I have never read another series like this one and I don't think I will again. It's so unique and fresh and it boggles my mind that more people are not just constantly SCREAMING about how damn good this trilogy is. It deserves all the hype.
The characters in this entry are at their peak. The emotional, the turmoil, and the tension is all top notch and watching how their narratives unfold in this book is nothing short of masterful. The sheer imagination that Jemisin put into the worldbuilding of this series is astounding to me in the best way. It's so weird but I loved it.
The only area I have slight quibbles with are the flashback sections in this book. They felt a little *too* obtuse and is was very very hard for me to wrap my head around some of the imagery/events. It was good but I felt like it could have been condensed just slightly.
The pace of this book was also very slow. Enjoyable slow, but if you're expecting an action-packed finale, this doesn't fit the usual cliches (and that's a good thing).
Everything Jemisin did in this book felt absolutely deliberate and calculated and by the end you realize she's been setting us up for that final twist since the opening pages of the first book. Insane how well-crafted this trilogy is. I really have nothing else to say other than that I need more people to read this series. You, yes you, if you haven't yet, go pick up these books. NOW!
I kid you not I have never read another series like this one and I don't think I will again. It's so unique and fresh and it boggles my mind that more people are not just constantly SCREAMING about how damn good this trilogy is. It deserves all the hype.
The characters in this entry are at their peak. The emotional, the turmoil, and the tension is all top notch and watching how their narratives unfold in this book is nothing short of masterful. The sheer imagination that Jemisin put into the worldbuilding of this series is astounding to me in the best way. It's so weird but I loved it.
The only area I have slight quibbles with are the flashback sections in this book. They felt a little *too* obtuse and is was very very hard for me to wrap my head around some of the imagery/events. It was good but I felt like it could have been condensed just slightly.
The pace of this book was also very slow. Enjoyable slow, but if you're expecting an action-packed finale, this doesn't fit the usual cliches (and that's a good thing).
Everything Jemisin did in this book felt absolutely deliberate and calculated and by the end you realize she's been setting us up for that final twist since the opening pages of the first book. Insane how well-crafted this trilogy is. I really have nothing else to say other than that I need more people to read this series. You, yes you, if you haven't yet, go pick up these books. NOW!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, and Slavery
nadia's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The cover of this book says that it's "intricate and extraordinary" and those are two of the best words to describe this book and this series.
Normally I'm not one for books where I have to work so hard to get a grasp of what's going on, but N.K. Jemisin earned my trust ever since The Fifth Season and I was so here to put in the work.
And it was worth it! This is definitely a series I need to reread now that I have much clearer idea of what's what.
If you're curious about this series, love challenging books and science fiction, and want to disappear into a novel, ingenious world, with a unique magic system, then I highly recommend The Broken Earth trilogy.
Normally I'm not one for books where I have to work so hard to get a grasp of what's going on, but N.K. Jemisin earned my trust ever since The Fifth Season and I was so here to put in the work.
And it was worth it! This is definitely a series I need to reread now that I have much clearer idea of what's what.
If you're curious about this series, love challenging books and science fiction, and want to disappear into a novel, ingenious world, with a unique magic system, then I highly recommend The Broken Earth trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Medical content
eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ I highly recommend reading this book immediately after finishing the second one. I waited a month or so in between and it was hard for me to remember a lot of important details and world-building that are crucial to the story.
⁕ I don’t know how it’s possible, but the character development in this one was EVEN BETTER than the previous two novels. I especially appreciated how Jemisin delves deeper into the main characters’ impact on each other.
⁕ The way that Jemisin explores the binary of supremacy and oppression, how one cannot exist without the other, is just... wow. This story will not leave me for some time.
⁕ Because the first two books of this series were SO good, I was worried that the ending wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it was satisfying on both a smaller, character-based level and on a larger scale, plot-driven level.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ I highly recommend reading this book immediately after finishing the second one. I waited a month or so in between and it was hard for me to remember a lot of important details and world-building that are crucial to the story.
⁕ I don’t know how it’s possible, but the character development in this one was EVEN BETTER than the previous two novels. I especially appreciated how Jemisin delves deeper into the main characters’ impact on each other.
⁕ The way that Jemisin explores the binary of supremacy and oppression, how one cannot exist without the other, is just... wow. This story will not leave me for some time.
⁕ Because the first two books of this series were SO good, I was worried that the ending wouldn’t live up to my expectations. Thankfully, it was satisfying on both a smaller, character-based level and on a larger scale, plot-driven level.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Child abuse, Cursing, Racism, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Sexual content
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Ughhh so gooood!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Genocide, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
invaderlinz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I can’t believe I’m done with this trilogy, and I know it’s going to stick with me for a long, long time. It was a great ending for this story, even though I think it did come about a bit fast (maybe I just didn’t want it to end). Forever a N. K. Jemisin fan now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Murder, Grief, Gore, and Genocide
fionac326's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, and Death of parent
myladyreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Though this book took longer for me to get through, it really is just a great book. Totally deserving of the awards it's won. I knew this book was going to torture its characters and make them work for everything they want/need but it still hurt me watching this all happen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Excrement, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit