I finally got around to reading a book by N.K. Jemisin and chose The Broken Earth Trilogy as the one to start with. And I am glad I did because this has been an amazing series and it is always a joy to discover a new author to read.
There are a lot of classic fantasy novels and The Broken Earth Trilogy might go down as one in my opinion. The subject matter alone is complicated and yet, Jemisin makes it all easy to grasp. In her own words, Jemisin said that she thought about stopping and throwing the manuscript out many times before she eventually finished it. And I am glad that she did because this might be my favorite fantasy series of the year.
The Broken Earth Trilogy is made up of three books and the narration is a big part of the books. As the books progress, we learn how the world that Essen inhabits came to be. And without spoiling anything, I will say her character development is one of the best part of the novels.
When The Fifth Season was released in 2015, it went on to win the Hugo Award in 2016. What followed were two more novels released in the next two years which also went on to win the Hugo Award. That made Jemisin the first author to ever receive the Hugo Award for every book in a trilogy. And after reading the books, I can see why.
The Broken Earth Trilogy
The Fifth Season
The novel starts off with an orogene, a person who can control energy, often the ground but also the temperature, causing a fracture across the entire continent. This starts the fifth and the worst season in history. After this, we get stories from three females.
The first female we meet is Essun and she is full of mystery. She lives in a small comm and is an orogene. She finds her young son beaten to death by her husband and goes numb, overtaken by grief. She then decides to pursue her husband and save her daughter who like their son, is also an orogene.
We then meet Damaya, a young orogene who has just discovered her powers, She is taken in by a Guardian who overwatch orogene. Damaya travels with him to the Fulcrum where they train and control the orogome. It is here where Damaya learns about her abilities and also the secrets that the Fulcrum are hiding.
Lastly, we meet Syenite, who is a talented orogene who is eager to climb the ranks at Fulcrum. Her latest assignment requires her to partner with Alabaster, a powerful orogeme, and she has to conceive a child with him as they do their mission. They travel across the continent and Syenite gets to learn about the dark side of the Fulcrum.
The Obelisk Gate
The story is told primarily from the perspectives of Essun, a powerful orogene driven out of her home at the beginning of the first book, and Nassun, her 10 -year-old daughter. We are told of Nassun’s perspective of finding her father after he murders her younger brother. But he is unable to force himself to kill his daughter, his favorite child, and instead takes her along with him and leaves Tirimo to cure her.
We get to understand Nassum’s upbringing in this novel and her close relationship with her father. But this new change means that Nassum must learn fast if she plans to survive. Eventually, they both arrive at New Moon, a small colony run by Schaffa and they create a bind as Nassum learns how to harness her true power.
Essen is still in Castrima, an underground comm and settles there as she figures out what to do next. At the comm, she is reunited with Alabaster but he is changed and slowly dying. His body is slowly shutting down but he plans to teach Essen how to harness the power of the obelisks and bring an end to the seasons once and for all.
But disaster strikes Castima as they are caught up in a battle for survival with another, more powerful comm. It is up to Essen and her new friends to ensure that the people of Castima don’t die, no matter the cost.
The Stone Sky
I haven’t gotten to this book yet will do so in the coming weeks!
All book lovers enjoy discovering new favorite books and that is what it feels like after reading The Broken Earth Trilogy. Jemisin is a gifted writer and I can’t wait to read other novels by her. If you love fantasy novels as I do, then you will love this trilogy and see why it became the first trilogy with every book winning the Hugo Award!