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The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth) Paperback – August 4, 2015

by N. K. Jemisin (Author)

684 customer reviews

Book 1 of 3 in the Broken Earth Series

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"Intricate and extraordinary." - New York Times on The Fifth Season (A New York Times Notable Book of 2015)

WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD FOR BEST NOVEL 2016

This is the way the world ends...for the last time.

A season of endings has begun.

It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun.

It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter.

It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.

This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.

For more from N. K. Jemisin, check out:

The Inheritance Trilogy
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Broken Kingdoms
The Kingdom of Gods

The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition)
Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction)
The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella)

Dreamblood Duology
The Killing Moon
The Shadowed Sun

The Broken Earth

The Fifth Season

The Obelisk Gate

The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Intricate and extraordinary."―The New York Times

"[The Fifth Season is] an ambitious book, with a shifting point of view, and a protagonist whose full complexity doesn't become apparent till toward the end of the novel. ... Jemisin's work itself is part of a slow but definite change in sci-fi and fantasy."―Guardian

"Astounding... Jemisin maintains a gripping voice and an emotional core that not only carries the story through its complicated setting, but sets things up for even more staggering revelations to come."―NPR Books

"Jemisin's graceful prose and gritty setting provide the perfect backdrop for this fascinating tale of determined characters fighting to save a doomed world."―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"A must-buy...breaks uncharted ground."―Library Journal (starred review)

"Jemisin might just be the best world builder out there right now.... [She] is a master at what she does."―RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)

"The Fifth Season is a powerful, epic novel of discovery, pain, and heartbreak.... It is a novel that demands much of its readers; it rewards them aplenty and is one of those novels that becomes more powerful after deep consideration and subsequent readings."―SFF World

"This is an intense, exciting novel, where survival is always on the line, set in a fascinating, original and dangerous world with an intriguing mystery at the heart of it. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!"―Martha Wells

"Brilliant...gorgeous writing and unexpected plot twists."―Washington Post

"[A]ngrily, beautifully apocalyptic."―B&N.com

"Heartbreaking, wholly unexpected, and technically virtuosic, The Fifth Season is a tour-de-force. I felt every shock--and the book is packed with them--in my marrow. It's no exaggeration to say that Jemisin expands the range of what great fantasy can be."―Brian Staveley, author of The Emperor's Blades

"With every new work, Jemisin's ability to build worlds and break hearts only grows."―Kirkus (starred review)

About the Author

N. K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn author who won Hugo Awards for Best Novel for both The Obelisk Gate and The Fifth Season, which was also a New York Times Notable Book of 2015. She previously won the Locus Award for her first novel, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, and her short fiction and novels have been nominated multiple times for Hugo, World Fantasy, Nebula, and RT Reviewers' Choice awards, and shortlisted for the Crawford and the James Tiptree, Jr. awards. She is a science fiction and fantasy reviewer for the New York Times, and you can find her online at nkjemisin.com.

Series: The Broken Earth (Book 1)
Paperback: 512 pages
Publisher: Orbit (August 4, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316229296
ISBN-13: 978-0316229296
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.2 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 684 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #8 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Women's Fiction > Mothers & Children
- #31 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction > Dystopian
- #61 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Fantasy

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A new high point for Jemisin's already-impressive career.

ByS. Addisonon August 5, 2015

Format: Paperback

I've enjoyed all of Jemisin's books thus far, but I often avoid starting series books until the whole series is complete because I hate being left hanging, waiting for the next installment. But "The Fifth Season" was totally worth the suspense. The world of The Stillness - an ironically-named super-continent that suffers frequent, massive environmental catastrophes thanks to its unstable geology - is a captivating setting for the story's three narrators, each of whom is forced to journey across the dangerous, shifting land. In conceiving a society able to do what it takes to survive across multiple devastating periods of disaster and climate change, Jemisin creates a world order that each of her main characters sees through different eyes: one hoping it will offer her refuge, one furious about its demands on her, and one hoping to just avoid its gaze altogether.

Even though I enjoy a good Tolkein-esque fantasy, it's so refreshing to read Jemisin's writing, which always takes a fresh departure from the pseudo-medevial-Europe settings so common in the genre. Rather than elves and orcs and plundering armies, Jemisin gives us orogenes (those gifted with the ability to control geological forces), stone-eaters (non-humans who can move through solid rock with their own, mysterious agenda), and a continent that is a greater threat to its people than any army. Whether the strict, caste-driven, xenophobic society that has evolved in response to the environment is a necessary evil or a regime to be overthrown is an argument that will likely span the entire trilogy.

"The Fifth Season" could be considered part of the vein of SF/F that addresses environmental and climate change issues (e.g. Nicola Griffith's "Slow River," Paolo Bacigalupe's "The Windup Girl") but in this trilogy, change is inevitable and largely beyond human control. The book builds toward several narrative twists slowly revealed in its final third; I had picked up on enough very subtle hints to suspect some of them, but they still came into focus with a satisfying emotional "click" that made me glad I waited and didn't stumble across any spoilers. I was so captivated by the narrative that I literally woke up in the night wanting to read more (thanks, insomnia! thanks, book light!). Waiting for the next two chapters leaves me feeling as unsettled as the world of The Stillness itself.

11 comment 332 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Clever Storytelling and a Fully Realized World

ByConnor Davison October 5, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The further I got, the harder it was to put this book down. Jemisin has created a living, breathing world unlike anything else and does a masterful job laying out the terminology needed to understand it. (For those reading on Kindle, as I did, note that there is a glossary of terms at the very end, something I discovered only upon finishing the book.) I felt the beginning was somewhat slow, but again, illustrating an entirely new fictional world takes some time.

She tells her story by alternating perspectives between three characters, each with a different piece to a puzzle that comes together beautifully by the end. Readers that are paying close attention will probably be able to snuff out the twists that Jemisin carefully lays the foundation for, but it's no less satisfying once they are finally revealed. I have already purchased the next two books in the series and look forward to seeing where the story goes from here!

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Reminds me of my thoughtful faves. Loved it.

ByAmazon Customeron October 9, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Along the lines of Philip K Dick, a soul behind the story. Human emotions and human connections matter in the worlds of the fantastic and unrealized edges of our dreamscapes.

Along the lines of Magaret Atwood, structures of society thinking that they are maintaining and protecting often repress. The potential and dangers within the individual determine the outcome of freedom for themselves and others.

Along the lines of Stanislaw Lem, life and the spiritual is not always understandable through the lens of the anthropomorphic. Just because a great and terrible system is not like us or easy to comprehend does not mean it is without beauty or deep relevance beyond our own need to survive.

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I enjoyed it.

ByDeirdre Murphyon May 11, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Fifth Season is an intriguing and unique speculative fiction novel, set in a world where periodically and unpredictably, volcanic action causes a period of darkness and famine, called the "fifth season". Some people are born with the ability to quiet the earth--or the opposite. They are both feared and valued, and the government tries to control them with varying levels of success. It's worth taking time to see how the different stories connect. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel.

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Jemesin Creates another Engaging World

ByKindle Customeron December 30, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Once again, NK Jemesin has created a world that draws you in and leaves you mesmerized. This story, told in a series of flashbacks, delves into the issues of difference, of being other in society, and of being both powerful and powerless at the same time.

If you've ever felt like an outsider, this book will resonate. Thank you, Ms. Jemesin, for another great read!

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Uncommon

ByLuiz Marqueson September 26, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Very nice. I particularly liked how while it did use some of the regular fantasy cliches, it went well beyond them establishing new concepts, and exploring the consequences on the societies.

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A powerful book about surviving the end of the world

ByAnthony W. Eichenlaubon May 19, 2016

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

The Fifth Season is a book in which magic moves the earth almost as much as emotion moves the reader. This is a heavy book full of complex, deep characters that somehow need to live through the end of the world. The book does some interesting things with structure as well. Parts of it are in second person, which seems odd, but really worked for me. Those were the parts of the book that got the most emotional response from me.

0Comment One person found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Interesting view on a dystopia future disguised in a fantasy

ByLance Phillipson November 17, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Interesting view on a dystopia future disguised in a fantasy. Change in narrative voice is initially tricky to get used to but the writing is good enough that you eventually don't even notice.

0Comment 2 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

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Most recent customer reviews

Engrossing read

This is an astonishingly well crafted story. There were not any parts that I did not find engrossing. I can't wait to read the next book.

Published 2 hours ago by RaenyDay

I like science fiction and fantasy

This was trash. I read two books per week. I like science fiction and fantasy. This was terrible. Paper should have been used to make toilet paper.

Published 4 hours ago by Rant

Love the writing style

Refreshingly different from other SciFi novels I have read The writing style is unique, but not confusing. Will definitely continue the trilogy

Published 1 day ago by Avid Reader

Three Stars

More fantasy than science fiction

Published 1 day ago by Amazon Customer

Gripping

People always use that word for book reviews, and I've never found a reason to use it, until now. Jemisin reminds me of Octavia Butler, and I really miss that chick.Read more

Published 1 day ago by CDowns

Engrossing

First in a trilogy, I quickly found The Fifth Season to be very hard to put down. Fascinating world that the author has created. Strong, well-developed characters.Read more

Published 2 days ago by Jeff Carruthers

Utterly compelling

Anyone interested in fantasy that grapples with the w political and social implication of the world envision will find a much to enjoy here.

Published 2 days ago by John Wedoff

Nice fantasy novel with too much fetish sex

I thought the book was very good. It lost one star when there was too many sex scenes close to the beginning.Read more

Published 3 days ago by Richard P. Ashwood Jr.

it arrived on time & I hope she enjoyed it.

Was a gift. it arrived on time & I hope she enjoyed it.

Published 3 days ago by Hugh Betcha

Instant classic, must read

This is the definitive epic sci-fi series of our time. Amazing world-building, great storytelling, and real insights. Must read.

Published 4 days ago by Noah Iliinsky

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