The Stone Sky

Novel by N. K. Jemisin

The Stone Sky

First edition

Author| N. K. Jemisin
Language| English
Series| The Broken Earth trilogy
Genre| Science fantasy
Publisher| Orbit

Publication date

| August 15, 2017[1]
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print, e-book, audiobook
Pages| 464[1]
ISBN| 978-0-316-22924-1
OCLC| 995310843
Preceded by| The Obelisk Gate

The Stone Sky is a 2017 science fantasy novel by American writer N. K. Jemisin. It was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Novel,[2][3] the Nebula Award for Best Novel,[4] and the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel[5] in 2018. Reviews of the book upon its release were highly positive.[6] It is the third volume in the Broken Earth series, following The Fifth Season and The Obelisk Gate, both of which also won the Hugo Award.

## Setting

[edit]

As with the other books in the Broken Earth series, The Stone Sky is mostly set in a single supercontinent referred to as the Stillness by its inhabitants.[7] Most of humanity lives in city-states referred to as "comms," and are segregated into social castes based on their usefulness to society.

The Stillness is constantly wracked by geological cataclysms, and every few hundred years an event is severe enough to touch off a global volcanic winter, referred to as a Fifth Season. Some characters, referred to as orogenes, have the ability to manipulate geological energies on a large scale, as well as magic on a smaller scale. They are a persecuted and feared minority, though it is largely due to their efforts humanity has survived the Seasons at all.[7]

## Plot

[edit]

Following the events of The Obelisk Gate, the former inhabitants of Castrima-under are moving north after damage by rival comm Rennanis has compromised the mechanisms of the geode and made it uninhabitable. Essun, who has been in a coma since opening the Obelisk Gate, awakens to find that her arm has turned to stone as a consequence of the massive magical energies of the Gate. She is nursed back to health, and finds that the Moon is approaching the closest point in its long, elliptical orbit, meaning that she has only a short time to return it to a normal orbit and end the Fifth Seasons forever.

Meanwhile, Essun's daughter Nassun is recovering from the shock of using an obelisk to kill her father by turning him to stone. Despondent and angry, she resolves to use the Obelisk Gate to cause the approaching Moon to collide with Earth and destroy both. Her Guardian, Schaffa, agrees to help her reach the only city on the other side of the planet, Corepoint; from there, the Obelisk Gate can be activated without the need for the central control obelisk that Essun used.

The comm reaches Rennanis after a costly desert crossing, where Essun learns that Nassun is planning to open the Gate as Essun did, which would almost certainly mean her death. She departs for Corepoint with a small company to intercept Nassun. Just prior to leaving, she learns she is pregnant by Lerna, the former healer from her old comm Tirimo, with whom she has started a relationship. Hoa, the stone eater who has been following her since she left Tirimo, offers to take them by transporting directly through the Earth; however, as they traverse through the center of the planet (skirting around the core), they are attacked by a rival faction of stone eaters and Lerna is killed.

Nassun and Schaffa reach the ruins of a city in the Antarctic region, from which Schaffa believes transportation is available to Corepoint. They descend into the ruins, where they find a functional transportation system linking to Corepoint directly through the center of the planet. During their transit through the core, it is revealed that the Earth is a living consciousness, furious with humanity's attempts to control it and the loss of Earth's moon, which Earth blames humanity for. The core is rich with the magical energy that forms the Earth's consciousness, and Nassun realizes this directly fuels the Guardians' abilities and longevity through an iron shard embedded in their brains.

Through flashbacks, the story of Hoa is revealed: in the distant past, human technology, which seamlessly fuses advanced biotechnology and magic, has reached its pinnacle with the creation of the Obelisk Gate, a network of obelisks designed to tap the Earth's magical essence to create an inexhaustible source of energy. To accomplish this, scientists have created a race of humans with exquisite sensitivity to magic based on the DNA of a race of people the now-dominant culture defeated and subjugated. These "tuners" will control the Gate and tap the magic from Earth's core. However, the night before the Gate is to be activated, the tuners discover the fate of the people their genetic code was based on. They are kept lobotomized and used as batteries, wired to the obelisks to charge them with magical energy, in eternal torment. The lead tuner, Hoa, decides to turn the Gate's energies back onto the city of Syl Anagist, destroying it rather than perpetuating this injustice. As he and his fellow tuners attempt to do so, the Earth itself takes control of the obelisks and tries to use them to melt the crust of the Earth, which will sterilize it of almost all life. Hoa and the other tuners manage to avert this catastrophe by preventing some of the obelisks from activating, at the expense of transforming into the first stone eaters, and the Moon is flung into a high elliptical orbit by the massive energies involved. Nevertheless, enough of the obelisks are activated to cause worldwide devastation and plunge humanity into a dark age, wracked by the Fifth Seasons. This is also known as "The Shattering". At the same time, a single tuner survived and goes on to have a family, who Hoa observes from a distance, whose descendants become the Orogenes.

In the present day, at Corepoint, the Earth removes its iron shard from Schaffa's brain, dooming him to an early death in a bid to prevent Nassun from destroying the world outright with the Moon. Distraught, Nassun decides to save his life by using the Gate to transform everyone on Earth into undying stone eaters. Essun arrives and attempts to seize control of the Gate using the central control obelisk in order to return the Moon to orbit, end the Seasons, and save Nassun from certain death. They struggle, but neither can gain an upper edge, and Essun gives up allowing her daughter to complete her task, rather than risk Nassun's destruction. She releases control of the Gate and is completely turned to stone. Nassun, moved by the sight, decides to complete her mother's task and use the Gate to return the Moon to orbit.

In the aftermath, the Fifth Seasons are ended and civilization starts to rebuild. In a cave deep underground, Hoa, at the end of The Fifth Season revealed to be the narrator of the series, patiently awaits the rebirth of Essun as a stone eater. She emerges from a geode and expresses her familiar wish to make the world better. Hoa and Essun set off together to do so. It is implied that the entire trilogy is Hoa describing Essun's life to her, as to remind her of her previous life and connect her with her lost self.

## Narration

[edit]

The Broken Earth series uses several different styles of narration. The most widely remarked upon is its use of second person. It is eventually revealed that the books' narrator is Hoa. In The Stone Sky, Hoa narrates portions of the book set in the past in first person, and portions set in the present in second person (for Essun's perspective) and third person (for Nassun's and Syenite's perspective). Jemisin has stated that she isn't sure what prompted her to try writing Essun's chapters from a second person point-of-view,[8] but that she ultimately chose to keep writing in second person because it conveyed "disassociation of [Essun], the not-all-here of her".[9]

## Reception

[edit]

The Stone Sky's release was anticipated on several "best of" upcoming science fiction and fantasy lists, including The Washington Post and io9,[10][11] and reception upon its release was laudatory, winning Jemisin a third consecutive Hugo Award for Best Novel.[2][3]

In starred reviews, Publishers Weekly summed up the novel as having "vivid characters, a tautly constructed plot, and outstanding worldbuilding" that came together in "an impressive and timely story of abused, grieving survivors fighting to fix themselves and save the remnants of their shattered home",[1] and Kirkus Reviews noting that "Jemisin continues to break the heart with her sensitive, cleareyed depictions of a beyond-dysfunctional family and the extraordinarily destructive force that is prejudice."[12] RT Book Reviews gave the book five stars, higher than the first two books in the series.[13] Library Journal did not give The Stone Sky a star, but called it a "powerful conclusion" with a "fully developed world, detailed settings, and complex characters".[14]

NPR's reviewer Amal El-Mohtar praised the novel's twist on traditional fantasy and science-fiction, which usually posits that a world is worth saving. "The Stone Sky rejects this out of hand", El-Mohtar writes. "If the Broken Earth trilogy as a whole shows a world where cataclysm and upheaval is the norm, The Stone Sky interrogates what right worlds built on oppression and genocide have to exist."[7] Tor.com's Niall Alexander, who was critical of The Obelisk Gate, declared that The Stone Sky was a "comprehensive confirmation of N. K. Jemisin as one of our very finest fantasists", and that as a whole, the series is "one of the great trilogies of our time".[15] Barnes & Noble's Joel Cunningham agreed, asserting that it "reshapes the face of epic fantasy",[16] as did The Verge's Andrew Liptak, praising the book as "a triumphant achievement in fantasy literature". He concluded:

> Every now and again there comes a work that seeks to redefine the face of genre literature, from Ursula K. Le Guin's The Left Hand of Darkness to William Gibson's Neuromancer. With the Broken Earth trilogy, Jemisin has made a place for herself among these greats, pulling off a landmark story that blends fantasy, science fiction, and post-apocalyptic tropes. Finishing The Stone Sky left me utterly breathless by the scale and scope of what Jemisin accomplished in these three books—narratively, technically, and thematically.[6]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "The Stone Sky". Publishers Weekly. July 3, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
2. ^ a b "2018 Hugo Awards". August 19, 2018. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
3. ^ a b Barnett, David (August 20, 2018). "Hugo awards: women clean up as NK Jemisin wins best novel again". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 24, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2018.
4. ^ "Nebula Awards 2018". Science Fiction Awards Database. Locus. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
5. ^ "Announcing the 2018 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
6. ^ a b Liptak, Andrew (August 17, 2017). "N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy is a triumphant achievement in fantasy literature". The Verge. Archived from the original on August 31, 2019. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
7. ^ a b c El-Mohtar, Amal (August 19, 2017). "In 'The Stone Sky,' Some Worlds Need To Burn". NPR. Archived from the original on September 7, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2017.
8. ^ O'Brien, T. W. (March 1, 2018). "You Are Reading a Blog Post About Point of View in N. K. Jemisin's The Broken Earth Trilogy". The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
9. ^ Jemisin, N. K. (August 25, 2015). "Tricking readers into acceptance". Epiphany 2.0. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2018.
10. ^ Mason, Everdeen (August 4, 2017). "Best science fiction and fantasy books in August". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
11. ^ Eddy, Cheryl (January 9, 2017). "The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Coming in 2017". io9. Gizmodo. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
12. ^ "The Stone Sky". Kirkus Reviews. July 4, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
13. ^ "The Stone Sky". RT Book Reviews. August 15, 2017. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
14. ^ McArdle, Megan M.; Chadwick, Kristi (July 2017). "science fiction/fantasy". Library Journal: 60.
15. ^ Alexander, Niall (August 17, 2017). "Till the World Burns: The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin". Tor.com. Archived from the original on August 17, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
16. ^ Christensen, Ceridwen (August 8, 2017). "The Stone Sky Is a Trilogy-Ender That Reshapes the Face of Epic Fantasy". The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved August 18, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* Barnes & Noble interview
* SFF180 review

* v
* t
* e

Hugo Award for Best Novel

Retro|

* The Sword in the Stone by T. H. White (1939)
* Slan by A. E. van Vogt (1941)
* Beyond This Horizon by Anson MacDonald (1943)
* Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber (1944)
* Shadow Over Mars by Leigh Brackett (1945)
* The Mule by Isaac Asimov (1946)
* Farmer in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein (1951)
* Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (1954)

1950s|

* The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester (1953)
* They'd Rather Be Right (aka: The Forever Machine) by Mark Clifton and Frank Riley (1955)
* Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein (1956)
* The Big Time by Fritz Leiber (1958)
* A Case of Conscience by James Blish (1959)

1960s|

* Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein (1960)
* A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (1961)
* Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein (1962)
* The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick (1963)
* Here Gather the Stars (aka: Way Station) by Clifford D. Simak (1964)
* The Wanderer by Fritz Leiber (1965)
* Dune by Frank Herbert / ...And Call Me Conrad (aka: This Immortal) by Roger Zelazny (1966)
* The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (1967)
* Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny (1968)
* Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner (1969)

1970s|

* The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1970)
* Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)
* To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip José Farmer (1972)
* The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)
* Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1974)
* The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)
* The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976)
* Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (1977)
* Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)
* Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1979)

1980s|

* The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (1980)
* The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge (1981)
* Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh (1982)
* Foundation's Edge by Isaac Asimov (1983)
* Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)
* Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)
* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)
* Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)
* The Uplift War by David Brin (1988)
* Cyteen by C. J. Cherryh (1989)

1990s|

* Hyperion by Dan Simmons (1990)
* The Vor Game by Lois McMaster Bujold (1991)
* Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold (1992)
* A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge / Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993)
* Green Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994)
* Mirror Dance by Lois McMaster Bujold (1995)
* The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson (1996)
* Blue Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1997)
* Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1998)
* To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (1999)

2000s|

* A Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge (2000)
* Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling (2001)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002)
* Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer (2003)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)
* Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (2005)
* Spin by Robert Charles Wilson (2006)
* Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (2007)
* The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
* The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009)

2010s|

* The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi / The City & the City by China Miéville (2010)
* Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (2011)
* Among Others by Jo Walton (2012)
* Redshirts by John Scalzi (2013)
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
* The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu, translated by Ken Liu (2015)
* The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin (2016)
* The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2019)

2020s|

* A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (2020)
* Network Effect by Martha Wells (2021)
* A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (2022)
* Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (2023)
* Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel

1970s and 1980s|

* The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien (1978)
* Harpist in the Wind by Patricia A. McKillip (1980)
* Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg (1981)
* The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982)
* The Sword of the Lictor by Gene Wolfe (1983)
* The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley (1984)
* Job: A Comedy of Justice by Robert A. Heinlein (1985)
* Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny (1986)
* Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe (1987)
* Seventh Son by Orson Scott Card (1988)
* Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card (1989)

1990s|

* Prentice Alvin by Orson Scott Card (1990)
* Tehanu by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991)
* Beauty by Sheri S. Tepper (1992)
* Last Call by Tim Powers (1993)
* The Innkeeper's Song by Peter S. Beagle (1994)
* Brittle Innings by Michael Bishop (1995)
* Alvin Journeyman by Orson Scott Card (1996)
* A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin (1997)
* Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers (1998)
* A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin (1999)

2000s|

* Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling (2000)
* A Storm of Swords by George R. R. Martin (2001)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2002)
* The Scar by China Miéville (2003)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2004)
* Iron Council by China Miéville (2005)
* Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman (2006)
* The Privilege of the Sword by Ellen Kushner (2007)
* Making Money by Terry Pratchett (2008)
* Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)

2010s|

* The City & the City by China Miéville (2010)
* Kraken by China Miéville (2011)
* A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin (2012)
* The Apocalypse Codex by Charles Stross (2013)
* The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (2014)
* The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (2015)
* Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016)
* All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (2019)

2020s|

* Middlegame by Seanan McGuire (2020)
* The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin (2021)
* Jade Legacy by Fonda Lee (2022)
* Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023)
* Witch King by Martha Wells (2024)

* Best Novel (1971–1981)
* Best SF Novel (1980–present)
* Best Fantasy Novel (1978–present)
* Best First Novel (1981–present)
* Best Horror Novel (1989–1997, 1999, 2017–present)
* Best Young Adult Book (2003–present)
* Best Novella (1973–present)
* Best Novelette (1975–present)
* Best Short Story (1971–present)

* v
* t
* e

Nebula Award for Best Novel

1966–1980|

* Dune by Frank Herbert (1966)
* Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany and Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1967)
* The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany (1968)
* Rite of Passage by Alexei Panshin (1969)
* The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (1970)
* Ringworld by Larry Niven (1971)
* A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg (1972)
* The Gods Themselves by Isaac Asimov (1973)
* Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke (1974)
* The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin (1975)
* The Forever War by Joe Haldeman (1976)
* Man Plus by Frederik Pohl (1977)
* Gateway by Frederik Pohl (1978)
* Dreamsnake by Vonda N. McIntyre (1979)
* The Fountains of Paradise by Arthur C. Clarke (1980)

1981–2000|

* Timescape by Gregory Benford (1981)
* The Claw of the Conciliator by Gene Wolfe (1982)
* No Enemy But Time by Michael Bishop (1983)
* Startide Rising by David Brin (1984)
* Neuromancer by William Gibson (1985)
* Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (1986)
* Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (1987)
* The Falling Woman by Pat Murphy (1988)
* Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold (1989)
* The Healer's War by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough (1990)
* Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin (1991)
* Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick (1992)
* Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (1993)
* Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (1994)
* Moving Mars by Greg Bear (1995)
* The Terminal Experiment by Robert J. Sawyer (1996)
* Slow River by Nicola Griffith (1997)
* The Moon and the Sun by Vonda N. McIntyre (1998)
* Forever Peace by Joe Haldeman (1999)
* Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler (2000)

2001–2020|

* Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear (2001)
* The Quantum Rose by Catherine Asaro (2002)
* American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2003)
* Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon (2004)
* Paladin of Souls by Lois McMaster Bujold (2005)
* Camouflage by Joe Haldeman (2006)
* Seeker by Jack McDevitt (2007)
* The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon (2008)
* Powers by Ursula K. Le Guin (2009)
* The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi (2010)
* Blackout/All Clear by Connie Willis (2011)
* Among Others by Jo Walton (2012)
* 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (2013)
* Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie (2014)
* Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer (2015)
* Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2016)
* All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders (2017)
* The Stone Sky by N. K. Jemisin (2018)
* The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (2019)
* A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker (2020)

2021–present|

* Network Effect by Martha Wells (2021)
* A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark (2022)
* Babel, or the Necessity of Violence by R. F. Kuang (2023)
* The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Works by N. K. Jemisin

The Inheritance Trilogy|

* The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (2010)
* The Broken Kingdoms (2010)
* The Kingdom of Gods (2011)

Dreamblood Duology|

* The Killing Moon (2012)
* The Shadowed Sun (2012)

Broken Earth series|

* The Fifth Season (2015)
* The Obelisk Gate (2016)
* The Stone Sky (2017)

Great Cities series|

* The City We Became (2020)
* The World We Make (2022)

Short fiction|

* "Non-Zero Probabilities" (2009)
* How Long 'til Black Future Month? (2018)
* Emergency Skin (2019)

Other|

* Mass Effect: Andromeda Initiation (2017)
* Far Sector (2019–20)

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template