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A review by nickedkins
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
5.0
This is everything I could ask for in a science fantasy novel. The premise of a planet where seismic activity is strong enough to be a civilisation-level threat is interesting, but the key part of the world-building is the way people react to this threat, on both an individual and a societal level. A caste of people (orogenes) who can influence earthquakes, a group that controls and weaponises them, a general public that relies on the orogenes but for whom they are a hated other; all of these are believable reactions. A society where progress is snatched away with no warning would not have our techno-optimism, nor our trust-based globalised trade relations; a local, conservative, resilient culture is much more appropriate.
The way that individuals act and interact within these structures is the difference between an interesting thought experiment and a novel with emotional weight, and this is where Jemisin shines. It's one thing to understand that 'rogga' is a slur, or that being useful can be satisfying even if you know you're being exploited, or that living within a hierarchy for long enough can lead you to internalise it, or that a group of pirates would need a charismatic leader, but seen through the eyes of her characters, rather than 'understanding' these things, you feel and know them.
The way that individuals act and interact within these structures is the difference between an interesting thought experiment and a novel with emotional weight, and this is where Jemisin shines. It's one thing to understand that 'rogga' is a slur, or that being useful can be satisfying even if you know you're being exploited, or that living within a hierarchy for long enough can lead you to internalise it, or that a group of pirates would need a charismatic leader, but seen through the eyes of her characters, rather than 'understanding' these things, you feel and know them.