Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

148 reviews

dahliapyne's review against another edition

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Gaslighting

Minor: Cannibalism

A 2 year old

is found beaten to death

at the very beginning of the book. Some characters disappear and we assume they died. People die from natural disasters, mostly non-characters but a few we meet. Some characters kill other characters ruthlessly and sometimes emotionlessly. The violence/injury/gore level is not extreme, but the instances that do happen are more detailed than many fantasy novels and very icky. The F word is used frequently. Characters have sex, but most scenes are not really very descriptive; however there were 1-2 very explicit scenes (consensual,

polyamorous

). One act of pedophilia is implied, another is described by one character when accusing another. Neither technically occurs on screen but the description by the one character could be triggering (does not go into huge detail but does use graphic wording). For me personally it created more of a visual image in my mind than I want. Sexual assault besides this is the relatively non-graphic scenes of

two slaves who are ordered to have sex with each other, rather than one person wanting it

. There is clear racism against a group of people who are slaves, and they do use a fantasy-word racial slur, but characters

are reclaiming the word.

I wasn’t sure if fantasy-word racial slurs for fantasy-races should be included under the content warnings listed above or not. If this were a movie it would be rated R, but short segments (gore, the 1-2 explicit sex scenes) could be removed and make it PG-13. Definitely would not recommend for young teens without supervision but it’s not a YA book

vitoxiii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Transphobia

phan_boy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Interesting magic and world building. Great characters and character development. The plot is emotional and impactful. Overall this is one of the best fantasy stories I have read in a while

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Hate crime and Sexual content

Minor: Bullying and Cannibalism

ninabest's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Murder, and Abandonment

onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Slavery, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Murder

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I really love the way that N.K. Jemisin introduces characters. Like, we see each character at face value and then slowly uncover more about them. It feels more realistic than the way some other books do characterization. And it makes the characters feel so much more likable, even when they make questionable decisions. The world-building is done in the same way, which works really well for me. And the raw emotion of it all is really moving. I think that all apocalypse stories have a lot to say about grief, but as you see all three of the plotlines ultimately converge around it, it becomes so impactful. 
I’m curious to see how the next book is structured! I’m not sure it even can be structured the same, but i’m interested to see how the differences will change the reading experience. I’m not always a fan of multi-pov but this one was so delicious that i fear nothing can top it.
also—don’t even get me started of the allegory of it all. masterful!!! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, and Kidnapping

Minor: Animal death, Transphobia, Cannibalism, and Dysphoria

language_loving_amateur's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

Very good; it will certainly stay with me. It is a lot to handle, and I need a breather before the next book. But also so much happens, I kind of want a plot summary and a detailed character sheet. Very heavy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Sexual content and Colonisation

Minor: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

amanda_doty's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

Plot is a bit slow in the beginning, but when it picks up...whoo. I think I read the second half of this book in 2 days. I could not put it down. Jemisin's way with words is magical. The magic(?) system is unique and the world-building leaves enough to the reader to really feel like you're there, but as like a visitor, not a native. The characters are flawed and believable. The themes are real and raw and the way Jemisin handles them is poignant, but not cliche. The best parts of this book are definitely Jemisin's writing style (I have over 200 highlights and notes...which is a lot) and the character building. Overall rating 4.05. Can't wait to read the next in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Slavery

vcatterson's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Injury/Injury detail

chantellimus's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and War