Reading order
The Broken Earth reading order
1
2
3- 3 volumes
- Volumes
- 2015–2017
- Published
- about 25 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Science fiction#1
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
3 volumes2015–2017Completed
- Three books, in order, and the first one is doing something you should not have spoiled: The Fifth Season tells three stories in three voices, one of them in the second person, and how they relate is the book's engine.
- Read it slowly and let it confuse you.
- The trilogy won the Hugo three years running — the only time that has happened — and the second and third are more conventional in shape, which some readers find a relief and others a loss.
- Nothing here can be read out of order.
A plan for the whole series
3 volumes, 1,404 pages, about 25 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 5 weeks.
Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: high
Stages
2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 6, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.
- Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 21, 2026
- Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.8
- Stage 28 h11 daysby December 6, 2026
- The end of the series
We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.
Does the series hold up
Shape of the series: even. Volume scores differ by at most 0.1 points. You get the same level from the first page to the last.
Best volume: The Stone Sky (8.8, 1,184 ratings). Weakest: The Obelisk Gate (8.6). The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting. The last volume (8.8) scores close to the series average or above it.
How this plan is calculated
The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →
Every volume in order
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
The Broken Earth books ranked, best to worst
- 1.The Stone SkyBook 3 · 20178.8
- 2.The Fifth SeasonBook 1 · 20158.7
- 3.The Obelisk GateBook 2 · 20168.6
Frequently asked questions
Which Broken Earth book is the best?
By reader score, The Stone Sky (8.8/10). The lowest-rated is The Obelisk Gate (8.6/10).
Which The Broken Earth book is the longest?
“The Fifth Season” is the longest at 512 pages; the shortest is “The Obelisk Gate” with 444 pages.
What should I read after The Broken Earth?
Other series by N. K. Jemisin: The Inheritance Trilogy, The Dreamblood, Great Cities.
