The Fifth Season
core novel 2015 The Broken Earth
Record
| First published | 2015 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.28 (354,228 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 468 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780316229296 |
| First-edition publisher | Orbit |
| First-edition country | US |
Synopsis
Set on a supercontinent prone to catastrophic geological cataclysms known as Fifth Seasons, the novel follows orogenes, people able to control seismic energy and therefore feared and controlled by the society around them, including Essun, a woman who has spent years living in hiding within a small, unsuspecting community. When an immensely powerful orogene shatters the continent and triggers the start of a new, likely civilization-ending Fifth Season, Essun's carefully hidden life is upended, and she sets out on a perilous journey to find her missing daughter, uncovering along the way just how far the world's institutions have gone to control and exploit people like her.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Broken Earth
- Series: The Broken Earth core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: N.K. Jemisin
Awards (verified)
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2016: won; First Black author to win Hugo Best Novel.
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2015: nominated
- World Fantasy Award (Best Novel), 2016: nominated
Notes
- Hugo Best Novel 2016, first Black author to win the category.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Broken Earth: position 1 of 3: next The Obelisk Gate (2016)
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fifth_Season_(novel)
- http://www.thehugoawards.org/hugo-history/2016-hugo-awards/
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