The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin is one of those books that I have seen across bookish social media, but in an organic, intentional way. There is a lot of love for The Broken Earth series and for N. K. Jemisin as a writer, and I can totally see why. I’m surprised I hadn’t picked this up earlier this year considering my strong love for adult fantasy, especilly dark adult fantasy and epic fantasy.

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 civilization’s bedrock for a thousand years — collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve 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, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She’ll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

The magic system is so fresh and intriguing, creating that sense of the unknown which is exciting and demanding exploration. I haven’t seen anything like it in memory, and it makes getting into the novel so easy. I want to learn more about the magic system, social attitudes towards those with magic, and how everyone reacts and interacts with each other within this web of magical complexity. I say complexity, but I don’t want to scare you off from reading it, so instead think of it more like magical layers of intrigue to dissect.

That’s not the only thing that blew me away with The Fifth Season. Like with a lot of these dark adult fantasy worlds, there is a kind of tone and atmosphere created to immerse and compel the reader, and I felt that so strongly with The Fifth Season. It reminds me of The Lies of Locke Lamora in that regard, with its bank of story world history and setting description to flesh out the landscape and characters. Unlike the Gentleman Bastard Sequence, though, is this fluid voice of the feminine underlying the perspectives. This isn’t about the character’s being women, but instead the narrative word choices and underlying themes and topics subtly infused into the story by the author. It gives The Fifth Season a decidedly feminine standpoint which I appreciate and feel drawn to in the prose.

The plot itself is full of action, political intrigue, conflict, and an invisible thread that bind the protagonists together in their individual and collective journeys. I love the chapter titles and point of view used, again setting it apart in a way that is eye-catching and unique. The Fifth Season is not a short read, with my library copy sitting at 465 pages. I feel that this is the perfect length as it allows for enough space to let ideas and natural character direction and choice develop organically while still keeping to a well-structured, engaging plot that is captivating and enticing.

I will admit, I have written this review while only having read around five chapters, but that should be a testament to how incredible and engaging this read is. I plan to take my time with this novel, so please don’t feel like this is a cop-out of a post. I fully intend to finish this novel and move onto The Obelisk Gate within the next few weeks. The only reason it will take me that long to pick up the second book is because of my long work hours coming up.

I highly recommend The Fifth Season to all you adult fantasy readers out there. It has been such an interesting read so far, and I am eager to post this and get back into my reading. So, without further ado, request The Fifth Season from your local library and get into it!