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

adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

Woah, that was intense. It took me a while to get into it first and get used to the writing. Just because the world building is so rich and dense and there is a lot you need to understand. But there are no info dumps, you basically have to learn along the way. It didn’t help that I only discovered the appendix when I was almost done with the book. 🙈 But it was fascinating from the very beginning and definitely worth it. I flew through the second half and couldn’t put it down. The characters are not the most likeable at first but I fell for them, hard. I went through hell and back and more hell with them and they’re basically family now. This is also probably the most diverse fantasy book I‘ve read so far. So many different ethnicities, body forms, hair structures, age groups, sexual orientations and even trans representation. So many different relationship types that are explored. And it‘s also written by a black woman. I‘m a fan! 
The story, uff, it‘s a lot. It’s brutal, disturbing, full of gore, death and physical as well as emotional abuse of children and adults. But it‘s basically about the end of the world, so… I would recommend to check the trigger warnings. On the other hand it deals with important topics like discrimination, oppression, slavery, destruction of the environment. It‘s a depressing story that feels too real. I could write a lot more and still not be able to fully express what this book has done to me. It wrecked me and gave me hope and broke my heart and devastated me. Can‘t wait to read the rest of the trilogy… 
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