The Scouring: Sudden Quiet: Book III

by Joshua Veith

Nature’s green power is scouring Michigan clean—of infection, warlords, and the chaos of societal collapse. A Healer has emerged, new alliances are forged, yet the danger—especially for Miin on Beaver Island—has never been greater.Nature’s green power is scouring Michigan clean—of infection, warlords, and the chaos of societal collapse. A Healer has emerged, new alliances are forged, yet the danger—especially for Miin on Beaver Island—has never been greater.

In Sudden Book III, Panzerland implodes, even as Red Hand militias tighten their grip. Meanwhile, Mukwa and Shaggy journey through Detroit and the Ohio borderlands seeking to rescue the ELF extremist, Nighthawk, from Dr. Schark. Trouble is brewing back on Beaver a witch has been caught. It is up to the next generation of tree-talkers to save their beloved teacher.

The Scouring is a climactic finish to the Sudden Quiet series, providing readers hope, not just for the dystopian world of the trilogy, but for our own.

528 pages, Hardcover

Published November 17, 2025

About the author

Joshua Veith is an educator, adventurer, and outdoor enthusiast. He graduated from the University of Michigan, later earning an MA in Literature from Eastern Michigan University. Today Joshua lives with his wife and two sons in northern Michigan, fishes and hikes in the same spots that Hemingway enjoyed, and teaches a literature class on JRR Tolkien. As a public school teacher and writer, Josh strives to be an Indigenous ally, recognizing that traditional relationships with the environment offer the most sustainable pathways for humankind’s interaction with the planet.

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the concluding chapter of the The Sudden Quiet triolgy, Veith delivers a masterclass in storytelling that defies all genres by displaying the best elements of all of them. There is satisfaction and heartbreak and hope and tension and wonder and dismay all wrapped in the prose of a skilled hand that acknowledges influence while weaving something wholly new. This third book is a promise kept to all readers of the previous two entries. Endings can be polarizing, but one that suggests a beginning is always welcome. What a welcome delight.

[Joshua Veith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a bit biased (author), but early reviews are glowing! One reader, Sara, wrote: "I read Book 3 in 2 days! Couldn't put it down!! Great job! Great series!! I want more!!"

[Sara Barnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this series! All 3 books were excellent reads that I could not put down. The Scouring tied everything up and gave a satisfying ending while still making me want more!

[Bruce Parliament · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-formed, fitting end of the trilogy. I look forward to Joshua's next endeavor.

[Zach Deegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic conclusion to the trilogy. This one just got better and better!