Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

52 reviews

lothalbaby's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

The worldbuilding in this is so incredible. It's probably my favorite thing about it. The lore, the continent, the gravity of the situation! Just wow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Violence, Death, Grief, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Bullying

Minor: Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence

yourbookishbff's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

We've got a (maybe?) post-apocalyptic world with three alternating POVs, a nonlinear timeline, a mysterious (and potentially unreliable?) narrator speaking to us in the second person and a few of the most richly developed characters I've encountered in fantasy. The writing style is hard to define - each POV is starkly individual, at times alarmingly casual and at other times poetic and at still others a stream of consciousness. 

There really is no other book (I know of) that serves as a useful/direct comparison, but I do believe readers who love the Locked Tomb series (particularly for Muir's use of an unreliable narrator/second person POV in Harrow) and Legendborn (for Deonn's skillful use of fantasy to create a rich allegory for slavery and colonialism) will enjoy this.

And THE TWISTS. They were perfectly executed. Jemisin weaves clues in so subtly that you don't notice them for what they are until you've reached your first big reveal. I love an author who can pull off a well-deserved twist that all at once feels both obvious and unbelievable because they've laid the foundation so well. It's a pet peeve of mine when fantasy authors deliver a plot "twist" simply by omitting crucial information for the reader (looking at you SJM-House-of-Earth-and-Blood-and-House-of-Sky-and-Breath), and this, thankfully, is not that. 

Highly recommend!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Slavery, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror and Blood

Minor: Abandonment

elizabeth_lepore's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

_annika__'s review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Grief, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Violence

danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

A brilliant allegory about the human desire to master and control nature and how it causes our own ruin. There's also commentary on racism, empire, and the military industrial complex for good measure. The world building is exquisite. The characters are beautifully drawn. Definitely recommend, especially if you're a sci-fi/fantasy fan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

mrsmowrey's review

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's definitely not for anyone who finds diversity and sexuality to be offensive. It also requires you to use your own imagination, things are not spelled out for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual content, and Child death

Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, Violence, Racial slurs, and Racism

Definitely one of the best books I have read in years.

bwwilhelm's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

This book does NOT shy away from the horrors of slavery and genocide and war. Pay attention to the content warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Murder, Torture, Emotional abuse, Grief, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Child death, Genocide, Hate crime, and War

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Animal death, and Ableism

Minor: Blood

racheldoesthings's review

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• 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

3.75

Hard to get into the book but a good ending and intriguing concept 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Child abuse

Moderate: Bullying

Minor: Abandonment and Physical abuse

purplepenning's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Racism, Rape, Slavery, Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Blood, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, and Eating disorder

Minor: Cannibalism and Pregnancy