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galacticvampire's review against another edition
5.0
"Stupid, stupid woman. Death was always here. Death is you."
I was enamoured by the concept of The Fifth Season from the first time I heard about it years ago, added to overall praise for the series, I was coming with high expectations.
And it delivered. Everything and more.
The execution not only lives up to the concept, but surpasses it. The suspense isn't there to pull the rug from under your feet in a gotcha moment, it's carefully crafted into the story, where the reveals are satisfying and spark the need for more, even when you caught what the foreshadowing was trying to tell you.
The world is so rich and complex that the initial struggle to follow what was going on (including the recurrent second person pov) has an immense pay-off. The feeling of wonder didn't leave me for a second.
I'm very much on the transition from YA to Adult Fantasy, so the very real darkness and grittiness surrounding everything was unexpected, but I couldn't have picked a better book to make me fall in love with the genre.
This is a story about Pain. This is a story about Grief. This is a story about enduring them and surviving them, because you have no other option.
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Sexual content, Rape, and Bullying
Minor: Alcohol, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Pedophilia, Racism, and Xenophobia
abmochapman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Child abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Misogyny, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Minor: Cannibalism and Slavery
cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Child death, Blood, Grief, and Sexual content
Moderate: Transphobia, Genocide, Bullying, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Gore, Vomit, Animal death, Body horror, Racism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Slavery, Dysphoria, and Confinement
lothalbaby's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Bullying
Minor: Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
onyxkat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Colonisation, Death, Grief, Child abuse, Cannibalism, Murder, Xenophobia, Racism, and Violence
novelteareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: War, Death, and Xenophobia
elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Hate crime, and Transphobia
jessthanthree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Torture, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Slavery, Child abuse, and Violence
Minor: Confinement, Animal death, Body horror, Pedophilia, Classism, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, and Rape
midnightgremlin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content and Slavery
Minor: War, Cannibalism, Vomit, and Genocide
studydniowka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Hate crime, Racism, Xenophobia, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Death, Confinement, Classism, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child death, Torture, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Murder, Medical trauma, Body horror, and Blood