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thewileyseven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
delphinaris's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
This book is majorly fucked up; especially the scenes in the Fulcrum. Read at your own risk.talasterism's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, and Pregnancy
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Hate crime, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Vomit, Stalking, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Cannibalism
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
There was a consistently morose tone and happy moments were few and far between, which I found trying at times. But overal an excellent book that I would recommend widely. Can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Transphobia, Trafficking, and Cannibalism
galacticvampire's review against another edition
5.0
"Stupid, stupid woman. Death was always here. Death is you."
I was enamoured by the concept of The Fifth Season from the first time I heard about it years ago, added to overall praise for the series, I was coming with high expectations.
And it delivered. Everything and more.
The execution not only lives up to the concept, but surpasses it. The suspense isn't there to pull the rug from under your feet in a gotcha moment, it's carefully crafted into the story, where the reveals are satisfying and spark the need for more, even when you caught what the foreshadowing was trying to tell you.
The world is so rich and complex that the initial struggle to follow what was going on (including the recurrent second person pov) has an immense pay-off. The feeling of wonder didn't leave me for a second.
I'm very much on the transition from YA to Adult Fantasy, so the very real darkness and grittiness surrounding everything was unexpected, but I couldn't have picked a better book to make me fall in love with the genre.
This is a story about Pain. This is a story about Grief. This is a story about enduring them and surviving them, because you have no other option.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Colonisation
alexijai98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse, Hate crime, and Cannibalism
Minor: Pedophilia and Sexual violence
ghostofefrant's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alba_marie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The issue with it was that The Fifth Season was a bit too stylised. It required a deep dive into the book, investing in at least 50 pages to really immerse oneself in the text, style and world. And normally, I might be into that. Normally I'd probably love that, even. But it was certainly not the right book to read with a newborn! It was supposed to be done before the baby arrived, but the baby had other ideas and he came early. This is a book that requires full concentration and focus. Not a book you'd dip your toes in here and there in between feeds. For that reason, I struggled a bit to connect with it and follow the various characters and time lines.
But it's clear that Jemisin is a very good writer and visionary. She is amazing at world building, and characterisation. She pulls at one thread and a butterfly flaps its wings 300 pages later.
It takes a long time to get into the story, and to see how all of the stories collide and combine. But when they do, there's an "oh shit" moment that I might have caught earlier on if I had been less sleep deprived.
Beware though – one of the POVs is written in "you" format; the style is obtuse and the purple prose is sometimes difficult to understand. This is high brow fantasy. This is the book that proves that fantasy doesn't have to always be fun and games; that fantasy can also be literary fiction.
At its core (pun intended), the book centres on earthquakes, thermal energy, geology, and earth movements – and the people attuned enough with the earth to control them. It takes the reader across barren landscapes, apocalyptic earths, through earthquakes, past ancient lost civilisations, into crowded cities, and onto pirate ships, secret islands and into the heart of the (evil?) institution at the heart of it all.
I will certainly be reading book 2... when my baby is a wee bit older!
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
drips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation