The Diamond Of Darkhold

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of illness and death.

The City of Ember series consists of The City of Ember (2003), The People of Sparks (2004), The Prophet of Yonwood (2006), and The Diamond of Darkhold (2008). While the books were published in the sequence noted, The Prophet of Yonwood serves as a “prequel” to the overall story, with its events occurring first in the narrative timeline.

Ember, a city in a massive cavern under the Earth’s surface, is the common bond between the books. Ember is built in the mid-21st century when war and apocalyptic destruction seem imminent. A group of engineers and scientists secretly plan, construct, and outfit Ember as a safe location where the human race can continue for at least 200 years. To ensure that everyone stays in Ember, no information about the world on the surface will be shared with its new generations. 

Besides stocking the city with supplies, the Builders prepare Ember in three important ways: 1) A generator is installed, powered by a fierce underground river, that creates electricity for light and appliances; 2) The Builders, planning for residents’ eventual departure once the surface is habitable again, leave a booklet describing the path out (the Instructions for Egress) in a box with a timed lock on it.