The Fifth Season: The Broken Earth, Book 1, WINNER OF THE HUGO AWARD

J'avoue n'avoir entamé cette lecture que par curiosité pour une trilogie qui a reçu trois fois le Hugo Award pour chaque tome. Passé les 200 premières pages, j'ai fait l'acquisition des suivants. C'est génial, une des meilleures histoires qu'on m'a racontée depuis longtemps dans une langue maîtrisée et diablement efficace et des personnages très bien dessinés.Alors on suit trois personnages et c'est un peu déstabilisant au début parce qu'il y a beaucoup de vocabulaire très élaboré voire totalement inventé (ce qui pour des non natifs n'est pas forcément aisé). Et puis pas de souci, on finit par comprendre, chaque chose est révélée en son temps au milieu d'une foule de rebondissements et de surprises. L'une, Damaya, toute jeune vient de révéler sa qualité d'orogène (une personne qui maîtrise plus ou moins bien le sol et peut provoquer des séismes meurtriers dans un monde de survie post apocalyptique dévasté par les colères de la terre, volcans ou séimes). Un Guardien vient la secourir de la vindicte populaire et l'emmène au Fulcrum où les siens protègent et éduquent les Orogènes à maîtriser leur pouvoir pour protéger le reste de l'humanité des éléments. Là-bas se trouve déjà Syenite, porteuse de 4 bagues de maîtrise, qui part avec un porteur de dix bagues très puissant en mission pour dégager une zone portuaire. Dans une autre communauté ou com se trouve Essun dont le fils vient d'être violemment assassiné par son père qui a fui avec sa fille après la découverte de leur qualité d'orogènes. Elle quitte la ville pour retrouver sa fille et tuer son époux. Et leurs trois destins sont mêlés. Ah oui et il y a aussi des créatures énigmatiques appelés "mangeurs de pierre".Bref, c'est riche, enlevé et ça se dévore. C'est très maîtrisé, on se laisse emporter par le récit et c'est un des meilleurs romans qu'il m'ait été donné de lire récemment. Aucune surprise pour le Hugo Award ou les autres prix. Attention toutefois pour les purs amateurs de SF, c'est de la SFF (science fiction fantasy).

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

Beautiful world building. Well written story. However the story doesn't come to and end with this first book. Feminism and gender fluidity pushed too far without adding anything substantial to the story.

I am unable to explain what the book actually is. I went in blind, all I knew was that it was a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel. And that it is. It was very difficult for me to get into the book, everything was so strange and not explained. But the deeper I went into it, everything started making sense and fit together so perfectly.I liked it. So many things are still confusing for me, but I will definitely read the rest of the series. And after I do that, I'll most probably come back to this and read it again.The author took so many risks in this one, and somehow, it all worked out. A good portion of the book is written in second person POV. It took some time to get used to that.The world building is complex but very relevant. A world where the Earth has had enough of the atrocities being done to it that it reacts. This book takes climate change to a whole new level. And I would recommend anyone with a love for fantasy to read this.Received the book in great condition

I’m ashamed to say that I tried to read The Fifth Season back in 2017 and didn’t manage to get beyond the first chapter, wrong book, wrong time. But I’m so glad I gave it another shot because I loved every minute of this book.The Fifth Season, quite literally has it all: engaging plot, brilliant characters and a story that is heart breaking and makes you angry in equal measure. We follow, three female POVs, as they navigate a world that is constantly facing devastating natural disasters, whilst their race also experiences fear and oppression. This book is beautifully written, incredibly smart and tackles hard hitting topics expertly. This first book in The Broken Earth Trilogy, was definitely character driven – an element I tend to always enjoy. N.K Jemisin makes her characters feel so incredibly real, that I feel their pain, their joy and their anger. The women in this story were full of anger, and in some instances their motivations were fuelled by this fury, which is something I really appreciated seeing. The relationships were complicated, yet felt utterly believable, with some of the best LGBTQ+ rep I’ve seen in a while, particularly the excellent portrayal of a polyamorous relationship. The magic system was unlike anything I’ve ever read before, it was intriguing, stunning and I want to know more about it!On a more serious note, The Fifth Season deals with systematic oppression. There was a slur in this book that literally made me want to vomit every time I read it. This book made me angry. So unbelievably angry that take away all the sci-fi/fantasy elements and your left with a society that is parallel with ours.This book was well worth it’s 5 stars, if I could give it more I would – no bloody wonder this won a Hugo award! I can’t wait to dive into The Obelisk Gate!