Scan barcode
ko2h3ckh's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
chasinggrace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
An adult dystopian masterpiece like no other. The main character’s development is immaculate.
I loved how Syen was a unique view into motherhood, and how Essun looked at motherhood so differently that it’s almost unbelievable that they are the same person.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
hopejune123's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-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 book was impeccable! The writing - the slow reveals, piecing everything together... I am absolutely floored at how much I liked this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
heyitslittlebit's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-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
4.5
Wow. Just wow. It’s a little slow at times and Jemisin really likes to load up her paragraphs with descriptives but it’s so worth it.
I’ve never read a book so confusing and unique and GOOD. Worth every moment.
I’ve never read a book so confusing and unique and GOOD. Worth every moment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
laure_frompariswithbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Cannibalism
waite_from_eve's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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
5.0
Rating: 5 stars
Format: Audible Audiobook
Length: 15 hours, 27 minutes
Series & Book#: The Broken Earth, book #1
Days to Read: 2
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jesimin is stories within stories. In the story we start with, the world is ending for Essun, primarily on a deeply personal level as she comes home to find her son, Uche, dead and her husband and daughter missing. We find out that Essun is an old hand at navigating world-ending circumstances because she has been here before.
The land Essun lives in, The Stillness, suffers from what are called Fifth Seasons where the land turns on itself and the people who live there, creating unhospitable living conditions. This has caused the people of The Stillness to live in constant fear of the next Fifth Season where they are continuously prepping for what could happen next. Not every iteration of a Fifth Season is the same, there has been a Choking Season where volcanic eruptions blanketed the world in ash, an Acid Season where the volcanic eruptions were so strong that the waters became acidic, and a Fungus Season where the eruptions happened during monsoon season and caused fungal spreading that wiped out food supplies.
Just as Essun is discovering her broken family, something is happening. Something that could lead to another Fifth Season. In her gut, Essun knows this season will be incredibly devastating and last much longer than previous seasons. Now, she has to set off looking for her daughter amidst the terror and struggles of a world-ending apocalypse.
===============
Incredible world-building and character presentation. Absolutely reading the next book!
Jemisin has given us a beautifully heart-breaking world and the people who inhabit it. This is a world where people can't grow too much because of the constant threat of the next Fifth Season. They are stuck in a continuous cycle of preparation, living through a Fifth Season, and recovery, and Jemisin outlines what that does to a world on the level of the people collectively and individually. She also shows us the oppression of the Orogenes and what that has led to.
I can't imagine having to live in a world like this, but Jemisin brings it to life beautifully. This was a book that could not be put down and I will be adding it to my list of books I love to reread.
===============
How my rating system works:
To start with, the rating system I use isn't strictly /my/ system. I use the CAWPILE system created by Gintare Zuromskaite over at Book Roast. I took the system she has and tweaked it just a smidge so that the questions work for my brain a bit better. You can watch G talk about the CAWPILE system here: https://youtu.be/iZhinxtTMFQ?si=hKgxQkjB3HEQO-1Y
What is CAWPILE?
CAWPILE is a system where each letter in the acronym is a section that covers different aspects of your reading. The sections (for a fiction reading) are C(haracters), A(tmosphere), W(riting), P(lot), I(ntrigue), L(ogic), and E(njoyment). Each section has 3 questions for you to think about while you're reading/reviewing. Based on how you answer the questions, you assign each section a rating from 0-10 then find the average of the sections. This gives you a 0-10 rating for the whole reading which is then converted into a 0-5 star rating.
Format: Audible Audiobook
Length: 15 hours, 27 minutes
Series & Book#: The Broken Earth, book #1
Days to Read: 2
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jesimin is stories within stories. In the story we start with, the world is ending for Essun, primarily on a deeply personal level as she comes home to find her son, Uche, dead and her husband and daughter missing. We find out that Essun is an old hand at navigating world-ending circumstances because she has been here before.
The land Essun lives in, The Stillness, suffers from what are called Fifth Seasons where the land turns on itself and the people who live there, creating unhospitable living conditions. This has caused the people of The Stillness to live in constant fear of the next Fifth Season where they are continuously prepping for what could happen next. Not every iteration of a Fifth Season is the same, there has been a Choking Season where volcanic eruptions blanketed the world in ash, an Acid Season where the volcanic eruptions were so strong that the waters became acidic, and a Fungus Season where the eruptions happened during monsoon season and caused fungal spreading that wiped out food supplies.
Just as Essun is discovering her broken family, something is happening. Something that could lead to another Fifth Season. In her gut, Essun knows this season will be incredibly devastating and last much longer than previous seasons. Now, she has to set off looking for her daughter amidst the terror and struggles of a world-ending apocalypse.
===============
Incredible world-building and character presentation. Absolutely reading the next book!
Jemisin has given us a beautifully heart-breaking world and the people who inhabit it. This is a world where people can't grow too much because of the constant threat of the next Fifth Season. They are stuck in a continuous cycle of preparation, living through a Fifth Season, and recovery, and Jemisin outlines what that does to a world on the level of the people collectively and individually. She also shows us the oppression of the Orogenes and what that has led to.
I can't imagine having to live in a world like this, but Jemisin brings it to life beautifully. This was a book that could not be put down and I will be adding it to my list of books I love to reread.
===============
How my rating system works:
To start with, the rating system I use isn't strictly /my/ system. I use the CAWPILE system created by Gintare Zuromskaite over at Book Roast. I took the system she has and tweaked it just a smidge so that the questions work for my brain a bit better. You can watch G talk about the CAWPILE system here: https://youtu.be/iZhinxtTMFQ?si=hKgxQkjB3HEQO-1Y
What is CAWPILE?
CAWPILE is a system where each letter in the acronym is a section that covers different aspects of your reading. The sections (for a fiction reading) are C(haracters), A(tmosphere), W(riting), P(lot), I(ntrigue), L(ogic), and E(njoyment). Each section has 3 questions for you to think about while you're reading/reviewing. Based on how you answer the questions, you assign each section a rating from 0-10 then find the average of the sections. This gives you a 0-10 rating for the whole reading which is then converted into a 0-5 star rating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Violence, and Murder
tasig's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Very slow in the beginning but really picks up at the end and makes all the bits at the beginning click. Brilliant. Very cool world building. Can’t wait to read the next book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Classism
veeglessner's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Was slow and hard to get into, but picked up speed and intrigue around the halfway mark. By the end I couldn't get enough and this is a series opener I'll actually read the sequel to!
Don't read spoilers (I didn't), this 3 POV book has some great devices that make you want to read again right away.
I would have benefitted from knowing there's a glossary at the back of the book... Oops.
Don't read spoilers (I didn't), this 3 POV book has some great devices that make you want to read again right away.
I would have benefitted from knowing there's a glossary at the back of the book... Oops.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Slavery, and Torture
Minor: Cannibalism
kbuckley22's review against another edition
Maybe I’ll return to it eventually. Maybe not. There is fascinating world building but much of the content is heavy and disturbing. I have tried twice now to get through it, but it gives me such intense nightmares that I have got to step away from it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Physical abuse
The beginning of the book, in second person perspective, details loss of a child through abuse. There are ongoing themes of prejudice that lead to further abuse of other children in the book.c340's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Trafficking