The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1)

by N.K. Jemisin

There is an art to smiling in a way that others will believe. It is always important to include the eyes; otherwise, people will know you hate them.

There are many other such cairns around the world: a thousand ruined cities, a million monuments to heroes or gods no one remembers, several dozen bridges to nowhere.

the ending of one story is just the beginning of another. This has happened before, after all. People die. Old orders pass. New societies are born. When we say “the world has ended,” it’s usually a lie, because the planet is just fine. But this is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. This is the way the world ends. For the last time.