“Intricate and extraordinary.” – New York Times on The Fifth Season (A New York Times Notable Book of 2015) WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2016This is the way the world ends…for the last time. A season of endings has begun. It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world’s sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son … sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun.
It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.
It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out:
The Inheritance Trilogy
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Broken Kingdoms
The Kingdom of Gods
The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition)
Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction)
The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella)
Dreamblood Duology
The Killing Moon
The Shadowed Sun
The Broken EarthThe Fifth SeasonThe Obelisk Gatemore
An exceptionally splendid story with a new twist on fantasy.
The Fifth Season was the first book I’ve read by N. K. Jemisin, and it won’t be the last. Few authors are able to break the mold with a truly unique fantasy story, but she has done so with The Fifth Season and succeeded wonderfully. I loved the plot, the world-building, the magical system, basically everything about the book. The story takes place on a far-future earth, or possibly an alternate earth, where the continents have been pushed together, and humanity is barely hanging on. Jemisin skillfully reveals bits and pieces about the world and the plot, giving you just enough to understand what is happening but making you want to discover more.
The three principal characters are captivating, each on their own. Syenite is a somewhat powerful orogene (a person who is both needed and feared because they have the ability to use the energy of the earth to unleash either destructive or beneficial forces). She is paired with an even more powerful orogene who is emotionally unstable. Another primary character, Essun, searches for her husband, who has killed their son because the child has begun to use the powers. The third major character, Damaya, is a young girl beginning to exhibit her magical abilities. Her parents have given her to a man who will bring her to a place to train. Only as the book progresses and nears its conclusion do we realize the connections between them. The writing structure she uses for each character is unique, setting a different mood for each. This aspect of the book alone makes it worth reading, but there’s so much more in the story.
Jemisin creates a world with various cultures connected to each other and separated from each by their differences and the need to survive when the seasons change. Death and destruction follows, often lasting for decades until the new season begins, and the cycle eventually repeats.
I highly recommend The Fifth Season to everyone, especially those looking for a new twist on epic fantasy. I’m certain I’ll soon be reading the second book in the series.
This is one of those books that I find myself thinking about for days afterward (and probably years). It’s dauntingly original, following three stories with women at the center, and all are dealing with a planet that doesn’t behave: volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis often destroy whole cities. By the time the three narratives interconnect, I was blown away, both by the plot and by the themes. The Fifth Season is possibly the greatest book I’ve ever read—it’s certainly in the top five.
Here, some people feel the earth enough to shake it, move it, and distort it enough to call calamities. Of course, normal people as you and I wouldn’t want those lot to be roaming free, would we? So, we kept them chained, trained them, made sure they cannot be angry no matter what, sometimes, we even told them who to love and who not to. If they do whatever we tell them to, we give them rings. If they are loyal enough, if they master the art of controlling the earth, they can even be Ten-Ringers. But even then they must bear as many children as we want, with whoever we want. They are people with gifts, but so what? Gifted people don’t rule. Normal people do.
That’s the premise of The Fifth Season.
It took some time to understand and get along with the world in this book. Often, the world felt depressing, a world that I would certainly not daydream to live in. However, straight from page one, I got to see the strong author voice. The narration style kept pulling me to read even the tiny moments.
And the theme that the author explores, made it shine.
I saw reviews in Goodreads saying, it was hard to get into at first. I wouldn’t deny it. The characters and the world came here in a passive, grimdark manner along with the author’s snide remarks. It spices up the prose, true, but straight from the beginning and for a long time–moreover, with second-person-pov, it might feel not easy to adjust. Only in the beginning.
I’m not normally a fan of non-linear storytelling but Jemisen does it so excellently I have to rethink my opinion of it. The worldbuilding in this novel is magnificent—the storyworld isn’t just a setting for the stories, it is interwoven with the characters and plot to form an integral whole. I am in awe of how this fabulous story takes so many disparate parts and fits them together into a perfect piece of art.
What brilliant writing. And such complex characters and relationships. I am in awe of this author. Superb.
This book is one of the best sci-fi / fantasy I’ve read. No wonder it got a Hugo award. The world building is amazing. The characters are engaging and very human. The plot is interesting and heartbreaking.
There is great representation in this book. The magic in the story is based on geology and I found all the science bits especially interesting.
And the character arc… I cried so hard at the end!
It may be a bit slow to get into the story but it is worth it. The most powerful people are outcasts here. There is great commentary on racism, slavery, abuse and fear.
I highly recommend this book! In my opinion, an audio & ebook/paperback mix is best to elevate the reading experience.
It deserved the Hugo award and the accolade from the NY Times. I can’t praise it highly enough
Once in a while, a book will come along that deals with some pretty heavy hitting themes and nails them in a disturbingly perfect way. The Fifth Season is that kind of book. If you do not appreciate dark fantasy books, steer clear of this one.
Orogenes are seen as scum, less than human because of their ability to shift the tectonic plates and warp nature. The Fulcrum takes in orogene children and raises them into tools to prevent earth shattering quakes. They also have their own breeding program to create orogenes of certain power levels. The guardians keep watch over the orogenes, killing any that step out of place. But the Fulcrum could never predict the enormous shake that splits the world nearly in two.
The Fifth Season is one of those books that is hard to comprehend at first. N.K. Jemisin built an entirely new world setting, complete with a magic system, politics, castes, different cultures, common terminology, etc. I started with the audiobook and had to switch to the ebook long enough for my brain to latch onto the mechanics of the world. And for the first time in a while, I relied on the provided glossary. By the time I could understand all the inner workings of the world, I was fully invested in the story. And what a story it was.
Readers will follow the lives of three orogene females. Damaya has been rejected from her family for being an orogene. Syenite has become a breeder. And Essun, a woman who tries to hide her orogene abilities to live a normal life. Each has spent their time with the Fulcrum and as a result, became a different person. As the three storylines play out, puzzle pieces will begin to connect and readers will find themselves amazed at what the full picture reveals.
As mentioned previously, The Fifth Season does tackle tough subjects. Racism is the most prominent. Almost everywhere orogenes travel they are called derogatory terms and treated like animals. And if a person is discovered to be an orogene before the Fulcrum can reach them, they will most likely be killed. The Fulcrum indoctrinates orogenes into believing they will only be accepted by them, and only if they prove to be useful. This twisted mindset is one of the major subplots that the main characters struggle against.
But there is also a mystery steeped within the story. No one knows the true history of the world. It seems as if over time certain parts of history have been obliterated. And it will make you question all the foundations of the set world. Readers will follow breadcrumbs throughout the story, pulling pieces together and finding more questions than answers. When you reach the end of The Fifth Season, you’ll be craving the next book demanding answers. I can’t wait to start book two!
As often happens when you read a book (or watch a movie or TV show) that has won every conceivable award that everyone is talking about, I think I expected more from this book than I should have. For all it’s acclaim, it’s a very personal story for a small number of characters and while there are consequences here that will change the entire world the story is set in, it didn’t have the “epic” feel I was expecting. That said, there were some wonderful developments and surprises throughout that I thoroughly enjoyed and I’ll probably pick up the second book and see where it goes. If you decide to read this, just don’t set the bar impossibly high and you should be in for a thoroughly enjoyable read.
This beast of a book took me some time to get through. That being said, the entire time was lovely. There’s a reason this book is on so many must-read lists. It’s unapologetic in its presentation of the world and the characters, doesn’t waste time trying to explain away everything that happens, but justifiably treats its characters as though they are real, living, breathing people. You feel for Damaya, Syneite, and Essun collectively through her years of trials and tribulations and wonder and heartbreak and short-lived harmony. The book did leave me with questions which I’ll be excited to see answered in the follow-up books.
Wonderful science fiction!!
great characters! 3 women, mother, maid & crone, but each fully fleshed out.
First of a trilogy, this is a completely different type of sci-fi/fantasy which deservedly won awards. May take a little while to get your bearings but it’s more than worth it!
I rate this book 5/5! N. K. has some AMAZING world building and her descriptions of scenes and action are what I aspire to as a writer. Must read for any Fantasy Fiction reader.
NK Jemisin is an exceptional author whose novels are filled with characters I expect to see walking down the street, they’re so real. Suffice it to say that as a Black woman who loves SciFi it was and is amazing to read novels with Black characters who are fully formed, 3D people with lives that do not revolve around some white person. Completely refreshing. PLUS, huge bonus, this novel discusses pertinent issues that are affecting lives here on planet Earth, giving fresh insights, and unique povs. Read it.
N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season is more intriguing than satisfying. But that’s fine by me, because when I say it’s intriguing, I mean it’s really intriguing.
The first two lines hint that this is a story that will play with form: “Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things.” That wry tone carries through the prologue, turning what could be a bald infodump into a winking overview of the setting. (It’s also a fun poke at the type of prologue that does dump a ton of backstory on the reader. “None of these places or people matter, by the way,” the narrator says after laying out a few more things. “I simply point them out for context.”)
The experimentation doesn’t stop there. The first few chapters set up multiple timelines and points of view. Damaya and Syen’s are told in third person and Essun’s in second, which is an interesting choice. You can read it as Essun reacting to a horrific tragedy by stepping outside herself, or the narrator speaking directly to Essun. Or, if your attention wanders, you might refocus and think the narrator is talking to you for a moment. This occasionally feels like an accusation: “You aren’t just inflicting death on your fellow villagers, of course. A bird perched on a nearby fence falls over frozen, too … Death was always here. Death is you.”
Throughout, we’re introduced to a unique world. Our world, it seems: Essun and the others call it Earth. But something happened to break it, destabilizing its core and leading to near-constant geologic activity. The worst of this can set off volcanic blasts that lead to “Fifth Seasons,” prolonged winters that last years or centuries. These Seasons also tend to trigger additional side effects: acid rain, crop-killing fungal blooms, and so on.
Humanity has survived these mini-apocalypses by establishing rules known as “stonelore” that dictate how to prepare for and weather such events. But the costs are often high. The Earth is littered with “deadciv” ruins and artifacts, such as floating obelisks. Some technologies, like hydroelectricity, are still understood, but others, like gunpowder, have only recently been rediscovered. Most people are divided into strict castes. On the fantasy side of things, there’s an intricate magic system. Non-humans make occasional appearances, and modified humans also pop up.
The Fifth Season isn’t self-contained, though. The conclusion fulfills few goals. Damaya and Syen never really have any beyond survival anyway; Essun’s quest for vengeance and closure remains open. Other questions remain unanswered too. This first book in the Broken Earth series is mostly about building the world and its characters while developing a crisis the subsequent books will (presumably) resolve.
If it weren’t all so skillfully done, I might have come away feeling a bit cheated. But I’m happy to keep going—Jemisin’s earned my trust. What a vision.
(For more reviews like this one, see http://www.nickwisseman.com)
This masterful story unfolds like a flower blooming, and the moment everything falls into place is awe-inspiring. Reading this makes me want to hone my craft, so I can reach this level of writing one day.
Excellent and original. A rising star in this field.
Fantastic world building with gritty characters
This book involves both Si-Fi and fantasy genre.It is more technical than I taught it would be and also explained really well.It takes you on journey of the character and really immereses you in that characters life like you are actually living through it.
It is beautiful written by the author.