Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

22 reviews

delphinaris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

what the fuck, like actually. There's genuinely so many different moving pieces to this book. I have so many questions, just like, wow. I fucking called it that all POVs were the same person, I knew it. Also Syenite pissed me off so much, like it was just one stupid move after the other. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Animal death, Alcohol, Infertility, Infidelity, Child death, Abandonment, Cannibalism, Xenophobia, War, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Slavery, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, and Child abuse

This book is majorly fucked up; especially the scenes in the Fulcrum. Read at your own risk.

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

4.75

I was very confused in the beginning, and I’d say I didn’t quite understand what was going on until about 75 percent of the way through the book, but by the end I was very invested. N.K. Jemisin is a genius

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Child death, Gore, Murder, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Racial slurs, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual content, Slavery, Stalking, Animal death, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Torture, and War

Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism

galacticvampire's review

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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.

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Content Warnings

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

katievallin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Child death, Racism, Rape, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Bullying, Police brutality, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Slavery, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Body horror

Minor: Cannibalism, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

cptnstphy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Fascinating what Jemison is capable of! The story unfolds in very unexpected and exciting ways. I knew early on that I would have to read it twice to really understand it, and I look forward to doing so. The worldbuilding is strong and the characters mysterious and interesting, and the reader can feel connected to them in some ways despite the fantasy-inflicted differences.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Slavery, Blood, Confinement, Murder, Sexual content, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Medical trauma, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Grief

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, and Physical abuse

Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, and Vomit

kaimetcalfe's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gore, Violence, Medical content, Child death, Grief, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Torture, Cannibalism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Pregnancy

winterdevil's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I maintain that this is a masterclass in worldbuilding and narrative. Highly recommend.

A semi-reread and read. I started it a few years ago right before a vacation, and so I stopped around 65% because I was on vacation and forgot to pick it up again for... years. Nonetheless, I finally got around to reading it all the way through and had the very unique experience of feeling like this book is too big-brained for me but also I cannot find a single flaw. A single drawback. A single area for improvement.

Is it long? Yes. Complex? Yes. But it is also, to me, beyond reproach. The sheer depth of craft (and research) that went into this is undeniable, and after reading it, it's really no mystery how Jemisin keeps collecting awards. The Serena Williams of SFF, y'all.

And so I must stan. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Violence, Slavery, Sexual violence, Child death, Death, Grief, and Racial slurs

Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

purplepenning's review against another edition

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

seemz's review

adventurous dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Bullying, Murder, and Pedophilia

Minor: Alcohol, Transphobia, and Vomit

vigil's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

what was that???!!??

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Cursing, Alcohol, Body horror, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Racism, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Child death, Blood, and Cannibalism