The Fifth Season

N. K. Jemisin

Aug 2015 · Broken Earth Book 1 · Sold by Orbit

About this ebook

At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)

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

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.

Read the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.

Ratings and reviews

I didn't know what I was getting when I picked this book, after reading and reading about characters and stories that seemed unrelated I got discouraged halfway into it, I felt it was kind of long-winded and pointless, I almost quit. I actually put it down for at least a couple of days, but then again, I actually bought the digital copy, so I decided to finish it now rather than later and I'm glad I did because in the last fourth quarter of the book I began to put it together or rather the story felt into place. It's hard to categorize this novel. It has enough science to consider it sci-fi, but the fantasy is overdone. Three stars for effort.

The book is very well written. But there is a lot of sadness in this story. And the flow is a bit disjointed...it can be hard to follow until you get to a point in the story and have a revelation where it all starts to make sense. There are action sequences that are well written and I enjoyed them. But again, this was a dark fantasy. If you enjoy them, definitely give this novel a read. It will be worth your time.

Engrossing, complex, imaginative. I read this by recommendation from a friend and I really enjoyed it. This is only the second sci-fi book I have read and I think this is a genre I really enjoy. The characters are complex and well written, there is a lot of action throughout that will keep you wanting more. I immediately needed more and picked up book two.

About the author

N. K. Jemisin is a Brooklyn author who won the Hugo Award for Best Novel for 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.