Reviews

• Loved the book

  Got me engaged in the first chapter. Keeps you interested all the way and the story is outstanding.

• Trying to be a little too clever at times...

  I bought this book as I thought the concept sounding really interesting: cataclysmic events happening every couple of hundred years that destroys society but how civilization had adapted to survive. This was interwoven throughout the book and also the lore and history for the world really bright it to life. There was also a really interesting aspect to the story, almost like a twist, that I really enjoyed. However, at times the author was breaking the 4th wall and directly engaging with the reader, which if it was throughout the book I could forgive as just being part of three book, but it was very infrequent and therefore became more jarring during reading rather than adding anything to it. It slightly affected my enjoyment of the book but ignoring those moments, I really enjoyed it.

• Feeling like I'm in between a rock and a hard place.

  This wouldn't be a problem if I were either a rockeater like in the Neverending Story, or a Orogenes- I could just eat or shift the rock to my will. But as I'm not, I still find my self-stuck on this book. I thoroughly enjoyed all of N.K. Jemisin's novel for her sense of poetry in words, unique perspective and of course world building. I didn't run out and buy it right away. Special author's books sometimes need to be saved for a special time. So, I saved The Fifth Season. Then, there was so much hype surrounding The Fifth Season and then it received the Hugo that I became wary of reading it. I didn't want to be disappointed. When I finally bought it and cracked it open desperately needing a new book, and read the first few pages, I found myself doing "the thing". Skimming. I hate skimming books. But the book failed to catch me. I ended up skipping the prologue and re-reading it after I finished the book. The writing style was definitely polished in the way a bloodied author can craft beautiful words on the page, but I felt disconnected from the characters, I wanted more personality. Not to say they were bad, but perhaps for the book to come together with the way it did it need to be vaguer in some respects. Was it good? Yes. But I need to read it again. Maybe I will feel more favorably about it next time. I am curious to see where the Broken Earth #2 brings up since presumably, everything is up to speed.

• とことん暗い2016年ヒューゴー賞受賞作

  通常のSFやファンタジーには、はっきりした「主人公」と「敵」があり、クエストも明確だ。たとえば、騎士とドラゴンがいて、クエストはドラゴンを倒すことだ。 だが、N.K.JemisinのThe Fifth Seasonは、主人公も敵もクエストもなかなか見えてこない。 何ページも、何十ページも、そして何百ページも続くのは、終わりが見えない「抑圧」と「破壊」だ。 それもそのはず、これは、遠い未来の地球で、人類が滅亡に向う終末期（The Fifth Season）の話なのだ。 途中で本を放り出したくなるかもしれない読者のために、ネタバレ覚悟で内容を説明しようと思う。 遠い未来、人類は過去に達成した高度な技術や文化を深く地下に埋め込んだ地表で細々と生き延びている。 人類の敵は、怒れるFather Earth、つまり地球そのものだ。 Father Earthは、自分を粗末に扱い、傷つけてきた人類を、地震や火山活動で全滅させようとしている。 それを鎮めることができるのは、外見はふつうの人と変わらないミュータントのOrogene（オロジェンと発音する）だ。 だが、生まれつき異常な能力を持つOrogeneを、人々は異質なものとして恐れ、蔑み、殺そうとする。 いっぽうで、人は人類存続のためにOrogeneを利用する。 Orogeneとして生まれた子どもの宿命は２つしかない。 見つけた大人に殺されるか、Fulcrumという組織でトレーニングを受け、人類存続のために働くかのどちらかだ。 だが、たとえFulcrumでトレーニングを受けて熟練したOrogeneになっても、ふつうの人間のような自由もなければ、尊敬も得られない。Orogeneには一人のGuardianがつき、Guardianに背くと即座に死が待っている。 そして、人々を救っても、見下され、蔑称で呼ばれる。 この物語の主人公は「You」と呼ばれるOrogeneの女性Essunだ。 ある村で身元を隠して教師になり、地元の男と結婚し、２人の子どもを持った。だが、ある日帰宅して、幼い息子の死体を発見する。わが子がOrogeneだと知った夫が息子を殴り殺し、娘を連れて姿を消したのだった。 Essunは、娘を探す旅に出る。 著者はあと２人の女性を紹介する。ひとりは幼い少女Damayaで、もう一人は若い女性Syeniteだ。 読み進めていくうちに、EssunとDamaya,Syeniteの関係は明確になってくるので、ここでは語らない。 Jemisinの描く世界は、とことん暗い。 わが子がOrogeneとわかった親は簡単に子どもを殺すか見捨てるし、夫婦やパートナーの間にある愛はニヒルか屈折している。 人間への徹底的な不信感があるような気がしている。 Jemisinは、黒人女性として初めてのヒューゴー賞受賞者なのだが、彼女には、アメリカの歴史で虐げられてきた黒人の立場から見た「不条理の世界」が反映しているような気もする。

• Ok

  Ok Grazie

• Muy buen libro

  Excelente trilogia

• A Stunning Start to a Unique Fantasy Trilogy

  The Fifth Season is a beautifully produced paperback in the Stable Act edition. The paper quality is excellent, the font is clear and comfortable to read, and the cover design is elegant. The story introduces a unique and immersive world with rich world-building and intriguing characters, making it an engaging read from the start. This edition feels premium and well-made, and it’s a great way to begin the trilogy.

• Erguendo mundos para os esfacelar

  Um dos elementos mais importantes e fascinantes de livros e filmes de ficção-científica e fantasia é a construção de um mundo próprio. Pode ser bem parecido com o nosso, mas pode também ser o nosso de maneira cifrada – nesse sentido, é capaz que seja ainda mais semelhante àquele em que vivemos. É um elemento básico para a narrativa, mas não fácil de atingir, pois é preciso coerência e coesão internas, tudo estar muito bem armado para que o leitor acredite naquele mundo. Não são muitos escritores e escritoras que conseguem tal feito à perfeição. Em seu THE FIFTH SEASON, a norte-americana N. K. Jemisin faz isso de maneira insuperável, é brilhante. Ergue um mundo com pontos de contato com o nosso, cria geografia, fauna, flora e habitantes – para, ao mesmo tempo, destruir esse mundo. Ela pode se dar a esse luxo. A terra onde a trama se passa é chamada Stillness (há até um mapa no começo do livro) – o nome é irônico, pois o que mais há nesse lugar é um fluxo de transformações, nem sempre positivas. De tempos em tempos, o lugar enfrenta apocalipses das mais variadas magnitudes, e há até um apêndice no final do romance recontando cronologicamente cada uma dessas destruições. Dessa forma, a realidade da civilização e das pessoas do lugar é efêmera, não é possível fazer grandes planos pois o lugar onde mora vai ser varrido do mapa a qualquer momento. Gerações vivem debaixo desse véu da incerteza. Cada um dos desastres é chamado de Season, e o próximo, acredita-se, será o mais devastador, varrendo até a história da História. Dessa forma o passado e presente da protagonista, Essun, professora de uma escola primária, são incertos. Sua vida é marcada pela tragédia, quando marido matou o filho e fugiu com a filha, que também parece ter matado. Essun quer encontrar sua filha, mas também quer vingança, e o poder sobrenatural que ela tem é a sua arma. Jemisin fratura sua trama em três personagens – as outras duas são Syen e Damaya – , cujas histórias se sobrepõem até o momento em que deverão se encontrar. A diversidade de ponto de vistas permite uma visão mais abrangente de Stillness, sua história, pessoas e eventuais destruições. Jemisin escreve com segurança e sem floreios. Sua força está na criação das personagens e desse mundo, tudo englobado numa lógica interna que não engessa o livro, mas traz-lhe coerência. A autora toca em temas difíceis sem fazer de seu romance um panfleto, mas, sim, uma possibilidade de figuração do nosso presente, e especialmente dos afrodescendentes, quando aborda questões como genocídio e eugenia. Há alguns momentos em que The Fifth Season lembra Octavia Butler – especialmente quando se busca uma conexão entre as narrativas de escravidão e a questão racial no presente. The Fifth Season – previsto para ser lançado no Brasil ainda esse ano – é o primeiro romance da trilogia The Broken Earth. E ganhou o Hugo, um dos principais prêmios do gênero, no ano passado. Sua sequência, The Obelisk Gate, levou o mesmo troféu nesse ano, em agosto passado. E o último romance da série, The Stone Sky, lançado há poucos dias, também, por motivos óbvios, já desponta como favorito para a premiação no próximo ano.

• Interesting, fully-fleshed out world and characters

  I really enjoyed this book. The world building is great, based around a world (could be earth in the future, could be a total fantasy world, it was a bit ambigious) that's very susceptible to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity, resulting in the semi-regular occurence of the titular "Fifth Seasons" - periods where for years at a time, all or most of the world is in cold and darkness and civilisation tends to give way to barbarism. As a result, the society is heavily based around planning for and avoiding these catastrophes, which have in the past seemingly wiped out entire, potentially more advanced civilisations. The whole concept made me think of the rather nebolous idea of "Winter" in Game of Thrones, if someone had thought about what might cause very long winters and what effect this would actually have on society. In this world, there are people called orogenes (or more derogatorily, roggas) who can detect even low-level geological activity like a human geiger counter, but also both trigger and stop earthquakes etc, seemingly with the power of their mind. As a result, they are feared and hated, but also desperately necessary to society. Ones who are attempting normal lives often either end up being murdered by their neighbours or accidently destroying a village when they lose control. As a result, the majority are taken to the rather sinister Fulcrum to learn to control and maximise their powers, after which they work for the good of the realm. The Fulcrum is half Hogwarts, half something out of a terrifying dystopia - that is to say, students (and indeed, graduates) are given power and treated like they are special, but also brutalised for the slightest infraction and utterly controlled. The idea of orogenes was interested and both the semi-magical, semi-scientific aspects of their power and their social position was well explored. It also leads to some truly disturbing scenes and concepts that linger in the mind. The narrative follows three different points of view: a young girl about to join the Fulcrum, a fully qualified Fulcrum oregene out on a mission with her mentor (who she is supposed to breed with - see the reference above to them being utterly controlled), and an older oregene trying to pass as normal at the start of what might be another, particularly bad fifth season or might be the actual end of the world. All three stories are interesting, and it's fun trying to work out how they connect and how the chronology works. The plot is intriguing and meandering rather than action packed, but it definitely kept me reading. The writing is well done, and everything about the characters and the world (including its history and intriguing hints of older societies and how this society developed) are well thought through and fleshed out. Definitely worth a read.

Purchase links