Title: The Stone Sky (2017)
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Pages: 413
Series: The Broken Earth #3 (Series Tracker)

“I don’t know what’s happening, not really. I know only that this is a battle, full of moment-to-moment confusion as all battles are, and from here forth nothing is quite clear…”
–The Stone Sky

This quote sums up my experience with The Broken Earth trilogy. I was frequently perplexed by what exactly was happening from scene to scene, but I was always left in awe by Jemisin’s unique voice and vision.

My lower ratings for the previous two books (3.5 and 3.25) were due to, what I felt was, a lack of accessibility. I struggled to care about the setting, the characters, and their stories because it was such a conceptually idiosyncratic world. The Stone Sky feels more grounded in the familiar. The Earth they inhabit feels real and more analogous to the one we currently inhabit. The characters are more vulnerable and their stories are more focused and clear. …or perhaps the previous two books built a foundation on which I was able to engage more easily with what was going on here. Either way, this one is great!

Summarizing the plot here would not do justice to the sheer power of this book/series. It is, ultimately, a story of survival, oppression, power, love, and family. The Stone Sky is my favorite book of the trilogy and is a dazzling conclusion to a remarkable and devastating series. As a whole, this was a visionary work, written by a wonderfully imaginative author. I look forward to seeing what she creates next.

★★★★ out of 5