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justkrissaying 's review for:
The Fifth Season
by N.K. Jemisin
adventurous
challenging
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:
Complicated
Things I Liked:
- This book has EVERYTHING I have ever wanted in an LGBTQ+ fantasy. Polyamory? Check. An iconic, cooky scientist transwoman nerd? Check. Like the representation of my DREAMS.
- The worldbuilding is STELLAR. It’s intricate and layered and so, so unique. It’s thought through and the magic system feels rooted in believability, if that makes any sense. SO cool. BUT ALSO SO INTERESTING? LIKE I HAVE QUESTIONS. SO MANY QUESTIONS. And I love the feeling of having questions.
- I’m obsessed with [spoilers]Essun being Syenite being Demaya. The reveal at the end of Demaya’s final chapter had me SCREAMING.
- I love that despite this world being cruel and unkind and harsh and inhumane, there is still love. There are and can still be people who care about and care for each other. Being evil and unkind and monstrous is a choice as much as kindness. That underlying theme gets me.
Things I Don’t Like:
- The things I don’t like are some of the things that are harder to sit with, but I think are part of the point of the book’s overarching narrative and theme, so it’s hard to count that “against” the story, if that makes sense. N.K. Jemisin knows what she is doing, so I trust her, even though my stomach turns. 😂
HONESTLY an incredible story. It made me cry in the first chapter alone and as a mother, with all its motifs of motherhood continually woven in and throughout the rest of the book, this story kept hitting home for me. Hard to read at times, for sure, but worth it.
- This book has EVERYTHING I have ever wanted in an LGBTQ+ fantasy. Polyamory? Check. An iconic, cooky scientist transwoman nerd? Check. Like the representation of my DREAMS.
- The worldbuilding is STELLAR. It’s intricate and layered and so, so unique. It’s thought through and the magic system feels rooted in believability, if that makes any sense. SO cool. BUT ALSO SO INTERESTING? LIKE I HAVE QUESTIONS. SO MANY QUESTIONS. And I love the feeling of having questions.
- I’m obsessed with [spoilers]
- I love that despite this world being cruel and unkind and harsh and inhumane, there is still love. There are and can still be people who care about and care for each other. Being evil and unkind and monstrous is a choice as much as kindness. That underlying theme gets me.
Things I Don’t Like:
- The things I don’t like are some of the things that are harder to sit with, but I think are part of the point of the book’s overarching narrative and theme, so it’s hard to count that “against” the story, if that makes sense. N.K. Jemisin knows what she is doing, so I trust her, even though my stomach turns. 😂
HONESTLY an incredible story. It made me cry in the first chapter alone and as a mother, with all its motifs of motherhood continually woven in and throughout the rest of the book, this story kept hitting home for me. Hard to read at times, for sure, but worth it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Slavery
Minor: Rape