Will I love The Fifth Season?

I've only recently started reading N. K. Jemison, and I'm blown away by her imaginative world-building. The complex seismology and related supernatural powers that drive the characters and plot of this novel . . . wow. And I really have to pitch reading the next two books in the Broken Earth Trilogy, Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky, right after you finish this first one. The trilogy intertwines stories across a few different time periods, and when I had a long break between reading book one and the other two, it took me a while to get the different storylines… show more.

Jemisin combines geological apocalypse, complex magic, and generational trauma with raw power.

That’s something I explore in my own work, so this trilogy was a strong—if abstract—indirect influence. Few books have stayed with me so viscerally.

The writing is sharp, emotionally devastating, and fearless. It doesn’t just tell a story—it tears through it with tectonic force. It made me want to write braver and more honestly about pain, survival, and what breaks beneath the surface.

I loved EVERYTHING about this book.

An incredible page turner with an immersive world and well-drawn characters. I stayed up until the early morning reading this -- I couldn't put it down! I started on the next one in the series as soon as I could.

This book is both a fascinating vision of a tumultuous world and a deep dive into the mind of a troubled and compelling protagonist.

The character work in this book is incredibly impressive, with the long arc of the protagonist’s development drawn in convincing and gripping detail that left me feeling like I had known this person for years through all their triumphs, tragedies, and mistakes, which is to say nothing of its creative and plausible magic, its socio-political commentary, and its meditation on family and grief. Rightfully recognized as a modern classic, it is a book all fans of… show more.

When I finished this book, I could not stop talking about it. The reasons are myriad. The main character’s scintillating rage drives the book forward, but it’s the creatively imagined world that hooked me. We learn early in the book that some characters can cause and control the shaking of the earth, but they are themselves enslaved by the ruling class.

The mystery unfolds as we learn the deep history of the story world, even as the interpersonal stakes get raised in a series of twists and reveals. The culmination of the series and how it resolves to create one… show more.

The Fifth Season is set in a world plagued by intermittent climate catastrophes and inhabited by a group of people called orogenes, who possess the ability to control energy and, therefore, thwart these catastrophes.

It follows two talented oregenes named Syenite and Alabaster, who are forced by the ruling class to marry and undertake a dangerous mission together. Jemisin’s story is a riveting exploration of environmental ethics, transhumanism, and the concept of the Anthropocene. She challenges her characters and readers to consider their responsibility for the earth and the other organisms that share it. She also depicts the role that… show more.

I recommend this Hugo Award-winning novel for several reasons, but mostly because it is unlike anything I have ever read. I grew up on the Euro-centric idea of wizards and magic, and Jemisin’s book is anything but.

The magic in this world is like nothing I had ever read about before, and yet it was so grounded in nature that it all made sense immediately. This is a journey I couldn’t step away from until it was done. Be warned! This is the first book in The Broken Earth trilogy. You WILL want to read all three. 

I simply couldn't tear my eyes away from the pages–Jemisin created SUCH an immersive world filled with complicated characters and a riveting plot. I needed to devour it. It was hard to take breaks, even though it chilled me to the bone (there are a few disturbing scenes that will forever be imprinted in my brain).

This book has several narrators, and each one is equally incredible. I almost never feel that way; there's usually at least one character who I wish we would skip. It's fantasy, but the issues explored are very, very real. It helped me connect to… show more.

This book has a bit of an edge, and I needed it. While I tend to prefer a bit of comfort and cozy, this was raw and shattered in a way that I found reassuring.

I was going through a lot of loss in my life, and the characters in this book were gripping the shreds of their broken world with every finger. I needed their strength. They were survivors.

The brutal landscape, the unyielding honesty, and the struggle within this book all told me I wasn't alone. It wasn't full of hope or platitudes, but it helped anyway.