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The Fifth Season
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.
These book club questions are from PBS.
Book club questions for The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.
Before reading, are you a fantasy fan? What are your perceptions about fantasy writing?
The prologue begins with the line: “Let’s start with the end of the world, why don’t we?” What do you think has caused this devastation?
Chapter One is told in the second person “you.” Does this help you connect to the character of Essun?
What exactly is a “Fifth Season”?
How does Jemisin build the world the readers are in? Why do you think she chose to call the land “The Stillness”?
As you read, are you identifying most with Essun, Damaya or Syenite? Or a more minor character? Why?
Early on, the character of Hoa says “much of history is unwritten.” Do you think that’s true in our world as well?
Why do people in the Stillness fear orogenes? Do you see them as dangerous?
What parallels are you seeing between the fractured landscape and climate disasters in the book and our own planet?
How is the theme of oppression explored in the book? Is this oppression individual or structural? How does it resonate with our own world?
What is the meaning of the words “rogga” vs. “orogene”? Why do you think Jemisin chose to introduce both words to the reader?
Does Father Earth hate his human inhabitants? If so, why, and what’s the meaning behind that?
What is the role of humor in this book? How would you describe Jemisin’s authorial voice?
Do you find yourself using the glossaries at the back of the book? How does it help build out this world?
What do you think Jemisin is trying to say about power in this book? How do the Guardians fit into that?
Did the connectedness between the three main characters at the end surprise you? Why do you think Jemisin used this narrative device?
The dedication at the beginning of “The Fifth Season” is: “For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question.” How does that resonate now that the book is over?
The Fifth Season Book Club Questions PDF
Click here for a printable PDF of the The Fifth Season discussion questions