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

adventurous dark sad 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

4.0

The Fifth Season is an exemplary entry in the fantasy genre and exactly what I hope for from a Hugo Award winner. This book is a compelling examination of tragedy on a macro and micro level; the death of a son and the fall of a civilization. 

Jemisin draws the reader in with a conversational omniscient narrator, fluctuating between third and second person. This unique narration style builds intrigue by providing context and foreshadowing without giving too much away, ex:

In fact, these days no one really pays much attention to the things at all, though they are huge and beautiful and a little terrifying: massive crystalline shards that hover amid the clouds, rotating slowly and drifting along incomprehensible flight paths, blurring now and again as if they are not quite real—though this may only be a trick of the light. (It isn’t.)

The narrator’s personality and occasionally irreverent tone also provide some much-needed lightheartedness to balance out some of the extremely dark moments in the book.

This is not a horror novel, but some scenes are so visceral and disturbing that they're almost too painful to read. However, these scenes never feel gratuitous or disrespectful. Jemisin is very intentional- each of these graphic moments serves to hammer home the injustice of the world and the traumas that have shaped the characters.

The Fifth Season is both a compelling story in its own right as well as an exploration and critique of revisionist history. The story strikes cutting parallels with real-world issues like institutionalized injustice, imperialism, and climate change. Jemisin seamlessly delivers this pointed commentary without taking the reader out of the fictional narrative.

This book is a master class in world-building and character study. Jemisin leverages nonlinear storytelling in a way that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

The reveal that our three protagonists are ALL the same character is so good. This serves as a great exploration of how identity evolves throughout life.

My only complaint would be that this book really does feel like the first entry in a series.

It’s interesting that the climax of the book takes place in the middle of the timeline, but the reader definitely does not get closure for the majority of threads in the “present” timeline.

I’m curious to see how the story will unfold and if the author will continue to use the same narration style or switch it up now that we know Essun’s backstory.