Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

67 reviews

elizabeth_lepore's review against another edition

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, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Transphobia, and Pregnancy

city_girl_writer's review against another edition

adventurous 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? Yes

4.5

This was really good. This was my first N.K. Jemisin book, and I am impressed. When the twists were coming, I was at the edge of my seat. The narrator did a great job bringing more life into the characters. I don't fully understand the world, but I think the sequel will help me to better adjust. Very curious to see what happens next in The Obelisk Gate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cannibalism

bookslumper's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Police brutality

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Excrement, and Colonisation

yomireads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? Yes

4.5

A well developed fantasy setting with intriguing and unique magic systems in place, while maintaining the familiarity in a system that exploits the same people it oppresses. The different perspectives allow for a solid look at the world, though it often feels difficult to grasp, with magical vocabulary that's equally difficult to acclimate to without familiarizing yourself with the appendix first. I also have a personal struggle and bias against 2nd person perspectives, though the writing was superb, and the discomfort and tone of a 2nd person narrative is definitely intentional and masterfully executed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Kidnapping

jessthanthree's review against another edition

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, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Pedophilia, Rape, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, and Classism

andsoitgoes's review against another edition

5.0

Excellent, unique fantasy novel. Very fast paced. I appreciated the different writing style (2nd person, lots of slang). Check trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Classism

Moderate: Racial slurs

Minor: Cannibalism

brycestevenwilley's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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

4.5

Interesting journey, the worldbuilding is very well integrated, and the rules don't feel like they're in flux as much as you, the reader, and ghe characters themselves are finding out the limits and mysteries.

I always forget that there's an appendix in the back, would have helped the first 75 pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

studydniowka's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

One of the best fantasy books I have ever read. Epic story about the world so different but still so similar to our lives here and now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism

_forestofpages's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

** content warnings: child death, violence, abuse, murder, torture, graphic sexual content, enslavement, environmental disaster, grief **

This book throws you into the deep end of a post-apocalyptic world that is on the verge of yet another apocalyptic event. But this one, might just be the final one.  

There are a smallish group of marginalized magical people and the humans that enslave them, but most of the population of Father Earth (yes Father not mother, no idea why) is small because Father Earth is angry and continuously triggers these world shattering events called "Seasons". They are always different, and always devastating. Most of the time these seasons wipe out large swaths of the population and their civilizations, forcing humanity to start over every few decades. 

The plot can be hard to sift through at first, because again, you are thrown into the deep with no life-raft, but once you have a handle on the basics and the characters are established (about 70 pages in or so), the story takes off and some of your questions are answered, then a lot more are posed. The writing is amazing, the second person parts are so immersive and make you really feel like you are a part of this story, and the amount of forethought is incredible. I personally am upset with myself for not picking this up sooner. The very obvious climate themes are so relevant, and terrifying in this context. The psychological depth of the characters and their journeys, and the raw emotion of the main character's personal tragedy, not to mention the tragedy of the orogene in general is gut-wrenching, and so beautifully done.

If you haven't read this yet, I doubt you will disappointed.  Overwhelmed maybe, but not disappointed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Blood

madyou's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Minor: Cannibalism and Pregnancy