Tag Archives: N.K. Jemisin

Historical Sources and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy

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On December 17, 2019, I published part two of my ongoing series for Tor.com, History and SFF. This time I wrote about how N.K. Jemisin uses historical sources to tell the story, and to contradict that same story, of her award winning trilogy The Broken Earth. Enjoy!

History and SFF: Historical Sources and N.K. Jemisin’s Broken Earth Trilogy

History and SFF | Historical Sources and N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy | Tor.com | The Boomerang

History is the interpretation of the past based on written and recorded texts. These texts are known as historical sources and they are the sine qua non of history writing. Over the past centuries, techniques have developed for how to categorize, evaluate, and analyze historical sources. Being a historian means that you dedicate a substantial amount of your time mastering these techniques in order to make your interpretation of the past valid and reliable.

In The Broken Earth trilogy, N.K. Jemisin uses historical sources to tell the history of The Stillness, a seismically overactive continent where human civilization is repeatedly destroyed through prolonged cataclysmic events known as Seasons.

Please click here if you wish to read the article in its entirety.

In the words of my friend, the Australian, I shall return.

When Your Favorite Fantasy Book Series Comes to an End

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On January 18, I published the following post on Book Riot.

When Your Favorite Fantasy Book Series Comes to an End

“When the music’s over
Turn out the light.”
–The Doors

Two of my favorite fantasy book series have come to an end—N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy and Myke Cole’s The Reawakening Trilogy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a little bit ironic that that both of these series ended at the same time, because I found Jemisin and Cole at the same time. A year and a half ago, I had reached a point where I felt unchallenged by what I’d been reading lately, so I went searching for new writers to discover. Through a combination of the serendipity that is the daily life of a Book Riot contributor and the chaos that is twitter, two names caught my attention.

N.K. Jemisin and Myke Cole.

A couple of sure-why-not-induced mouse clicks later, and their books were on the way to me in the mail.

The first book—or should I say books—by N.K. Jemisin I ever read was…

If you would like to read the article in its entirety, please click here.

In the words of my friend, the Australian, I shall return.

Interview for Geek Dad/Geek Mom on Racism and Diversity in Speculative Fiction

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St. Maurice

On April 11, 2017, I was interviewed by the blog Geek Dad/Geek Mom. We talked about racism and diversity in speculative fiction, about the state of the art in historical research, and how to locate trustworthy sources when you do your own historical research when writing speculative fiction.

And of course, I recommended some books. And referenced Stargate SG-1.

You can check out the interview here.

In the words of my friend, the Australian, I shall return.