Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle …
This is the way the world ends. Again.
Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze — the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman’s vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.
Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
You like your fiction post-apocalyptic? How about post-MULTIPLE-apocalypses? Jemisin crafts an emotionally intense read, and a thoroughly detailed and believable fantasy world filled with complicated and relatable characters. Reads a bit like a focused memoir, and a bit like an over-arching look at humanities' cruelty and resilience.
And, excitingly for Jemisin fans, it looks like this might be her first series that continues some of the same characters from one book to the next? Just a guess based on the ending: it will be fascinating to see what comes next!
The Fifth Season is the best fantasy I've read in a long time, it's just outstanding. If you're interested in geology and seismic activity as well as epic fantasy, this is the series for you! I had only really heard about N.K. Jemisin in relation to the Hugos, an award I generally haven't had much faith in, so I don't really run out and buy the shortlists. I'd noticed a few more people on bookstagram reading this trilogy, especially with the recent release of the final instalment, so I bit the bullet and gave it a go. I'm so glad I did!
This is a world in constant preparation for a major ecological event. Called the Stillness, the earth is never still for long. There is a huge amount of seismic activity causing earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. The people live in secure walled comms, easier to defend when the …
The Fifth Season is the best fantasy I've read in a long time, it's just outstanding. If you're interested in geology and seismic activity as well as epic fantasy, this is the series for you! I had only really heard about N.K. Jemisin in relation to the Hugos, an award I generally haven't had much faith in, so I don't really run out and buy the shortlists. I'd noticed a few more people on bookstagram reading this trilogy, especially with the recent release of the final instalment, so I bit the bullet and gave it a go. I'm so glad I did!
This is a world in constant preparation for a major ecological event. Called the Stillness, the earth is never still for long. There is a huge amount of seismic activity causing earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis. The people live in secure walled comms, easier to defend when the season comes. They stockpile food and everyone has a use caste which determines their use when the end of the world happens. Only, this time, this will be the last time the world ends.
The story is told from three perspectives, Essen, Syenite and Damaya. They all have something in common, they are oregenes. This means they can sense activity in the earth and control rocks and minerals. In such an unstill world, they are a useful tool, and in Yumenes, they are enslaved to serve the stills. In the comms, people have been taught to fear them and free oregenes hide their power or risk death or capture.
It is a story of prejudice. In this world, the majority of peeople have dark skin, which would make sense in such a unpredictable climate, so it's not based on skin colour. Parallels can be drawn between the treatment of the oregenes and slavery, but it is never heavy handed. Oregenes are called, roggas, a derogatory term, but one which some claim for themselves. They are treated as less than human, bred for power and exploited time and time again.
The people live by something called stone law. I loved how this was incorporated, the sense of something being written in stone both literally and figuratively. The laws aren't questioned, they are assumed to be complete and unchanged. They are written in stone to survive the seasons and pass on knowledge to survivors after all.
Essen's chapters are written in second person present tense, which sounds horrific but it just goes to show how good this book is that I was sucked in enough to barely notice. The other narratives are also present tense, but it just works. When a character talks of something in the past, it makes it so much more final. It is gone.
There are also mysterious obelisks in the sky, stone eaters who can move through stone, cruel Guardians and a whole bunch of threads that are coming together already. Fortunately, I don't have to wait for the next book!
This is a rich and fully imagined world, but it is not an easy read.
This is a world of casual cruelties piled one on top of the other. Those cruelties pass, for the most part, without comment or, worse, a welcomed with gratitude. This is a world where the way things are goes unquestioned, even by those who are treated abominably. It is a world of where grim and heartbreaking decisions are all too common.
But there is also hope here. This is the story of a few people who have found a place where they can imagine a new and different world.
Although I found it hard to read at times, I found both the world and the characters that inhabit it compelling. I am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next books in this series.
The author does a good job jumping between three different stories which all have different feels. The world is vibrant, and is shown, not told, so there's all sorts of little mysteries constantly being resolved as you figure out how this world works. There's some pretty interesting stuff in here about history, in two senses. One, history as a sequence of events that have consequences in the present and into the future. And two, history as a received record and its influence on society and individuals. There's a lot of stuff about colonialism, slavery, etc., also, which is not particularly subtle but not distractingly heavy-handed either.
It's not particularly spoiler-y to mention that this book deals with 'how a society works when sometimes, unpredictably, everything goes very bad and the species' survival is at stake'. Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem has a similar theme, …
I liked this book a lot.
The author does a good job jumping between three different stories which all have different feels. The world is vibrant, and is shown, not told, so there's all sorts of little mysteries constantly being resolved as you figure out how this world works. There's some pretty interesting stuff in here about history, in two senses. One, history as a sequence of events that have consequences in the present and into the future. And two, history as a received record and its influence on society and individuals. There's a lot of stuff about colonialism, slavery, etc., also, which is not particularly subtle but not distractingly heavy-handed either.
It's not particularly spoiler-y to mention that this book deals with 'how a society works when sometimes, unpredictably, everything goes very bad and the species' survival is at stake'. Liu Cixin's Three Body Problem has a similar theme, though this book spends a lot more time on it. So you spend a lot of time in this weird society which bears a lot of resemblance to our own, but also has a lot of contortions because of the aforementioned threat of doom. And I guess the central conflict of this book is how to fix this society, or alternate ways of living under this threat. Blah blah, in some sense this all applies to real life, how will we real humans adjust in response to great shocks, this book helps us think about such questions.
This is a read that does not disappoint. It's got some peculiarities and some rather off timed vulgarities but overall I found the entire beginning to this epic fascinating.
The prose is well done. I can feel rocks now. I want to be a geologist. I want to reach into the earth and.. wait.. I can't do that? Bah.. The way this is written makes you ache with the lost knowledge of many deadcivs and that really fascinates me. How many eons are at work here, how long has this never ending death (or near death) of Earth life gone on? What was forgotten? Why is it happening? Glimpse? Glimpse? No? Little crack? Ooh.. What? TELL ME MORE DAMNIT.
The classic ache of knowledge heretofore is a constant string pulling us forward. Then you have the chapter setup which has no time until you progress and …
Liquid Hot Magma!
This is a read that does not disappoint. It's got some peculiarities and some rather off timed vulgarities but overall I found the entire beginning to this epic fascinating.
The prose is well done. I can feel rocks now. I want to be a geologist. I want to reach into the earth and.. wait.. I can't do that? Bah.. The way this is written makes you ache with the lost knowledge of many deadcivs and that really fascinates me. How many eons are at work here, how long has this never ending death (or near death) of Earth life gone on? What was forgotten? Why is it happening? Glimpse? Glimpse? No? Little crack? Ooh.. What? TELL ME MORE DAMNIT.
The classic ache of knowledge heretofore is a constant string pulling us forward. Then you have the chapter setup which has no time until you progress and you start wondering how the threads are tied together. Wow. I started hazarding the way it unfolds would be the way it did but it still threw me a bit. I take issue with the Intermissions because they only Intermit one voice and that's hard to track. Then the be-bopping between timelines gets a little sordid; while I guess the author wants us surprised a chapter starting with the year would have been beneficial to keep my brains continuity map right.
Anyhow. Small things. Small things. Grit.
The world is built solid as rock, the characters and their stonelore are great concepts. This new function of humanity and what it can tap is marvelous and stone eaters. Really? I feel like I got a little Dr. Whovian twist in all of this.
The lives you follow are diversified and well built. As mentioned earlier there is some oddly placed vulgarity and sexuality which feels off because it's perfunctory. It could have been utilized more but it's deadpanned in a few places which take this from something PG13 to something I'd have to wait for a youngling to read. I like the passions though and understand the undercurrents.. sometimes. There is a lot of hidden facets in these people and I don't always want to shake them for understanding but sometimes I do. lol.
Much to learn, much to be curious about. At the end of the book I turned around and read the beginning again because it made so much more sense. Did you?
Digging into book 2 now. Once again finding out the last book isn't slated till the Summer. Bah!
Review of 'The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth)' on 'Unknown'
4 stars
Awesome start to what is looking like a great series. I loved the characters and the "3 stories at the same time" buildup to the conclusion. Go out and grab a copy of this and the sequel and prepare for an adventure in The Stillness with all your favourite fantasy tropes like: magic, murder, vengeance, backstabbing, and, of course, confusing story lines and relations.
Prior to starting The Fifth Season I was in a fantasy rut. The last few books I read in that genre were uninteresting and dull. I began to worry I had burnt out on the genre, or I could only read the likes of Sanderson and Hobb.
From the opening page of this book I knew I was going to like it. It started at an unusual spot in the tale, and even though the beginning of fantasy stories are filled with uncertainty and confusion, The Fifth Season never felt like it was intentionally withholding details.
This is stonelore: Honor in safety, survival under threat. Better a living coward than a dead hero.
As the story unfolded Jemisin created a unique magic system that was a blessing and a curse for those who had it. The world and introduction to the Orogenes, their …
Death was always here. Death is you.
Prior to starting The Fifth Season I was in a fantasy rut. The last few books I read in that genre were uninteresting and dull. I began to worry I had burnt out on the genre, or I could only read the likes of Sanderson and Hobb.
From the opening page of this book I knew I was going to like it. It started at an unusual spot in the tale, and even though the beginning of fantasy stories are filled with uncertainty and confusion, The Fifth Season never felt like it was intentionally withholding details.
This is stonelore: Honor in safety, survival under threat. Better a living coward than a dead hero.
As the story unfolded Jemisin created a unique magic system that was a blessing and a curse for those who had it. The world and introduction to the Orogenes, their Guardians and the treatment from the Stillheads was excellent.
The multiple threads of story telling encouraged the reader to connect the dots and kept me burning through the pages.
This story is deserving of the Hugo Award it received in August 2016 and I’m eager to read the second book in the series.
Fantasy is not a genre I am familiar with. In general I am more drawn to "real life" kinds of stories, literary fiction, classics but I will occasionally delve into sci-fi or fantasy if the right book strikes my fancy. One of the groups I belong to here on goodreads read The Fifth Season last month and everyone raved about it so when I saw the book while browsing the shelves at the library I thought "why not?"
I, alas, wasn't as blown away by this book as everyone else it seems. I'm a little bit confused by all the 5 star reviews, honestly. Yeah, it was enjoyable enough, it had some very imaginative storytelling, with the world building and stone-lore and all but I was not blown away. It was entertaining but I'm not even sure if I will bother reading …
3 1/2 stars because of the world building
Fantasy is not a genre I am familiar with. In general I am more drawn to "real life" kinds of stories, literary fiction, classics but I will occasionally delve into sci-fi or fantasy if the right book strikes my fancy. One of the groups I belong to here on goodreads read The Fifth Season last month and everyone raved about it so when I saw the book while browsing the shelves at the library I thought "why not?"
I, alas, wasn't as blown away by this book as everyone else it seems. I'm a little bit confused by all the 5 star reviews, honestly. Yeah, it was enjoyable enough, it had some very imaginative storytelling, with the world building and stone-lore and all but I was not blown away. It was entertaining but I'm not even sure if I will bother reading the next installment in the story. I feel zero emotional involvement with the characters. And that's one of the biggest problems with the book as a whole. I feel the character development was weak and I felt absolutely nothing about them. They were cardboard cutouts at best. I don't necessarily need likable characters but they should at least be interesting. And the big reveal wasn't a surprise at all, I guessed way in advance because Jemisin provided the clues to put two and two together if you were paying attention. So big whoop. If I DO continue with the series it will be to see where she takes the story what happened to the moon? What about the obilisks?
The way Jemisin threw some gay (or rather bi-sexual) characters in the mix and also a transsexual did absolutely NOTHING for the story. It kind of came out of left field to suddenly be reading about cocks and threesomes. Like wtf? It was like she was proving how hip she was by adding these personality traits to the characters. It made no difference to the story whatsoever so why even go there? Unless maybe, in later installments sexuality comes more into the story? IDK Whatever, it seemed pointless to me and completely kind of fell flat and took me out of the story because I was too busy scratching my head. I don't consider myself to be a prude and I don't mind that kind of thing, (exploring the sexuality of the characters if it serves the story, and you know, sometimes it is the story ;) ) only here it seemed just shoehorned in there for no reason other than "oh look polyamorous people in dystopia".
Also, I'm not a big fan of following different storylines. It seems a lot of authors are using this devise and for me, personally, it doesn't work. It pulls me out of one story and forces me to start all over again. It ruins my emotional involvement in the characters not to mention is jarring and makes me lose my train of thought and interest in the constant back and forth of stories. Personal preference.
So all in all this was an imaginative read. It was different. It wasn't the best thing I ever read. It's worth a read if you are looking for something different. It's definitely worth a read if fantasy is your thing. Who knows maybe you too will be blown away like everyone else.
It is easy to see why this novel was the 2016 Hugo Award winner. The story is just incredible, with plot, setting, and characters all being creative and engaging. It's the sort of story that leaves you wondering what do you want to be and do with life. And then confronts you with what to do when you realize you can't be what you want, but must instead struggle to survive.
I'm normally not a big fantasy reader, but I heard this won the Hugo so I gave it a try. It's so good! Such a great world she's imagined and characters that feel three dimensional and complex, the cool way the story lines interconnect as the book proceeds, I'm hooked. And I'm heading right into book #2, which just came out. I think there's a book #3? And I fear it'll be long away? I have a suspicion I will be sad about that once I've finished book #2.
I think this book broke my brain. I equal parts loved it and hated reading it. But I loved it. I am out of words to begin to describe this book. It's...amazing.
