
The Fifth Season
The Broken Earth, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Robin Miles
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By:
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N. K. Jemisin
About this listen
At the end of the world, a woman must hide her secret power and find her kidnapped daughter in this "intricate and extraordinary" Hugo Award winning novel of power, oppression, and revolution. (The New York Times)
This is the way the world ends...for the last time.
It starts with the great red rift across the heart of the world's sole continent, spewing ash that blots out the sun. It starts with death, with a murdered son and a missing daughter. It starts with betrayal, and long dormant wounds rising up to fester.
This is the Stillness, a land long familiar with catastrophe, where the power of the Earth is wielded as a weapon. And where there is no mercy.
Listen to the first book in the critically acclaimed, three-time Hugo award-winning trilogy by NYT best-selling author N. K. Jemisin.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
©2015 N.K. Jemisin (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Editor's Pick
This trilogy is the first ever to win the Hugo Award for every book.
"Let that sink in for a minute. N.K. Jemisin is the first person ever to win the Hugo Award for best novel three years in a row, and she did that with this series.There’s a reason why the sci-fi and fantasy world went gaga over this. It’s dark, and I had some serious doubts that I would psychologically be okay at the end while I was listening (it’s world-endingly grim), but man, is it epic. "
—Melissa B., Audible Editor
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Good story
- By abacuscode on 01-12-15
By: Gennifer Albin
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Markswoman
- Asiana, Book 1
- By: Rati Mehrotra
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Kyra is the youngest Markswoman in the Order of Kali, a highly trained sisterhood of elite warriors armed with telepathic blades. Guided by a strict code of conduct, Kyra and the other Orders are sworn to protect the people of Asiana. But to be a Markswoman, an acolyte must repudiate her former life completely. Kyra has pledged to do so, yet she secretly harbors a fierce desire to avenge her dead family. When Kyra's beloved mentor dies in mysterious circumstances, and Tamsyn, the dangerous Mistress of Mental Arts, assumes control, Kyra is forced on the run.
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Everything I look for in a fantasy series!
- By Shawscribbles on 02-11-18
By: Rati Mehrotra
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The Infernal City
- Elder Scrolls Series #1
- By: Greg Keyes
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Four decades after the Oblivion Crisis, Tamriel is threatened anew by an ancient and all-consuming evil. It is Umbriel, a floating city that casts a terrifying shadow-for wherever it falls, people die and rise again. And it is in Umbriel's shadow that a great adventure begins and a group of unlikely heroes meet. A legendary prince with a secret. A spy on the trail of a vast conspiracy. A mage obsessed with his desire for revenge. And Annaïg, a young girl in whose hands the fate of Tamriel may rest.
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Umbriel is coming
- By Brenden Zapp on 02-01-13
By: Greg Keyes
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The Eighth Born
- Book 1 of the Pankaran Chronicles
- By: C.S. Night
- Narrated by: Erik Sandvold
- Length: 19 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The young magic-wielder known as Rhyen Hyldhem, newly graduated from the great Academy in Ikha, knows of the story of Taida - but such events occurred millennia ago. As war brews, however, Rhyen will learn more about his powers and the identity of the fearsome Dark Rider who has stalked him since childhood. Rhyen is about to discover the past isn't dead - and that his destiny is intricately tied to Taida's betrayal of humanity.
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Meh
- By Ivan Martin on 05-07-16
By: C.S. Night
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The Fire Sermon
- By: Francesca Haig
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Four hundred years in the future the Earth has turned primitive, following a nuclear fire that laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair one is an Alpha - physically perfect in every way - and the other an Omega burdened with deformity, small or large.
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Cannot make it!!!
- By C. Venable on 07-05-15
By: Francesca Haig
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The Mirror Empire
- Worldbreaker Saga, Book 1
- By: Kameron Hurley
- Narrated by: Liza Ross
- Length: 17 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past - while a world goes to war with itself. In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin.
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Captivating & thrilling
- By Sean Higgins on 09-19-15
By: Kameron Hurley
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Grass
- By: Sheri S. Tepper
- Narrated by: Dina Pearlman
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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What could be more commonplace than grass or a world covered over all its surface with a wind-whipped ocean of grass? But the planet Grass conceals horrifying secrets within its endless pastures. And as an incurable plague attacks all inhabited planets but this one, the prairie-like Grass begins to reveal these secrets - and nothing will ever be the same again.
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Speculative & Creative, Yet well Paced and Unique
- By Zach Wilson on 04-17-17
By: Sheri S. Tepper
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Warrior
- Doppleganger, Book 1
- By: Marie Brennan
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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When a witch is born, a doppelganger is created. For the witch to master her powers, the twin must be killed. But what happens when the doppelganger survives? Mirage, a bounty hunter, lives by her wits and lethal fighting skills. She always gets her mark. But her new mission will take her into the shadowy world of witches, where her strength may not be a match against powerful magic. Miryo is a witch who has just failed her initiation test.
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Narrator problem
- By Rebecca Koeppen on 06-20-19
By: Marie Brennan
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Archangel
- Samaria, Book 1
- By: Sharon Shinn
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 17 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A tale of the distant future by the author of The Shape-Changer's Wife brings listeners to a world in which the fate of all life rests on the voice of an angel.
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An All-TIme Favorite
- By Carol on 02-27-11
By: Sharon Shinn
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Lamentation
- The Psalms of Isaak, Book 1
- By: Ken Scholes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki, Scott Brick, William Dufris, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In Lamentation, the first entry in the Psalm of Isaak series, an ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands. Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city—he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant. Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats.
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Highly Enjoyable
- By RB on 05-15-09
By: Ken Scholes
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The Sacrifice
- The Fey, Book 1
- By: Kristine Kathryn Rusch
- Narrated by: David DeSantos
- Length: 26 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Defying their Black King in order to rally an attack on the peaceful Blue Isle, warrior-prince Rugar and his fearless daughter, Jewel, do not suspect that the islanders, under young prince Nicholas, have prepared to defend themselves.
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Great new series
- By Anthony Cascella on 06-27-10
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Dragon's Blood
- The Pit Dragon Chronicles, Volume 1
- By: Jane Yolen
- Narrated by: Marc Thompson
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Dragons are trained to fight to the death, and two determined teens help free them in this spellbinding saga. Training a dragon to be a fighting champion is the only way to freedom for 15-year-old Jakkin.
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can't even listen to it
- By Ingvor V. Franklin on 11-12-17
By: Jane Yolen
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The Spirit Thief
- The Legend of Eli Monpress, Book 1
- By: Rachel Aaron
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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He's not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age - and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners - a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls - he’s going to put his plan into effect. The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start with somethingsmall. Something like a king....
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Entertaining light fantasy
- By Kindle Customer on 02-16-12
By: Rachel Aaron
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The complete collection of the best-selling Mission Clockwork series, a steampunk-powered, action-packed adventure featuring brilliant heroes and bloody brilliant villains.
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I was cursed. It wasn't an exaggeration. It wasn't even dramatics—though I was prone to those. It was a fact. And a sucky one at that. After inheriting my grandmother's home, I thought my luck had turned around. A fresh start in the one place where I'd found solace from my cruel father. But I was cursed, remember? So rather than a quiet life, I faced mysteries, con artists, disastrous dates, stoned witches, magicks, and evil organizations out to do evil things. And a house that was haunted.
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🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Sandstorm: Publisher's Pack contains books one and two of the Sandstorm series. Sandstorm, book one: Something is hunting the inhabitants of Ravar. For three generations, the colonists on Ravar have been stranded on a harsh planet, forced to survive in a desert environment where only the scrappiest animals and the heartiest plants survive. Most live without the foolish hope that Earth's supply ships will ever grace the skies again. Trapped in a sandstorm, Neena Xylance struggles to make her way back to her colony.
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A century ago, an exchange was proposed: a life saved for a war of revenge. Captain Lia Solus of the fae army, and the secret bastard daughter of the king, is reminded of those consequences daily. Unable to claim her heritage or her throne, she's powerless to stop the innocent bloodshed that her birth ushered in. On the other side of the lines, Commander Jace Cadoria gladly fights the war of his ancestors to slaughter the fae who have terrorized the humans of their realm for generations. With a cunning plan to trap them, the end could finally be in sight.
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DNF- Definitely YA
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Wild Cards I
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In the aftermath of WWII, an alien virus struck the Earth, endowing a handful of survivors with extraordinary powers. Originally published in 1987, the newly expanded saga contains additional original stories by eminent writers.
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Dry Politics
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What listeners say about The Fifth Season
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Overall
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- Damien Schneider
- 07-17-20
An honest review.
I read every review of this book after I finished it, and I have to say "thank goodness" because one of the reviews (which I reported) spoils part of it.
With that said, it seems that nearly every review is either glowing or mad and nothing in between and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's political so, with this review, I aim to be as unbiased as possible so that at least one of these rusting reviews is honest.
For starters, the narrator is flatter than Nebraska. Her range is so limited that it's hard to tell her characters apart with a couple exceptions. Schaffa the guardian is unique and Hoa is unique but the rest could be interchangeable as far as her dialect choices go. I had to give her a 3 star rating because it wasn't terrible but it was definitely not good.
The story flow is...odd...the first 1/4 of the book I was having a hard time keeping sh*t straight because there are 3 arcs that jump between first second and third person perspectives. Around the 3-4 hour mark I was able to start detangling them and they all made a lot more sense, and thus the book became much more enjoyable. "Slow burn" as one reviewer put it, is an understatement. With that said, the story is very enjoyable in my opinion and I gave it a 5 rating.
Now for the reason I feel like nearly every single review is biased: this book has LGBTQ elements (more on that in a bit) and goes out of its way to point out the color of most characters skin and the characteristics of their hair as pertaining to their race. Look, I'm gonna get this out of the way so that Leftists don't think I'm a nazi and Righters don't think I'm a "crying lib": I'm a center right republican and a normal human being that finds politics and their forced injection into every single facet of life to be tedious and monotone trash talk. So with that out of the way, I do feel like the LGBTQ stuff is kind of forced. Almost none of it serves a purpose other than to virtue signal, and it drags the parts of the book down because of it. Not because it's there but because it simply serves no point, and that's an objective statement. With that said, there's almost NONE OF IT throughout the entire book, so it was easy to just roll your eyes and get right over it. Simply put, it might mean a lot to someone that is LGBTQ and if it makes them happy to see it, then fine. Quite frankly it's a small part of the book so if it bothers you, you may need to reassess what you're doing with your life that you get butthurt over the mention of a female character having a penis (no joke, the time it took you to read that sentence is longer than most mentions of lgbtq). As far as the race goes, it's just as important to the story as it would be if you were describing real life races. People on the northern coast are white, equatorials are brown. That's exactly how it is in real life, so why should it matter when the author mentions it here? There's no demonizing of the white skined people as one reviewer mentioned, in fact the main character says how strikingly attractive many people find them. Having the main characters be black simply shouldn't matter, if it bothers you so much that a character in a book is black, maaayyybe you're an actual racist. I actually found myself thunking how awesome this book could be as a limited series of 7-10 episodes for the whole thing with a 90% black cast. Not only would it fit because it was written as such, but it's an awesome story as I mentioned before. No joke I got goosebumps when the Aurogony (no clue how to spell some of the goofy words in this book)battles and even the basic uses were going on. How freaking awesome of a concept to steal heat from everything around you as a source of power? And no that isn't a spoiler, it details it within 20 minutes of the book starting.
So any way, in short, this book is neither a perfect 5 star as many people probably rate it for the LGBTQ and black characters, but neither is it absolute trash as the homophobes and racist reviews paint it out to be. From an absolutely neutral standpoint, I think the author did a very great job with the story but her direction was questionable at best (she seriously destroys every single ounce of future tension with a plot twist about halfway through...WHHHYYYY??) but the narrator should have been literally anyone else.
3 on performance
5 on story
4 overall
Hope this helps some of you that are on the fence
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- Darwin8u
- 01-19-20
Let's start with the end of the world
“After all, a person is herself, and others. Relationships chisel the final shape of one's being. I am me, and you.”
― N.K. Jemisin, The Fifth Season
This year, I'm trying to read more women, more minority voices. One advantage of this book was N.K. Jemisin presents the ability for a twofer. I had heard amazing things. With all things fantasy (or even the fantasy side of scifi, I am always a bit hesitant. I do have biases against fantasy). Reading Jemisin, for me, was like discovering Ursula K. Le Guin for the first time. Jemisin is a genius at world-making and characters. Her set-up is amazing and the reader only grasps what she is carefully unfolding with the three primary protagonists when you are about 4/5 done with the book. She is careful. She is at times beautiful. Her prose, for me, is almost there. She is wholly original. That doesn't mean there is no heredity to these books, but it doesn't mean she isn't confident to make big ideas hers; to bend and fold the genre to include issues on race, sex, gender, sexuality, family, class, community.
This is a book about power and control. Like all good scifi writing, it tells us, through scifi, hard things about ourselves. I am going to assume since this book (and her next two) won the Hugo that she is able to maintain her control over the next two novels. This amazes me. She is basically writing 400+ page novels in about a year. She is like Vollmann or King. She can write well, while writing BIG. I'm excited to see how the next installment plays out.
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- lighthawk
- 12-09-19
👍🏽👍🏽
I don’t know about some of the reviews I read which made me a little skeptical to start the series , as the book is solid and well rounded from world building , character development, and plot line. Maybe some people like a little more “simple” and straight forward of a story.
The book has a unique feel in the fantasy genre with still that old world journey. I have fully enjoyed this first installment and will continue ~
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- Connor
- 12-18-16
Emotional
This is a sad story. The main character checked into Heart Break Hotel and never left. I may need to borrow some tissues, have a long cry and call my mother.
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- Christopher S
- 07-30-19
Definitely worth it
Best science fiction book I've read in a long time. Definitely got my mind thinking about all the different possibilities in the plot, just to find out I was wrong each time. Wonderful narration too. Anyone else might have gotten it wrong.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-24-20
spectacular
wonderful world building, compelling story and characters, amazing voice performance. a truly unique fantasy world.
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- william lancaster
- 11-29-20
slow and boring
Just kept going nowhere and I had to stop before it bored me to death.
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- dhepburn
- 08-28-20
It starts slow but blooms into a real page turner.
I am looking forward to the rest of the series. a world perilously balanced by powers and deceptions is slowly unveiled as a child grows into a powerful force. Forged stronger by a lifetime of abuse a hero finds their way to the stark realities of the world. Though I find many parts of the story easily telegraphed I am still left wanting more.
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- Roman Rodriguez
- 07-20-20
So DAMN good
I never noticed how uncomfortably comfortable I’d gotten with botched or clumsy depictions of LGBT characters and stories in media until I read this book. This book made LGBT people exist so naturally in the space that it felt seamless. The identity of these characters was neither ignored nor the core of their motivations, it was a noteworthy aspect that informed a more well rounded set of drives. That is to say - they were PEOPLE. It’s so simple but it’s something I literally never knew I had been longing for until I had it. A fully fleshed out queer characters?! WHAT! I cannot say enough about this book. It breaks your heart in all the right ways and manages to express something profound without laying it bare for the lazy reader. GOD I LOVE THIS BOOK AND AUTHOR.
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- YAMS
- 05-07-20
Captivating!!
I LOVED the book and the narration! it kept me on the edge of me seat and wrapped up in this world.
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