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A review by champipen
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
3.0
A very intentionally crafted story with clear themes on belonging, ostracization, personal growth, and making the best out of a bad situation- and if your best isn't enough, to change the situation.
This is the first time I've read a book where the author speaks on such 'familiar' terms with the reader. It was a bit startling at first and I warmed to it eventually, but it did feel a tad out of place without a framing story set around it (the whole 'let me tell you a tale- cut to chapter one' sort of thing). All in all I liked the author's prose and approach to story. The pace was a bit slower than I personally prefer but it forced me to spend time in the world she had crafted.
I LOVED how it was set in a fantasy world but felt very sci-fi with its terminology and science of things and explanations behind groups and politics and the like. I think that if I were to choose, I'd put it in the science fiction category.
The first third of this book had me drowning in terms I didn't know and trying to track multiple viewpoints set in different timeframes. The terms issue could have been solved by using the glossary at the back(was reading on a Nook, so I didn't realize it until the end) and the viewpoints sorted itself out in time. I will say that the 2nd person narrative took a minute to get used to, and I could see it seeping out in other chapters that were 3rd person, which didn't impress me, intentional or not.
All in all I liked the book very much, but it was missing a crucial element for me. I found myself wanting to know what happened next rather than actually caring about the plot, world, and characters, if that makes sense. For this reason I dropped it down to a 3/5 instead of 4/5, though that's merely personal preference.
Would recommend to someone looking for scifi/fantasy with strong female presence.
This is the first time I've read a book where the author speaks on such 'familiar' terms with the reader. It was a bit startling at first and I warmed to it eventually, but it did feel a tad out of place without a framing story set around it (the whole 'let me tell you a tale- cut to chapter one' sort of thing). All in all I liked the author's prose and approach to story. The pace was a bit slower than I personally prefer but it forced me to spend time in the world she had crafted.
I LOVED how it was set in a fantasy world but felt very sci-fi with its terminology and science of things and explanations behind groups and politics and the like. I think that if I were to choose, I'd put it in the science fiction category.
The first third of this book had me drowning in terms I didn't know and trying to track multiple viewpoints set in different timeframes. The terms issue could have been solved by using the glossary at the back(was reading on a Nook, so I didn't realize it until the end) and the viewpoints sorted itself out in time. I will say that the 2nd person narrative took a minute to get used to, and I could see it seeping out in other chapters that were 3rd person, which didn't impress me, intentional or not.
All in all I liked the book very much, but it was missing a crucial element for me. I found myself wanting to know what happened next rather than actually caring about the plot, world, and characters, if that makes sense. For this reason I dropped it down to a 3/5 instead of 4/5, though that's merely personal preference.
Would recommend to someone looking for scifi/fantasy with strong female presence.