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The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, 1)
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times) This is the way the world ends. . .for the last time. 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 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. Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.
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Community Reviews
The Fifth Season falls into a category that for me, is very difficult to rate. It is greatly overhyped (as of 2024), it seems very unpolished and rushed at times, but it still is a very good book.
The book starts rather poorly. The writing style -although interesting- leaves much to be desired. Especially when it comes from an experienced author in a celebrated book. It gets better as it goes on, but at some point it may look like the start of the book was written from a different person. If you see it as an experiment though, you may like it.
The world building is impressive. It makes you want to know more about the world and the power system. Also, the fight scenes are easy to follow and do not drag too much. The characters are a bit bad though. Most of them are more villains than heroes and by the end I did not care too much about what happens to them.
Also, what is this with all the fantasy books that NEED to have twists? Any experienced reader can see some of the twists around 100 pages before they happen...
In any way, I could not stop reading it. I wanted to reach the end and see what happens and i did not get bored in any part of the book. But since the characters are so underwhelming, I don't think I will ever read the sequels.
tl:dr worth your time. Not worth the awards though...
The book starts rather poorly. The writing style -although interesting- leaves much to be desired. Especially when it comes from an experienced author in a celebrated book. It gets better as it goes on, but at some point it may look like the start of the book was written from a different person. If you see it as an experiment though, you may like it.
The world building is impressive. It makes you want to know more about the world and the power system. Also, the fight scenes are easy to follow and do not drag too much. The characters are a bit bad though. Most of them are more villains than heroes and by the end I did not care too much about what happens to them.
Also, what is this with all the fantasy books that NEED to have twists? Any experienced reader can see some of the twists around 100 pages before they happen...
In any way, I could not stop reading it. I wanted to reach the end and see what happens and i did not get bored in any part of the book. But since the characters are so underwhelming, I don't think I will ever read the sequels.
tl:dr worth your time. Not worth the awards though...
As a geoscience fanatic and a fantasy lover I nearly drooled when I began to read this!!! As with the Inheritance Trilogy, there is a good amount of world building .I love the diversity that N.K. Jemisin incorporates and the development of Essun.
This was my first book I read by N.K. Jemisin and I was not disappointed in the slightest. The start did confuse me quite a bit and I admit I did nearly give up but I'm so glad I didn't!
This book is so clever and so well wrote out, it's extremely impressive. Some of the most intricate characters I've ever read. It falls somewhere between sci-fi and fantasy but manages to do both aspects extremely well. The books after this one only get better in my opinion- I can see why this is a must read.
This book is so clever and so well wrote out, it's extremely impressive. Some of the most intricate characters I've ever read. It falls somewhere between sci-fi and fantasy but manages to do both aspects extremely well. The books after this one only get better in my opinion- I can see why this is a must read.
This was amazing! I love fantasy books. It’s my favorite genre. I love them because they take me out of this world. I tend to read the same type of fantasy, usually romantasy with a few high fantasy series. I loved The Fifth Season so much because it’s so different than anything I’ve read in this genre. I have to admit I was confused for a while. It took me halfway through the book to really understand exactly the type of world they live in and the type of magic that some of them possess and what the orogenes can do. But it was fantastic! I loved it and jumped right into the next one.
1.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: 2nd POV
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2024
I wish there was a more obvious marking that it is written in 2nd POV (second person *you* point of view). The stating interesting narrative style is not a warning but a trap. I would have liked to know - again in a clearly labeled fashion (I avoid reading too much about a book before starting it because I like the feeling of jumping right in... note: I rely on recommendations and genre labels and overall stars).
So now, I pass the warning on to *you.* Rise from your green sofa, leave your laptop behind, and pick out a different book and maybe new friends. Bob is not a good friend to you. You must remember that.
2 out of 10 for 2nd POV
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