The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth, #1) in The Sword and Laser

Jun 18, 2016 Jon added it

Shelves: science-fiction, fiction, read-in-my-50s, loved-it, hugo-nominee, fantasy

4-4.5 stars.

The author has come a long way since I read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I may have to go back and read her duology that was published after the Inheritance trilogy.

The Fifth Season may even get my top vote for Best Novel in the Hugos. I've still got two to read though, but this book was very well done. ...more

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Nov 26, 2018 Michelle rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, 2018, science-fiction, fantasy, dystopian, lgbtq, book-clubs, bbbbc, award-winner-hugo, lgbtq-gay

Oh wow, what to say about the Fifth Season?! This is a unique little gem that tells the story of a world tearing itself apart, where some have the ability to move the earth beneath them and things are far more complicated than they initially seem. It’s intricate and bizarre and so so good!

The story is told from three perspectives: Damaya, Syenite, and Essun. All three are women who are considered Orogenes, those that can feel the earth beneath them and manipulate it as easy as they breathe. Each Oh wow, what to say about the Fifth Season?! This is a unique little gem that tells the story of a world tearing itself apart, where some have the ability to move the earth beneath them and things are far more complicated than they initially seem. It’s intricate and bizarre and so so good!

The story is told from three perspectives: Damaya, Syenite, and Essun. All three are women who are considered Orogenes, those that can feel the earth beneath them and manipulate it as easy as they breathe. Each of these perspectives is incredibly different in tone giving us a pretty wide view on what it’s like for an Orogene in The Stillness (the world they live in). Each of these women is at different stages in life with different connections, and it just adds so much to the story to see how each one responds to oppression, abuse, and family. It’s truly difficult to pick a favorite perspective because each one adds something vital to the story and they work together to create this much wider picture slowly but surely over time.

The style of the story is where I think most people will have issues, and admittedly I did at first when I attempted this solely in print. Essun’s perspective is told in 2nd person, which is something rarely attempted in books, and you are placed into her story directly. It’s kind of bizarre at first, but I think it served to really add a level of emotion that I’m not sure would be there otherwise. We get a sense of how orogeny feels and how Essun struggles with her personal identity and loss. There is also the matter of world-building, which is done based on what our characters know themselves with the rare exceptions of the interludes which give you just a touch more than you should know. As a result we don’t get a clear picture of the planet’s history and culture surrounding Stonelore, because most of the characters we spend a lot of time with either don’t know the answers or keep them heavily guarded. This reads like a post-apocalyptic book set on our own Earth, which is never explicitly stated but I think kind of adds a level of wonder to the story. How did it get to this point? Why has the world and it’s people changed so much?

The audio version of this book is absolutely excellent! While the print copy has a very helpful glossary of terms that I think is worth a little extra money to have on hand, I think the audio version is the way to go. Robin Miles the narrator, who I listened to for the novella Binti, does such an amazing job! She has an excellent range of voices and some fantastic pacing.

For a book that has such an iffy start it quickly became one I didn’t want to put down. I’m super excited to move onto The Obelisk Gate and see just where these characters’ stories lead us, because after the intense ending it would be impossible not to continue onward. ...more

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May 12, 2017 Shaunesay rated it it was amazing

This book deserves every bit of the hype it has gotten and more. Here is a list of the awards and nominations it has received:

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015)
Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016)
The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015)

Did you know there was a Red Tentacle award? Me either! But now I need to go find out more about it!

I was lucky enough to be at the Hugo Awards This book deserves every bit of the hype it has gotten and more. Here is a list of the awards and nominations it has received:

Hugo Award for Best Novel (2016)
Nebula Award Nominee for Best Novel (2015)
Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (2016)
The Kitschies Nominee for Red Tentacle (Novel) (2015)
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy (2015)

Did you know there was a Red Tentacle award? Me either! But now I need to go find out more about it!

I was lucky enough to be at the Hugo Awards when this book received Best Novel last year, and it was so exciting! There was so much happiness in the room that N. K. Jemisin had won. It felt like a love wins victory after the weird political divisiveness that has been going on in the Sci-Fi and Fantasy world that is such a mirror of real world politics. I wasn't aware of that until I knew we were going to World Con and had started doing some research and ran into articles discussing the different factions. I would have expected this genre to be the most open minded and accepting of all, considering it is based on magic and imagination and science we haven't achieved yet. But alas it still has some ugliness to work out. I think it's dwindling, but it is still there.

That cannot dim the greatness that is The Fifth Season. This was such a well crafted and interesting world, story and cast of characters. There are many messages worked in, class systems, prejudice, history being set by the winners, and rewritten to suit the regime, all woven into a story where it fits, it's not forced, it just is part of the world. Which brings up another idea to me, acceptance of what is, because you don't know any different, and the idea that maybe you need to look further than the surface to see what's really going on. The world itself is so intriguing to me, the "powers" that certain people have are geology based, and it is definitely a post apocalyptic world, perhaps many times post apocalypse, as is suggested in the first line of the summary. This has all happened many times before, they have lore which relates instructions on how to survive it, but maybe that won't be enough this time. There are mysterious DeadCiv artifacts from long gone times, and strange floating obelisks that clearly served an important function, which has been lost over time.

Enjoy isn't the right word for this, I was fascinated and so interested to see where it was going. I'm definitely in for the rest of the ride, and highly recommend it! I wish I had taken notes while I was reading it, there were so many a-ha moments and "I see what you're doing there" that I'm finding difficult to relate now after the fact, universal truths and parallels to our world that make this one changed yet still recognizable to us. Yes, I'm gushing. I'll stop now, you should definitely check out this 5/5 book for yourself! ...more

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Jun 05, 2019 Winter rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, scifi

Coming back to goodreads after being away for a while. So I'll skip the long review and just say I loved this series. So much. I don't even know where to start. It felt fresh in so many ways. From the authors voice to the characters to the world building. It came at a perfect time where i was feeling like I was reading the same sci-fi and fantasy stories with slightly different wrapping paper over and over. It was honestly one of the best series I've read in a good decade. ...more

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Jan 25, 2017 Justin rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy

Suffers a little bit from First Book in the Series Syndrome in that the plot is a bit scant and takes a long time to get started, but the characters are so perfect and the worldbuilding so exquisite that it's still a joy to read. ...more

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