Books by N.K. Jemisin
” The world of these books is so unsettling and compelling, really brilliantly drawn. We’re on a planet disrupted periodically by its climate, a harsh period known as ‘the fifth season’. People live within comms; a special sort of person, an orogene, should not stay in a normal comm, and should instead be sent to the Fulcrum and trained by Guardians. They have supernatural control over energy, particularly the seismic, and can be dangerous if uncontrolled. We follow three orogenes with different relationships to this system of governance. It’s deeply unnerving. There’s an image early on in the book, where one of our three protagonists is being taken from her home by a Guardian as a child, and he is telling her a story as they ride. His strong hands are wrapped around hers, and she is starting to feel soothed. Then, at the relevant point in the story, he breaks her hands.” Read more...
The Fifth Season introduces an alternate, far-future Earth where a single, Pangea-like continent is wracked with natural disasters. The ‘fifth season’ of the title is what the planet’s inhabitants call recurring periods of catastrophic climate change; we witness the start of one in the opening sequence, wherein a powerful ‘orogene’—a human born with the power to manipulate the Earth’s crust, causing earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and rifts—tears the land in two. In this, and its sequels The Obelisk Gate and The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin offers a rich fusion of science fiction and fantasy, so these books will suit you if you liked the theological and supernatural elements of Dune, like the Bene Gesserit. Notably, all three books in this ‘Broken Earth’ trilogy won Hugo Awards. The New York Times called it “the 21st-century fantasy trilogy that changed the game.”
From our article Books like Dune
“The book itself is dealing with New York and these struggles and fights New York is going through. It was written prior to COVID-19 but has a lot of parallel themes, of the city struggling with something. It was great listening. Again, it won in two categories because the text is awesome, the narration is awesome and you bring it together and suddenly you just can’t stop listening.” Read more...
The Best Audiobooks: the 2021 Audie Awards
Michele Cobb, Publisher
Interviews where books by N.K. Jemisin were recommended
-
1
Piranesi
by Susanna Clarke and Chiwetel Ejiofor (narrator) -
2
The Autobiography of Malcolm X
by Malcolm X and assisted by Alex Haley, Laurence Fishburne (narrator) -
3
The City We Became: A Novel (The Great Cities Trilogy)
by N.K. Jemisin & Robin Miles (narrator) -
4
Such a Fun Age
by Kiley Reid & Nicole Lewis (narrator) -
5
More Myself: A Journey
by Alicia Keys
The Best Audiobooks: the 2021 Audie Awards, recommended by Michele Cobb
The Best Audiobooks: the 2021 Audie Awards, recommended by Michele Cobb
There are so many fantastic audiobooks being produced at the moment, across so many genres, that it’s hard to know where to start listening. Fortunately, every year, the judges of the Audie Awards pick out some of the very best. Here, Michele Cobb, Executive Director of the Audio Publishers Association, talks us through some of the 2021 winners, including the ‘audiobook of the year.’
The Best Fantasy Novels of the Past Decade, recommended by Sylvia Bishop
The winners of the Hugo Awards and the Nebula Awards are chosen by fans each year. They cover both fantasy and sci fi, and the best novel spot for each is highly prestigious. Our fantasy and sci fi editor Sylvia Bishop takes a look at the fantasy winners of the last decade, offering rich pickings for fans of magical worlds that are beautiful, absorbing and strange.