The Fifth Season in review
- Chynna Williams
- Aug 9, 2020
- 5 min read
Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of The CW Torch. Today, I am going to talk all about The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin. This is the second 5-star book I have read this year, the first being The Toll by Neal Shusterman. It's honestly crazy that I have only two 5-star reads this year, but I am not surprised as there have been many books that have come very close. But most of them were missing that something that had me thinking about it later in the year. I read The Fifth Season not that long ago, but I can tell it will definitely stand the test of time. As I continue to read this series in which every book within this trilogy has won the Hugo award, and for good reason.
I am going to go through my book reviews a little bit differently as I have been using a new rating system to rate my books. I use the CAWPILE system, which was started by G (AKA BookRoast on booktube), at the end of the post I will share her video where she explains this elaborate rating system. I've actually liked rating this way, because it isn't random like how I rated books before. I actually have to put thought into giving each section their specific grades. Basically, CAPWILE, stands for Characters, Atmosphere, Plot, Writing, Intrigue, Logic, and Enjoyment. So, for this review I will be diving deep into each of these categories and my reasons for their individual grades.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Final Rating: 5 Stars (CAWPILE- 9.71)
Synopsis: This is the way the world ends. Again, three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze-- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been a civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve as a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries. Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, there will be war all across the Stillness. Essun does not if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.
Characters (9): The characters in this story were so complex and intriguing, even though you were mainly focusing on three characters throughout the book. They each had their own story and had something to fight for. But, they all came together, from different walks of life, to try to stop the Fifth Season from happening.
You had Essun, an older woman whose husband killed their young son, because he showed that he was an Orogene. Her husband fled from their community, and now Essun is off to find her husband, as he took their daughter with him.
There is also Damaya, a small girl who realized she was a Orogene after an accidental attack. Her family isn't willing to pay the price of harboring her, because being an Orogene isn't taken lightly in the Stillness. So, her parents call the authorities on her and she is taken to the Fulcrum, where they train and use orogenes if they are trainable and submissive.
Lastly, there is Syenite, a young woman who has lived the majority of her life at the Fulcrum. At this training facility, as you increase your learning and abilities you earn more privileges. There are certain levels of abilities and Syenite has four rings, which is extremely impressive to note. But, she is assigned to someone with ten rings, only to hopefully produce the most powerful child orogene.
I loved getting to know each of these characters and their stories, even though some aspects of their lives were extremely heartbreaking. But, it was interesting to see how their lives interwove together, because of who each of them were. All orogenes who are essentially ostracized and thought of as outcasts in this world. Treated as slaves, because of their abilities to stop the seasons.
Atmosphere (10): I kind of put the world-building along with this category, and this world was quite a fascinating world. Almost as complex and alive as the characters in this story. Everyone living in The Stillness is trying to survive the world's unforgiving disasters. There are earthquakes and volcanoes wreaking havoc on the Stillness, the super continent and the only land mass of this world. These natural disasters occur constantly in forms of seasons. The people living on this land mass is awaiting the Fifth Season which happens sporadically but almost wipes out the entire planet each time. There are people who can manipulate the earth to ease the seasons, these are the Orogenes. Even though they are continually saving the world they are also oppressed slaves.
The world of this book was probably the most fascinating thing to read about. Which usually isn't the case for me in adult fantasies. I think it's because N.K. Jemisin tied in the world with such ease which made it seem like a major character.
Writing (10): All I can say about N.K. Jemisin's writing style was that it was so effortless. It didn't seem like she was trying too hard to describe things and it definitely didn't seem convoluted. When this book could've gone in that direction. But, the world was so easy to follow and tied in so well with the plot and characters. Which for me doesn't happen very often in adult fantasies or science fiction novels. It was easy to follow but still very intriguing, making it hard to put the book down. Recently, I've found it hard to read during the week, but with this book I had to read a little bit every night because I wanted to see how it ended. Which, I definitely think is a testament to N.K. Jemisin's writing style.
Plot (10), Intrigue (9), Logic (10): I am going to clump these three sections together, because I feel they all kind of go hand in hand. The plot is what kept me intrigued to finish the book, as there was a lot going on with the characters and the world. But, it wasn't all over the place which is something I find a lot in adult fantasies, especially in the science-fiction genre's. She also seemed to connect the plot of this book to what's going on in the current world. Dealing with topics such as global warming, slavery/racism, without being too preachy. As those topics tied in so well with the story-line of the characters as well as the world they are living in. Which made everything very logical, as everything so seamlessly made sense.
Enjoyment (10): I think it's safe to say that I enjoyed this book very much and I don't think I have to go into too much detail as to why. This book was thought-provoking, emotional, and relevant to what is going on in the current world. All things that I love to see whenever reading adult fantasies or science fiction novels. I can't wait to read the rest of this trilogy, which I may have to marathon so that I can read more of N.K. Jemisin's books.
I hope you all enjoyed this review, I don't do a lot of in-depth reviews like this because I try to keep it to the books I absolutely adore and think deserve a full length review. I am definitely looking forward to writing more reviews for more N.K. Jemisin books in the future.
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