Reviews tagging 'Murder'

La quinta estación by N.K. Jemisin

140 reviews

tonihdd3's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective fast-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? It's complicated

4.5


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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Wow this book is genius, and we’ll written too. I’m mind blown and so excited to see where the series goes. Loved the complexities of the MCs. Overall, it was super well done and so interesting. 

Multi POV, Excellent World Building, 1 🔥

“But then, how can they? Who misses what they have never, ever even imagined? That would not be human nature. How fortunate, then, that there are more people in this world than just humankind.”

“He refuses to allow her any of the polite fictions and unspoken truths that have kept her comfortable, and safe, for years.”

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chaoticnostalgia's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced
  • 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

4.5


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charrlee's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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

"Let's start with the end of the world, why don't we? Get it over with and move on to more interesting things."

N. K. Jemisin has created a work that is engaging, intelligent, heartbreaking, and perhaps, above all else, raw. As a reader, I never considered myself a huge fan of consuming science fiction because I never really felt like I had any rights over a genre that is so dominantly white. In these fictional realities that are often set far into a distant future, I never got the privilege of seeing myself in these futures -- that is, of course, until I found Jemisin's work. In her book, I discovered everything that science fiction should be, and it is not your standard magic or space laser. Science fiction is freedom of imagination, the bending of reality, the questioning of power sources, and an exploration of the "what ifs" that are in every world. And of course, we love to see novels where characters can be unapologetically black.

Right away, you can tell that the world building is nothing short of phenomenal. Also, if you're a fan of books with maps, you're in luck friends. Jemisin is world building done right - you don't get all the answers up front. Yes, there is the context of the continent you are on, but there is also speculative history embedded through bits of stonelore throughout the novel. Nothing is given fully upfront, you are as much of a learner as any character in the novel. The invitation of mystery and the elation of speculation entices you further into the world Jemisin has worked so hard to craft. The scaling of the book -- macro to micro history and systems -- is so seamlessly woven into the text. Alongside the characters, you are also learning new information about a world that is brimming with unknowns. There are so many teasers present, and let me just say, some of my favorite pages were the interludes. 

What I am most excited to rave about is the writing style of the book. I LOVE a book that is non-linear in storytelling, and Jemisin does just that. The perspective of characters shifts throughout the chapters, and at each point the perspective is also taking place at an entirely different time. While this might be a turn off for some, I urge you to bear with it even if you are not a fan of non linear stories, because it just works so well for the set up; if nothing else, stay for the character reveals if you haven't managed to piece it together during the read. Additionally, Jemisin toys with the idea of how the perspectives are delivered throughout the novel. Out of the three main character perspectives (Damaya, Syenite, and Essun), two are told in limited third person and one uses second person perspective. Now, it has been a minute since I've read a book that properly uses the second person perspective, and my mind was blown away with how well the second perspective works with what Jemisin is achieving. You are Essun, and Essun is you; understanding this throws the idea of agency, identity, and subject versus object into a realm of subversion. I personally don't include spoilers in my reviews (I would get to carried away in my reivews), but I swear that the way identity and perspective is explored in this novel is truly unique; I've never experienced a read quite like it. 

Of course, it isn't a SciFi review if I don't get technical about the element x(s) in the Fifth Season. The story is set in a world that is ironically called The Stillness. The Earth is constantly impacted by earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunamis (you know, all the fun environmental disasters!) that can only be quelled by orogenes; people who can connect to and seismically control the Earth. Despite the importance of the orogenes in maintaining the world, they are oppressed slaves under the Fulcrum. Due to misguided fears and lack of understanding, the stills (people who don't have the power of orogeny) are convinced that orogenes are dangerous and must be controlled at all times. The ability of orogeny is innate for those who possess the power, making them persecuted by the stills who are trying to stabilize the world by ensuring fewer unexpected elements. I want to be clear: this book is phenomenal in the way it addresses systematic oppression (who has power and/versus who controls it?), but it is also very graphic in the methods that are used in maintaining this power structure. There is genuinely so much to discuss on the topic alone, that I almost feel like I am doing a disservice by not attaching an essay on everything the novel touches on. 

In a bonus round of everything else I loved about the book:  
*The characterization/lore around Father Earth 
*The way land is discussed/the conversations that can be centered around land/nature
*Construction of alternative societies (that are in opposition to the Fulcrum) 
*One of the BEST representations of a polyamorous relationship (it genuinely brought me so much joy)
*Found families and finding people who unconditionally accept you
*The visibility of characters - there is someone for everyone 
*The way Jemisin interrogates racism and prejudices  

Lastly, one of my favorite quotes in the book (though I have many) 
"But human beings, too, are ephemeral things in the planetary scale. The number of things that they do not notice are literally astronomical." 


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fmcphaden's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

This is a remarkable story. All three novels in the Broken Earth trilogy Erin the Hugo, and for good reason. 

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thepinkrainboots90's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I just love this story, this concept, the structure. The story is not super complicated but I can’t summarize this story in a cohesive way: It’s sci-fi, fantasy, post apocalyptic, themes of all the isms (colonial, imperial, race,etc) it’s about Father Earth and the evolution of environment and human race? Just give it a read chile lol

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sproutedpages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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? Yes

5.0


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bezarue's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

Feels weird to give 5 stars to a book that if I had to describe the feeling it gave me in one word it would be 'unsettled'. This book is so creepy and so unlike anything I've read before. I enjoyed all the plot twists
SpoilerI guessed that Damaya and Syen were the same person but I wasn't sure about Essun and I definitely didn't guess about Tonkee.
I'm kind of obsessed with Alabaster I think? In an Andrew Minyard kind of way. This was DARK and I feel vaguely sort of watched, now that I've finished it. We love a morally grey cast of characters. It was also at times horrifically sad but always in a way that leaned more on the horror than the sadness. I just want Essun to find Nassun. 

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kichizibi's review against another edition

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It was slow moving, had difficult content, was due at library so didn’t finish but might try again. 

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atomicrobin's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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

4.75


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