The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, 1)

My best read of 2025 The Fifth Season hooked me from the very beginning and never stopped shaking me. By page 61 I was already emotionally undone, and the book kept surprising me in ways I didn't expect. One of the most fascinating parts is the narrative voice. The shift from third person to suddenly being addressed as you caught me completely off guard and made the story feel incredibly intimate, almost unsettling in the best way. The world itself is harsh and deeply unfair, especially toward orogenes. The way they're controlled and dehumanized is heartbreaking, and the Guardians only add to that constant sense of tension. Jemisin builds this oppressive system so carefully that it lingers with you long after each chapter. Around the halfway point, a moment with Syenite and an obelisk left me absolutely stunned. It's written in this intentionally chaotic, unclear way that mirrors the characters' own confusion, and I loved how immersive that felt. Now that I've finished, I can safely say: the way the pieces come together is brilliant. It's emotional, complex, and beautifully crafter. Easily my best read of 2025 so far. Maybe one of my favorites ever.

A bit convoluted, could have been written in a simpler way. But really strong concept.

OBSESSED

Objectively, this is a real good start to what I have heard is a great fantasy trilogy. This was a difficult book for me to rate because I think my personal rating of the book (7 ⭐️) and what I can recognize as the rating objectively great components of the book (9 ⭐️) would lead to different ratings. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book but man were there many times when I read something and thought “what the actual fuck” or I was caught unawares by something abrupt and uncomfy. This book is intentionally written to make you uncomfortable and questioning. There is a lot of bigotry, “othering”, and dehumanization talk and wrestling with those themes in this book. But the way it is implemented into the story is key to the journey of a lot of characters and understanding the world and different choices. It has a point. It teaches you things and makes you - and the characters - confront things you’d rather not. There were also times where I genuinely laughed at some of the things characters said. Sometimes in a “what the fuck where did that come from” kind of way. Or from my own funny brain and kindle comments lol. The prologue is the most disorienting and confusing thing to read. The writing is a very specific style and very cryptic “let’s start at the end” in the prologue. You definitely need to adjust to the style and also make it past the prologue. The story is written in second person POV so be ready for that. It is also non-linear and fragmented in a lot of ways, but also organized and stitched together in a way that does end up making sense at the end in a satisfying way. Trust the process lol Ultimately, I can recognize this was a really well written book and the start to a good fantasy trilogy. The world building is unique and the magic system is as well. I loved how visceral orogeny felt. But I just didn’t get that into it while reading it, and most characters I didn’t really care about, which ultimately has lead to the rating disparity for me 🤷🏻‍♀️

DNF....Chapter 6 and still its just not for me. This is a book with an imaginary world and trying to figure out the different factions and the many main characters just got to exhausting and complicated. Sorry just not for me.