The Fifth Season

convoluted and confusing. very difficult to get into the story and even harder to follow what the author was attempting to do.

My favorite saying in this book is "rusting earth" This book is a story of humans with extra abilities and follows their experiences after a major earthquake shakes up how they live with regular humans. The book is complicated to follow if you aren't paying attention. I had to rewind a few times to really make sure I understood what was going on. (and sometimes still didn't) The narrator has a soothing voice which complimented the story especially during the emotional sections.

Highly entertaining novel.

this story was captivating. I feel easily into the world and followed with sincere investment. the narrator is brilliant. highly recommended.

Excellent characters, plot weaving, and narration! Jemison has truly created a fascinating world that you can't stop listening to.

Really fun book. Unique new take on fantasy magic I haven't read before.

A powerful, engrossing novel written by an expert storyteller filled with insightful allegory. Jemisin pulls no punches, expecting a proficient level of intellectual and emotional maturity of her readers; this is not a book where morality lessons boil down to "friendship is magic" or "sharing is caring." Characters are multi-faceted and complex, and the narrative draws you in tight throughout. If you've read the usual epic fantasy recommendations and are hungry for new stories, new perspectives, and less of the "heroic knight saves the helpless princess" types, this is the book for you. Themes range the feminist gamut; discussions of race, class, sex, gender, sexuality, ability, and more abound. Parenthood, loss, ptsd, revolution, abuse, and slavery are core themes of the story. LGBT content is expertly handled, and queerness is treated as normal variation in this world; no "are you REALLY trans" convos, no token bigot tropes, etc. The narrating characters are cis women of varying ages, and while queer relationships exist, the narrators are heterosexual. Polyamory is also explored in this book, which does include a narrator. Sincerely, I have listened to this book/this series more than any other fantasy story. Jemisin is truly an expert world-builder, and her characters are so lifelike you will feel you have known them your entire life. I cannot recommend any book more than I recommend this one.

Really well written... Had a hard time with the very beginning but once I started connecting the details it went smoother.

Amazing book! Very many different threads - they weave together satisfyingly, but they definitely didn't completely tie up all the loose ends. I'm curious whether she'll eventually tie everything together over the course of the three books, or if some threads will just never re-emerge. The characters are wonderful, and the cultures and civilizations- and everything is so creative in its relevance to the world we live in. The narrator was easy to understand and reads with really convincing emotion. The voices and accents for some of the characters seemed a little forced and sometimes inconsistent, which was *occasionally* a little bit distracting. Overall she just does an excellent job bringing the story to me!

A great book that makes you think about the state of our own world.