Reviews with content warning for Child death - La cinquième saison

Well, that was dark.
However, N.K.Jemisin managed to tell a story revolving around her real-life values without going overboard, without being so obvious about it that the reader is pulled out of the fantasy world. Shit is subtle.
How she managed to create something as creepy as the guardians, though, amazes me. They're not analogous to anything in the real world, as far as I can tell. Not the one-on-one relationship and the hands-off style of control, at least.
Halfway through, my dumb ass was like

Spoiler

"Damaya sounds like she will grow up to have a similar personality to Syenite, I wonder what the narrative will do with two very similar women."

Haha.
And the polyamory representation... My heart!

Content Warnings

therainbowshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

I really loved this epic fantasy packed full of earth-based powers, found family, inclusive character design, and tragedy. The 3-character style worked so well. This starts slow, as many epic fantasy do, and has such an interesting payoff as character stories come together.

Content Warnings

malinawhoreadsathome's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

This is seriously an incredible book. (I know i say that a lot, but it’s just true!) it is written so completely and thoughtfully, everything weaves and circles together seamlessly, feeding into each other across time, but you don’t feel the skips- smooth as hell. the material is incredibly heavy, the writing is masterful, the world is wondrous & horrible. everything touches this world even if it’s rooted in unreality. my brain craves the next book, although i am scared of what i’ll find.

Content Warnings