The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
Fiction

What it’s about: In a world plagued by seismic upheaval and waves of disasters known as Seasons, there are people, called orogenes, who have special powers to control the land, but are tightly controlled by authorities. Three orogenes are at major turning points in their lives. Damaya has been torn from her childhood home; Syenite's life’s work is challenged; and Essun has set off on a vengeful pursuit of her husband, who murdered one of their children and kidnapped the other. The first of the Hugo Award winning Broken Earth series.

Why you might like it: Come for the excellent and fascinating world-building and the lyrical and gritty prose, but stay for the vivid, diverse, and intensely real characters. Essun is a rarity—a fierce and strong middle-aged heroine in a science fiction series.

Reviewers say: “Jemisin’s graceful prose and gritty setting provide the perfect backdrop for this fascinating tale of determined characters fighting to save a doomed world” (Publisher’s Weekly).

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