A review by flollmanders
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

4.0

Somewhere between really liked and absolutely loved, the deficiency is definitely with this reader. I have trouble bonding with books that have highly specific world-building: worlds with gendered magic, metal magic, rock magic, etc. There's always a poke in my arm of "hey, wouldn't it be cool if x" that feels fake. Like, "hey, wouldn't it be cool if there were a world...where people got their power from...baked goods? and the best bakers ruled the world?" That said, she is spot on with some of the best stuff about fantasy: power dynamics, alternate mores, and huge magical explosions! The other thing I realized I missed was any hint of humor. Fair enough, the world is ending. And I'm a big fan of female characters who struggle with "likeability," which is also hugely relevant especially recently in American politics. But my personal reading preference is grit + dark humor. Team Abercrombie v. Team Sanderson, if you will. Quite excited for book 2, though!