My first N.K. Jemisin book and another female black Sci-fi luminary. The men are falling behind. Thoughts. Well for starters I liked it, though it was perhaps geared toward a younger audience then I expected. The Fifth season which took the Hugo in 2016 tells the story of young ethnic black Damaya who is a member of the powerful and oppressed class of Orogenes who are people who can control the powers of “stone and earth” but are considered dangerous and unwanted by society due to this fact. This fact is the driving conflict of the novel and the friction it creates on the cast of characters the majority of which are women means any fans of female heroines or strong leads need look no further.
Jemisin’s novel contains parallel story arcs, that are part farm-girl goes to the city, part tower story, and part tragedy. All of this is backed by some really interesting world-building that allows Jemisin to sometimes delve into the rich history of the broken earth world. There’s some really good mystery writing as well as political allusions here too I suppose in the history of the world and careful use of character names. The characters range from semi-psychotic to cutesy and each bring their own bit of drama and past. While the novel does contain its fair share of the old tragedy, I can’t say it seemed bleak, in the way parable did at times. More of a light-hearted adventure and yep there’s a pirate scene in here too.
I love/liked it and now I must finish the series if for no other reason than the world-building has me intrigued. Two more books in the series, the Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky, both of which also won the Hugo award in 2016, and 2017 respectively.
So many women. Ahead and behind. I’m thinking Delany or at least Le Guin Next.