The Fifth Season

Patience pays off with this book. I struggled to get into it for the first 100 or so pages; the world-building is slow and sometimes painfully opaque, and it's hard to get invested in characters. I actually considered dropping it to read something else, but other reviews encouraged me to stick with it and I'm glad I did!

I love books that offer new or fresh perspectives. This is the first fantasy book I've read A) by a black female author B) that has a trans character and C) that explores a spectrum of sexuality in a non-stigmatizing way. The author plays with timelines and character development in a different way that kept me engaged, and often surprised. The writing is straight-forward, casual, and accessible, so it reads much faster than your average fantasy.

But above all, it's the message of this one that really resonates: humans aren't destroying the earth – the planet will go on. We're destroying ourselves.

Can't wait to read the next one – it ends with a lot of questions.

Hardly possible but this book seems to be even better upon re-reading it.

This book is indisputably a great book.
The universe is so original, character well built, diverse etc... I've for sure never read anything similar.
But the writing was so difficult for me to get in.
The complexity of the informations you have to compute was important and due to English not being my first language I had difficulties to get in.
It is not a light reading !!
I am really curious to know what's going to happen in the next book now that I am more familiar with the all context. Would definitely recommend but not to people new to fantasy or reading in english.

This book is the best fantasy novel that I have read in some time. Jemisin has mastered the art of showing, rather than telling. Her daring choice of literary devices, like using the second person, is refreshing, especially in a genre that is distinctly repetitive. The story itself unfolds in the most elegant and natural-feeling way. There are lots of “a-ha” movements towards the end of the book, when so many of the story's events and characters are drawn together—but nothing here feels forced or arbitrary. My single complaint is that the book's ending is not really an ending, but, I guess, this is what you get with a trilogy. It is mitigated by the fact that the rest of the trilogy is already published, so I don't have to wait for a resolution.

I have a feeling that the next generation of fantasy authors will strive to be the next N. K. Jemisin. This book about the planet breaking apart was Earth-shattering for me. Not only was I shocked as an avid fantasy reader at the sheer volume of original ideas and characters, but it also reflects our cultures and world history in a potent way that is completely unique from what previous authors have done.

In this book, you will find a system of “magic” with fantastically detailed rules that follow the science of this created world brilliantly; you will find races and creatures that in no way resemble the typical elves, giants, trolls etc; you will find a world with a 10000+ year history. Yet with all this, the content never seems overwhelming and the pace of the story never drags. (You will also find chapters written in second person, which can become quite an addictive style.)

The cool and original world and characters isn't what makes this book though. What truly sets it apart are the deep and intense social structures. The classic idea of heroes and monsters is turned on its head, and eventually you learn that the characters you follow are considered monstrous villains by other characters. There are some very clear analogies to our world, but it goes far beyond just the analogy to tell a powerful and exciting story. If this book were half as good as it is, I'd have given it 5-stars.

My favorite genres in books are Action and Fantasy. I travel all around the world in my imagination by reading all the action/adventure spy novels I can find. And the other extreme is fantasy - to escape our world completely. Even though my favorites in fantasy are Tolkien and Harry Potter, I have read more of the YA dystopian and paranormal books; probably because epic fantasy deserves a more patient and immersive reading. Game of thrones has prompted me onto the path again and I decided on one very highly reviewed and award winning - The Fifth Season.

The world in the book is called Stillness, a little ironic considering it is constantly ravaged by seismic events - massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis which occur every hundred years or so and destroy the world and its people. The only constant in the world is the struggle for survival. Here, there exist a group of people called orogenes who can control the earth's thermal and kinetic energy to quell the seismic events. Even though they help keep the world safe, they are the most controlled and oppressed by the leadership, with the masses brainwashed about the dangers of associating with them.

The book is about three women orogenes in different stages of their lives, their ordeals and the perils that follow them. Essun is an older woman whose husband killed their two year old son on discovering that he is an orogene. She leaves in search of him and their daughter to get justice. Damaya is a young girl whose family decides to inform and give her up to the Fulcrum as soon as they find out about her powers. What follows is her journey and life in the Fulcrum, training to control her powers and rise up. Syenite is a four-ringed orogene aspiring for more when she is tasked with producing a child with the only ten-ringed orogene known. They travel together on assignment, alternately hating and getting to know each other, helping with the quakes that they encounter on the way. Their stories and lives merge in a very unexpected way to give us a dark and gritty tale.

This book is not like your usual fare where all the plot lines converge to give you a satisfactory conclusion. Here, you get to know the expansive world, its atmosphere, the people, their trials and tribulations, the oppression of the orogenes, histories of the previous seasons that destroyed the world. This is a world where people believe that Father Earth hates them and they should do everything to survive. Amidst these brutal conditions, we get to see some beautiful relationships between unexpected people, small glimmers of hope and love in a world full of despair. This book is hard to understand for the first 20% or so but if you get past it, then what you get is a never before seen fantasy world with characters you can root for. I am eagerly waiting to read The Obelisk Gate.

A little slow-starting for me (though maybe that was that I started it, and then had to return it to the library and wait for it to be available again). Once it picked up, though - the first Damaya chapter, for me - I was hooked. I can't wait for the next two to be available, and I definitely want to read more N.K. Jemisin! If you're reading the ebook, be aware there's a glossary in the back and it's definitely helpful, though I was able to figure out most things from context.

(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #7 Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel, and #16 Read the first book in a series by a person of color)

I don't know that I've ever finished reading a book, sat up in my chair, and then just started cussing it out for a full minute or so. I certainly haven't felt so emotionally affected by a book in ages. I've read Jemisin's Inheritance Trilogy and loved them, but while these books are wonderful and connected, they also each exist as stand-alones. Different protagonists, different themes, connecteed by an amazing world. When I saw her new book sitting on a shelf at a used book store, I picked it up expecting it to be the start of a similar trilogy.

As I closed in on the final chapters and realized there was no way this was wrapping up to my satisfaction, I checked the release date on book 2. It's August 2016.

insert string of expletives I try really hard not to use on goodreads because my students could find me here

Then I finished it and another string of expletives came right out. I walked around my apartment shaking for a while and trying to figure out if I had anything else I could read as a salve. I'm not sure that I do. expletive

I should probably talk about the book. Jemisin is probably the best world-builder of my generation. I say that as a fan of Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett, Patrick Rothfuss, Octavia Butler, Ursula K. LeGuin and all of the other world builders I deeply admire and love. The world of Inheritance is rich and immersive, but the world of the Broken Earth? I don't know that I've every come across anything like it. We've got a magic system unlike anything I've ever read before, a power system unlike any I've ever read, and an apocalyptic setting that manages to be fresh and original in a world currently oversaturated with apocalypses. Jemisin takes familiar fantasy tropes and adjusts them just slightly to make something new. Father Earth hating his children. “Earth” magic that is far more an unstable science. Catastrophic climate changes as part of routine.

Then there are her characters. Jemisin is a stalwart advocate for diversity and her fiction demonstrates that without being overly preachy. Some authors try for diversity and end up with Power Rangers. Jemisin creates a world where race, gender, love, and power are so diverse, so fluid, and yet so intricate to the relationships developing in the story that her world is complexly diverse rather than statistically representative. I do think this is the first novel I've read with an openly trans character that wasn't about being an openly trans person. Maybe Sandman is the only other series I've seen it done so seamlessly without being an anvil on the plot. All of this allows Jemisin to address the issues of prejudice in all of its myriad forms without being a parable, with morality always a blurry line.

And then there is the story. I won't say it's completely unpredictable. Most of the major “twists” are easy to see, but in a way that made me feel like a smart, aware reader and not like the author just wasn't trying, and one element caught me genuinely by surprise. The time shifts take a bit of getting used to, but once you catch on are easy enough to follow. So are the shifts between third and second person. I'm not generally a fan of second person, but this is an author who can handle what should be a gimmick and make it into an effective tool.

So what I'm saying is don't read this book. Not yet. Wait until this series is completed because otherwise you're going to sit her for the next 8 and a half months like me, refreshing the pre-order button on your Amazon page and just hoping that release date will somehow magically change to today.

Executive Summary: Dark, yet somehow not bleak. This book is in easily in contention for one of my favorite reads of the year. Not to be missed.

Audio book: This was first time listening to a book narrated by Robin Miles. She does a fine job, and is a good fit for the story. She speaks clearly and was easy to hear.

I put her into the above average category, such that while she didn't really add to the story to make this a must listen she doesn't get in the way of the story either, such that listening to this book is a good option in my opinion, but not a must listen.

Full Review
This is now the third book of Ms. Jemisin I've gotten from a daily deal. I never got around to trying either of her previous two series, but after enjoying this one so much, they have definitely moved up in my queue.

All of my friends were raving about this book earlier this year, but if not for a daily deal, I might have overlooked it. I'm glad I didn't.

It will be hard to put into words exactly why I loved this book so much without massive spoilers to the plot. Suffice to say, this book was excellently written.

The book starts off rather dark and that gave me pause, yet somehow Ms. Jemisin sucked me into the narrative so completely that I was never really bothered by it. It's not all bleakness either. Much like life there are ups and downs, albeit maybe more downs than many people experience in a lifetime.

The stories of Damaya, Syenite, and Essun were all engaging, and intermixed in a perfect way that while you hated to step away from one story, you were always just as happy to return to another.

The world building is really fascinating to me too. I have a lot of questions lingering at the end, that I hope will be addressed in the later volumes. The magic is unique and interesting. That's getting harder and harder these days. Normally I like well explained and structured magic systems the best. In this case however the mystery of the magic system and sense of discovery as the book goes on worked really well for me.

This book is full of social commentary, that may turn some people away who just want a “fun” story. It's their loss. I think Ms. Jemisin does a great job of exploring issues relevant to our own world while telling an incredibly engaging and entertaining story. In fact some of the things were so well done, that I didn't notice them at first, or didn't really give the much thought until after stopping for the day.

This review doesn't do this excellent book justice. I rarely give books five stars though, so that should hopefully give some idea.

This is a refreshing book in an oversaturated fantasy market. I hope the next two can live up to bar set by this one. In the meantime I might have to make some time to check out some of Ms. Jemisin's previous work, especially since I own the first book of each of her last two series.

Niet gemakkelijk om lezen. Wel goed.

I'm going to pick this back up, but I'm not really in the mood for this type of story. 

Could not get into the second person narration 

This was one of those books that I could not put down, but confused me for a good 50% of the book. Once I got past that though and figured out what was going on then everything fell into place. The world, the characters I would read this again and again just to find other hidden nuances about the story that N.K was building.

I found this book very hard to read, it's cynical nature always put me in a depressing mood after finishing a couple chapters. That being said it's fantastically written very interesting concepts that are fairly well explored.

It is apparently a twist to some people that

Damaya, Syenite, and Essun are the same people

This is bizarre to me. There is no way it could be otherwise. And I saw it when they were introduced.

Anyway,
Look, this book is 5 stars. The prose is tight and neat. The only things I would point out are
1. How confused she was. Her understanding seemed to always come later, and at some point I started to wonder why we couldn't join her at the end of her understanding, why we had to had to spend so long in that in-between. Then she understood. Then she saw. It got repetitive.

That's literally one thing. Huh.

Ok now more spoiler-y things:
That island interlude Jesus Christ. Innon, my God, and their little family. It broke my heart and I'm so glad Alabaster fucking ripped the world apart for it, just like he said he would. Syenite, poor Syenite. How did she even rebuild herself after that? And for it to happen again with Uche.Also that beginning, You are here, is insane. Fucking insane.The narrator for this book is a fucking goat. The whole thing is read so gloriously, all the right pauses in all the right places. I just had to mention. Some narrators get in the way, some are just a vehicle for the story, and some accentuate the story. This one took it to a whole new level.The foreshadowing in this book is great. When Damaya leaves and Jemisin writes she'll wish she had looked back is just one great example.The Guardians are fucking terrifying. I don't think I've read a book recently with terrifying villains. Most times they inspire rage or maybe just annoyance. But these ones, absolutely terrifying. Part of it has to do with how absolute they are, how even the strongest orogenes can be neutered by them. The oppression in this book is systemic and they are the architects of it.When Syenite sees burgundy at Allia, my heart was in my fucking stomach.

This book has temporarily ruined me. I'm trying to read Witness for the Dead and finding its prose too stuffy.

I like the geologic magic focus, but I feel like the author need to open up the world a bit more. I shouldn't finish the book understanding less about a magical element than the main character does.

What's enjoyable about this? The main characters are constantly negative, moaning, complaining, bickering, spiteful, mean etc. All the time. How this received a Hugo is beyond me. So what if there is some world-building or new races etc, without enjoyable characters and something of value out of it all, what's the point? What did I gain from reading this? Pretty much nothing. Do readers gain value by feeling superior to the absolutely crappy main characters? I suspect so, but not for me thanks. It's not even educational as to that psychology, just crappy.
And, just in the interest of balance. I have read literally thousands of novels, probably 10 times what i can remember to add to Goodreads, and VERY seldom do I read something that is unenjoyable, this is an exception. That it was awarded a Hugo is depressing. The only reason it's not one star is that it is not poorly written edited etc.

Amazing unique world building.

I'm going to DNF this, got almost 25% in. I tried, and I do see the quality of the world she's building, and her writing. But i can't even blame the fantasy element this time. I just couldn't connect to the story, and I caught myself drifting. Everything still feels too mysterious, even though I am a quarter into it. And the second person POV really is unfamiliar and a bit annoying. And also, why have one POV in 2nd while the others are in 3rd person!?

Honestly: What.

You know me. I'm a lore-girly. Give me any dosage and I will latch onto it like a little leech.
But for the love of god this book wants me to starveeeeee.
Are the themes great? Yes!
The way oppression, racism, hierarchy are tackled is masterful.
Is the worldbuilding intriguing? YOU BET!
Do we get anything more than the barest of explanations? Think again!

I get why Jemisin wrote it like that. We as the readers are only allowed as much information as the protagonist currently has.
But you cannot show me such fascinating aspects of the world and then leave me hanging.
If Brandon Sanderson feeds us breadcrumbs throughout his stories then Jemisin is here handing out atoms.

I also had my issues which the way she delivered information. You know when an author holds your hand and explains certain parts even though with enough brain juice you'd be able to come to this conclusion yourself? Yes?
Well, don't get too cozy, cause if N. K. does merely senses your hand you get a big fat slap on the wrist and get teleported back to high school literature class.

It's still enough for me to keep on going tho. I do have faith that the next books will deliver what I need. And I believe it will get easier with my growing understanding of the setting.
For what it's worth N. K. Jemisin is a renowned author for a reason. And this was just the first time I dipped my toes into the uncharted waters of her writing.

Their was so much to like about this book but somehow it lost me a number of times and it took far longer to get through than it should have. World building is great. It also feels like a different voice but I don't think I really engaged with any of the characters and the plot didn't really work for me. I will however give the second book a go. A strong 3+star.

Wow. Eso fue increíble. La orogenia es el poder de entender y manipular las piedras y las rocas, las placas tectónicas. Esta historia trata sobre esas personas. Para muchos los orogenes son monstruos, para otros son herramientas, pero ellos sólo buscan su lugar en el mundo. Hay temas muy fuertes aquí, como la perdida de un hijo (no es spoiler porque esto pasa al inicio de la historia), la perdida de identidad, la depresión y sobretodo el racismo y los métodos de control sobre un grupo específico de personas. Tiene momentos muy crudos. El mundo está roto por terremotos que han devastado todo y la gente lucha por sobrevivir. Hay mucha variedad de roles de género, incluso una relación poliamorosa con la que terminé muy encariñado. Es gráfico con lo violento y con lo sexual. No es fantasía para adolescentes, vaya. Tiene de los mejores personajes femeninos que he leído en mi vida y todo el dolor y las luchas de los personajes, sus reacciones y sus opiniones, se sienten auténticas y reales. Ahora entiendo porque la saga ganó tres premios Hugo. La recomiendo infinitamente.

Much of the prose does make this a unique and deep, layered tale with great connections to the earth and environment. It takes a minute to get your bearings with the dynamic at play, but the characters are quickly developed and a bit of mystery/intrigue is introduced fairly early. The journey can feel a little long and disjointed at times, but it makes even more sense (and one might feel rewarded for sticking around) when you hit the last 100-150 pages.

“The Fifth Season” adalah novel pertama dalam trilogi “The Broken Earth”. Novel ini memadukan elemen fantasi, dunia pasca-apokaliptik, dan masalah sosial dan lingkungan hidup.
Cerita berpusat pada sebuah dunia bernama “The Stillness,” yang sering mengalami bencana alam. Benua ini rentan terhadap aktivitas seismik, mengalami peristiwa-peristiwa dahsyat secara berkala yang disebut “musim-musim”, yang membawa kehancuran bagi penduduknya.
Cerita ini mengikuti tiga alur kisah yang berbeda dari tiga karakter utama: Essun, seorang wanita yang mencari anaknya; Syenite, seorang orogen muda yang menjalani misi bersama seorang master orogen bernama Alabaster; dan Damaya, seorang anak perempuan yang baru mulai menyadari kemampuannya dan dibawa ke sebuah sekolah khusus untuk orogen. Ketiganya memiliki kemampuan untuk mengendalikan energi bumi, yang dikenal sebagai orogeny.
Jemisin dikenal dengan kemampuan narasinya yang kuat dan penceritaan yang unik, menggunakan perspektif orang kedua untuk beberapa bagian novel. Tema novel ini termasuk tentang penindasan, diskriminasi, dan kehancuran lingkungan.
Jemisin dengan jenius menghubungkan kekuatan alam ke dalam ceritanya. Peristiwa-peristiwa dahsyat dalam buku ini mencerminkan kekuatan destruktif dari bencana alam dunia nyata, berfungsi sebagai metafora untuk kerapuhan planet kita. Jemisin mendorong pembaca untuk merenungkan hubungan manusia dengan alam.
Novel ini juga menyoroti penindasan yang dihadapi oleh individu-individu yang terpinggirkan di dalam Stillness. Bagaimana struktur kekuasaan justru memperkuat diskriminasi dan sejauh mana orang akan berjuang untuk melawannya. Melalui perjuangan para karakter, Jemisin menyoroti kekuatan semangat manusia dan ketangguhan yang diperlukan untuk menantang ketidakadilan sistemik.
Menjelang akhir, Jemisin menjatuhkan plot twist yang sangat tidak terduga. Dengan mengikuti perjalanan cerita ketiga tokoh utama, pada akhirnya cerita terhubung. Aku sangat merekomendasikan buku ini untuk para penggemar fantasi dan fiksi ilmiah.

As a professional pattern recognizer, I did NOT see that coming...4.5⭐️