The Fifth Season (The Broken Earth #1) by N.K. Jemisin
"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."
“This is why she hates Alabaster: not because he is more powerful, not even because he is crazy, but because he refuses to allow her any of the polite fictions and unspoken truths that have kept her comfortable, and safe, for years.”
― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
This book was amazing! Mind-blowing actually! I thought the way the author wove together all the points of view was fantastic. I loved the little tiny hints along the way that gave you clues as to what was going on. And in the end, when it all came together I was floored because it was just so good! It took me a minute to get into this, the start was kind of slow and it Jemisin does not pull punches when the first chapter starts with the death of a child. But eventually, the story grabbed me and would not let go. I needed to know how it all worked together and what would happen. The end was a cliffhanger of sorts and I'm dying to get the next one from the library.
I listened to The Fifth Season as an audiobook and the narrator, Robin Miles, was fantastic. Each character they read for was distinct and it really made the story come to life. I highly recommend this book to anyone who needs a new fantasy read!
Genre: fantasy, lgbtqia+
Representation: bi, mlm, poly, trans, BIPOC
Content Warnings: violence, graphic sex, child assault, slavery, sexual abuse, rape, racism, murder, genocide, discrimination, death, death of a child, cannibalism (mentioned)