What do you think?
Rate this book
The Stone Moon Trilogy #3
A Bloom in the North
The Stone Moon empire is ascendant... and so brutal it is forcing its own people into dissent. But when imperial enforcer Pathen Ures-emodo turns fugitive, he finds himself inheriting a decimated rebellion with a missing leader. There's no winning a war against the Stone Moon with the two hundred Jokka he has left. His only choice? To hide his people in plain sight as dutiful members of the empire... and maybe, just maybe, transform that empire from within. He has a narrow window of the emperor of the Stone Moon is on a ship with his most steadfast enemy, sailing north in search of an answer for the mind-death. Can Pathen and his House of dissidents survive until they return? What mysteries will Roika and Thenet uncover in the north? And will the Stone Moon still reign supreme over Ke Bakil when it's over? The final book of the Stone Moon trilogy concludes the story of Thenet, whose love for a woman started a rebellion that would change the world.
- GenresFantasyScience Fiction
414 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2013
About the author
M.C.A. Hogarth
365 books394 followersDaughter of two Cuban political exiles, M.C.A. Hogarth was born a foreigner in the American melting pot and has had a fascination for the gaps in cultures and the bridges that span them ever since. She has been many things—-web database architect, product manager, technical writer and massage therapist—-but is currently a full-time parent, artist, writer and anthropologist to aliens, both human and otherwise.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
Her fiction has variously been recommended for a Nebula, a finalist for the Spectrum, placed on the secondary Tiptree reading list and chosen for two best-of anthologies; her art has appeared in RPGs, magazines and on book covers.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 31, 2017
This was a cathartic and beautiful conclusion to a thoughtful, moving trilogy. The first three-quarters focus on Pathen, a Claw of the repressive Stone Moon empire who dreams of a better future and slowly, surreptitiously, and cleverly works to make that happen, ably helped by friends and associates. The last quarter picks up with the principle characters of the first two books, bringing very moving resolution to their personal conflict and also solving the mystery and curse of Jokka existence in Ke Bakil.
The trilogy overall and this book in particular are suffused with respect for ideas and for struggling for things beyond mere personal gratification. People don't act venially or spitefully. They can be cruel, arguably selfish, and violent, but they're never small minded. There's no banality of evil here--the principle antagonist is a man with a vision and who sorrows over suffering even while inflicting it. This makes the trilogy ... I won't say a comfort read: I'll say a solace and a source of hope.
I fear if I say "idea," people might get the idea that the story is very wooden and all-philosophy, but that's not at all true. The writing is fluid and beautiful, the characters engaging, and the tension and suspense definitely high.
If those lines and what they hint at appeal to you, then you're likely to love the trilogy.
The trilogy overall and this book in particular are suffused with respect for ideas and for struggling for things beyond mere personal gratification. People don't act venially or spitefully. They can be cruel, arguably selfish, and violent, but they're never small minded. There's no banality of evil here--the principle antagonist is a man with a vision and who sorrows over suffering even while inflicting it. This makes the trilogy ... I won't say a comfort read: I'll say a solace and a source of hope.
I fear if I say "idea," people might get the idea that the story is very wooden and all-philosophy, but that's not at all true. The writing is fluid and beautiful, the characters engaging, and the tension and suspense definitely high.
"The empire is not just," I whispered.
"The empire is imperfect," the eperu corrected. "As all things that exist on the World are. But one must begin somewhere."
If those lines and what they hint at appeal to you, then you're likely to love the trilogy.
May 2, 2013
A brilliant, perfect, sweet, sad ending. I will be thinking on this for a while.
Go, read the trilogy! It's amazing!
Go, read the trilogy! It's amazing!
March 21, 2019
Hands down, the best of the three. This book managed to avoid violent rape at least. That alone is a huge improvement. The whole story of House Asara, Pathan, Hesu, etc., was great. I wish we could have had more of that after the conclusion of Thenet’s story. That one just depresses me. Everybody else gets a happy ending, but all of the protagonists from the first book pretty much got sad endings. Ugh.
August 21, 2018
An amazing ending to a great trilogy
I am still too mesmerized by the ending to write in great detail, but this was a fitting and brilliant last novel to the Stone Moon trilogy. Trying not to spoil anything, I'll simply say that everyone had amazing character development and that the story concluded in a very fitting way.
I am still too mesmerized by the ending to write in great detail, but this was a fitting and brilliant last novel to the Stone Moon trilogy. Trying not to spoil anything, I'll simply say that everyone had amazing character development and that the story concluded in a very fitting way.
November 29, 2022
Unique and fascinating series where everything belong in triads. People, society, gods are all represented by triads. What happens when the society sunders into 3 separate groups of people, each believing they are superior caste. How do you bring about a bloodless revolution? I'm sure I'll be re reading this series soon
March 22, 2026
I didn't expect to cry this hard for all the pain in this book, but perhaps I should have. Even for Roika, who I never would have imagined shedding tears for.
January 17, 2016
So, this was the final book of the Stone Moon trilogy... and I still have mixed feelings about the whole thing. On the one hand, the worldbuilding is undeniably thorough, and thoughtful - this particular volume switches narrators yet again, this time to explore the fruits of Roika's empire-building and how the Jokka culture has adapted to all the changes. (The fact that political maneuvering and legal loopholes are how the het manages, in the end, to preserve its "real" culture was strangely satisfying; I would cheerfully read more of that.)
But my real problem with this book, and the series as a whole, is what it has been from the start: too much telling, not enough showing. It's not that the characters here aren't memorable, or don't have personalities - I actually found most of the Jokka in this one quite endearing! - but rather that nothing is ever followed up on, so we are told that someone has changed but never actually see what prompted it. It's kind of tough to describe, but a good example: at the start of the story, Darsi seems to have some kind of unrequited crush on the narrator, but it's glossed over entirely in favor of action sequences; a little later on, we're suddenly told that he's longing after someone else (who I don't think had any screen time, either previously or afterwards); and then later, out of nowhere, poof! Darsi has deep feelings for yet a third Jokka, and this time it's apparently real. Darsi is no village bicycle, but with the missing depth of characterization here, you could probably be forgiven for drawing some different conclusions...
Maybe this might seem picky; in a less ambitious work, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me as much. But because this series is, fundamentally, not about an empire or politics but about the relationships between people and other people, and how complicated context can make everything... I expected better. I was having fun with the first two-thirds of the story - but then we narrator-hopped again and suddenly all the steam went out of the finale. Clearly it's not that Hogarth can't write good, strong characters... I think it's just that this particular series got a little too enamored of its Big Idea, and took on too many characters to play chess with, and ended up on some muddled middle ground between plot and characterization.
But my real problem with this book, and the series as a whole, is what it has been from the start: too much telling, not enough showing. It's not that the characters here aren't memorable, or don't have personalities - I actually found most of the Jokka in this one quite endearing! - but rather that nothing is ever followed up on, so we are told that someone has changed but never actually see what prompted it. It's kind of tough to describe, but a good example: at the start of the story, Darsi seems to have some kind of unrequited crush on the narrator, but it's glossed over entirely in favor of action sequences; a little later on, we're suddenly told that he's longing after someone else (who I don't think had any screen time, either previously or afterwards); and then later, out of nowhere, poof! Darsi has deep feelings for yet a third Jokka, and this time it's apparently real. Darsi is no village bicycle, but with the missing depth of characterization here, you could probably be forgiven for drawing some different conclusions...
Maybe this might seem picky; in a less ambitious work, maybe it wouldn't have bothered me as much. But because this series is, fundamentally, not about an empire or politics but about the relationships between people and other people, and how complicated context can make everything... I expected better. I was having fun with the first two-thirds of the story - but then we narrator-hopped again and suddenly all the steam went out of the finale. Clearly it's not that Hogarth can't write good, strong characters... I think it's just that this particular series got a little too enamored of its Big Idea, and took on too many characters to play chess with, and ended up on some muddled middle ground between plot and characterization.
March 22, 2015
This book largely continues the strengths and themes of the previous two books in the series, so I won't dwell on those too much. It's still extremely well-written, with an engaging pace and characters that are easy to empathize with. In fact, now that I think about it, there really aren't any one-dimensional stock characters to be found.
One thing I really like in this third book is that it doesn't go the obvious direction of a climactic final battle against the evil empire. Some of the characters are able to recognize good and bad in all things, even though others realistically want to tear it all down, being very believably influenced by their emotions. It is the former who prevail, leading their fellows to walk a tightrope of gradually pushing boundaries and subverting the empire from within.
My only real complaint is that, although this is a satisfying conclusion to the series for both the characters and the story and world overall, we're still left with some pretty big unanswered questions. This doesn't necessarily make the experience less complete, and perhaps some of this is explained in other books set in the world, but it is frustrating given how much certain characters fixated on them.
One thing I really like in this third book is that it doesn't go the obvious direction of a climactic final battle against the evil empire. Some of the characters are able to recognize good and bad in all things, even though others realistically want to tear it all down, being very believably influenced by their emotions. It is the former who prevail, leading their fellows to walk a tightrope of gradually pushing boundaries and subverting the empire from within.
My only real complaint is that, although this is a satisfying conclusion to the series for both the characters and the story and world overall, we're still left with some pretty big unanswered questions. This doesn't necessarily make the experience less complete, and perhaps some of this is explained in other books set in the world, but it is frustrating given how much certain characters fixated on them.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews