Today, we will be reviewing the fantasy novel The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin. Keep reading to find out what we thought of this award-winning novel and if you should read it too!
The Fifth Season Summary
The novel starts off with an orogene, a person who can control energy, often the ground but also the temperature, causing a fracture across the entire continent. This starts the fifth and the worst season in history. After this, we get stories from three females.
The first female we meet is Essun and she is full of mystery. She lives in a small comm and is an orogene. She finds her young son beaten to death by her husband and goes numb, overtaken by grief. She then decides to pursue her husband and save her daughter who like their son, is also an orogene.
We then meet Damaya, a young orogene who has just discovered her powers, She is taken in by a Guardian who overwatch orogene. Damaya travels with him to the Fulcrum where they train and control the orogome. It is here where Damaya learns about her abilities and also the secrets that the Fulcrum are hiding.
Lastly, we meet Syenite, who is a talented orogene who is eager to climb the ranks at Fulcrum. Her latest assignment requires her to partner with Alabaster, a powerful orogeme, and she has to conceive a child with him as they do their mission. They travel across the continent and Syenite gets to learn about the dark side of the Fulcrum.
The Fifth Season Awards
In 2016, The Fifth Season won the Hugo Award for Best Novel, making her only the second black person to win the award. The novel also won the Sputnik Award and was also nominated for the the Nebula Award and World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.
The Broken Earth series became the first series where all three books won the Hugo award for Best Novel, making Jemisin the first person to accomplish this. This is an amazing accomplishment and one we may never see again.
My Thoughts on The Fifth Season
When I first started reading this novel, I was a bit overwhelmed with all the information about this continent and how it works. After reading for a bit, you appreciate how Jemisin uses the narration to explain the world we are reading about. Damaya is also new to this world and her narration simplifies everything.
I loved every second of this book and was hooked after understanding the basics. The characters are all interesting and the vast worldbuilding makes this book feel new with every chapter. This isn’t your typical fantasy series and yet, it is perfect. Jemisis says tthis was one of the hardest books she wrote and thought about quitting but kept on writing. With this as the end result, we are glad she did not give up on this book.
Conclusion
This was an amazing first novel in The Broken Earth Series and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the series. I will have to read the series and determine where this fantasy series ranks in my all time list. Expect a few changes in the coming months as I read more fantasy books. I do recommend this series to anyone that loves great world building and great writing. Happy reading!