I recently found out that there’s a genre called science-fantasy. Yes, I may sound like I was born yesterday, but I never knew about it before. As the name suggests, it blends elements of both genres. Books of this nature usually incorporate fantasy elements in a science fiction context. They have worlds that appear like ones in the former, but are made believable through logic found in the latter. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is a great example of this genre, and it has memorable characters, even if it’s cumbersome.
The Fifth Season is the first book in “The Broken Earth” trilogy. In a world where catastrophic events like earthquakes and volcanoes are normal, tragedy still strikes. For one person, three terrible things occur in a single day. First, 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. Second, the mighty Sanze – the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been the civilization’s foundation for a thousand years – collapses as most of its citizens are killed to serve a madman’s vengeance. Third, across the heart of the continent called the Stillness, a volcano has erupted, spewing enough ash to darken the skies for years or even centuries. Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying light without clean water or arable land and with limited supplies. Wars will be fought across the Stillness for basic resources to get through the long dark night. Essun doesn’t care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself if she can save her daughter.
The worldbuilding is marvelous. I could picture how desolate the environment was. It’s essentially a wasteland after several volcanoes and earthquakes wrecked the earth with little to no sunlight. It also doesn’t help that winters last for at least six months. There are even two separate appendices about the catalog of “fifth seasons” throughout time and definitions for words and phrases used in the novel. In addition, I love how the author defines the social environment. The Orogenes are people with the ability to move energy, and they can prevent or cause earthquakes. However, they are discriminated against because of how different they are from regular folk. Jemisin even includes a derogatory word that characters use to describe them, and it sounds like one that’s often utilized to define black people. It certainly made me wince, yet it’s a deliberate choice made by Jemisin, an African-American author. She was inspired to write the trilogy after watching the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, over the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown.
What also works are the characters. They are sympathetic, flawed, and everything in between. Essun – the protagonist – goes on a journey to find her missing daughter after she discovers her son’s dead body. She’s an Orogene who wants to live a normal life, but she did some things that come back to haunt her. I enjoy how Jemisin writes Essun’s chapters in second person, the one that constantly uses “you” in various sentences. This perspective is used as her consciousness. Another character I was intrigued by was Alabaster. He’s a powerful Orogene who mentors another person in the story. He can be cold, distant, and snarky, but he’s devoted even when he doesn’t show it. They have some back and forth that made me rethink what I felt about him.
As much as I liked the book, it was cumbersome to read. It’s nearly 400 pages, and I felt that. Don’t get me wrong. It had a great beginning that reeled me in and an ending that brilliantly sets up the next book in the series, The Obelisk Gate. I struggled with the middle at times. There was so much description that I got lost. However, that’s usually me whenever I read fantasy or science fiction books. At the same time, I’m not sure if anything needs to be changed. Jemisin is good at providing pieces to the puzzle and letting the readers put it together. She doesn’t insult their intelligence, and she offers enough hints. I admire that. So, even if I got lost in the description, I still knew where I was in the plot.
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin is a really good story about a woman trying to regain normalcy in a wasteland. The author certainly had everything planned out for this first book in her “Broken Earth” trilogy. This is especially true with the physical and social environments the characters find themselves in. It helps that the people in the plot are multi-dimensional. Although I found it to be bulky at times, I admire the deliberate choices and that Jemisin trusts her readers to know what she’s talking about. I would recommend it to those who love science-fantasy, ones that deal with environmental and societal issues, and are written by authors of color. Regardless of its flaws, I will continue the series with The Obelisk Gate.
Before I go, I want to let everyone know that I will record the latest episode of the Adapt Me Podcast soon. Guests Megan Kearns from the Women InSession Podcast and Alyson Wick will join me to talk about how we would adapt this novel. Keep an eye out for the link next week.
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Book Reviews by a Chick Who Reads Everything 