-
The Fifth Season
- The Broken Earth, Book 1
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $34.21
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Obelisk Gate
- The Broken Earth, Book 2
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the way the world ends, for the last time. The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun - once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger - has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever. Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power - and her choices will break the world.
-
-
Enjoyed This, But Won't be Finishing the Series
- By Vincent Jeffries on 07-22-18
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
- By: Claire North
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his 11th life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August", she says. "I need to send a message". This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.
-
-
Amazing
- By clifford on 11-12-15
By: Claire North
-
Jake's Magical Market
- By: J.R. Mathews
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that? When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange magical card system that gives them magical powers.
-
-
great progression story
- By cory on 11-30-21
By: J.R. Mathews
-
Black Sun
- By: Rebecca Roanhorse
- Narrated by: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger.
-
-
5-star Concept; Too Many Threads Left Hanging
- By Lisa Davidson on 10-26-20
-
Legendborn
- By: Tracy Deonn
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 18 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After her mother dies in an accident, 16-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC - Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape - until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts - and fails - to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
-
-
A well done debut
- By LexiLikesLiterature on 01-27-21
By: Tracy Deonn
-
The Lathe of Heaven
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.
-
-
A dark look at alternate timelines
- By Elisabeth Carey on 12-23-18
-
The Obelisk Gate
- The Broken Earth, Book 2
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the way the world ends, for the last time. The season of endings grows darker, as civilization fades into the long cold night. Essun - once Damaya, once Syenite, now avenger - has found shelter, but not her daughter. Instead there is Alabaster Tenring, destroyer of the world, with a request. But if Essun does what he asks, it would seal the fate of the Stillness forever. Far away, her daughter Nassun is growing in power - and her choices will break the world.
-
-
Enjoyed This, But Won't be Finishing the Series
- By Vincent Jeffries on 07-22-18
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
- By: Claire North
- Narrated by: Peter Kenny
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harry August is on his deathbed. Again. No matter what he does or the decisions he makes, when death comes, Harry always returns to where he began, a child with all the knowledge of a life he has already lived a dozen times before. Nothing ever changes. Until now. As Harry nears the end of his 11th life, a little girl appears at his bedside. "I nearly missed you, Doctor August", she says. "I need to send a message". This is the story of what Harry does next, and what he did before, and how he tries to save a past he cannot change and a future he cannot allow.
-
-
Amazing
- By clifford on 11-12-15
By: Claire North
-
Jake's Magical Market
- By: J.R. Mathews
- Narrated by: Travis Baldree
- Length: 20 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that? When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange magical card system that gives them magical powers.
-
-
great progression story
- By cory on 11-30-21
By: J.R. Mathews
-
Black Sun
- By: Rebecca Roanhorse
- Narrated by: Cara Gee, Nicole Lewis, Kaipo Schwab, and others
- Length: 12 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial even proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world. Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger.
-
-
5-star Concept; Too Many Threads Left Hanging
- By Lisa Davidson on 10-26-20
-
Legendborn
- By: Tracy Deonn
- Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
- Length: 18 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After her mother dies in an accident, 16-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC - Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape - until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts - and fails - to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
-
-
A well done debut
- By LexiLikesLiterature on 01-27-21
By: Tracy Deonn
-
The Lathe of Heaven
- By: Ursula K. Le Guin
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a future world racked by violence and environmental catastrophes, George Orr wakes up one day to discover that his dreams have the ability to alter reality. He seeks help from Dr. William Haber, a psychiatrist who immediately grasps the power George wields. Soon George must preserve reality itself as Dr. Haber becomes adept at manipulating George's dreams for his own purposes.
-
-
A dark look at alternate timelines
- By Elisabeth Carey on 12-23-18
-
The Blade Itself
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
-
-
A 22 hour Prequel
- By Kindle Customer on 06-13-19
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
This is why I joined Audible!
- By customer on 02-14-20
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
Ranger's Oath
- Fall of Radiance, Book 1
- By: Blake Arthur Peel
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer, Kate Reading
- Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Magic has protected Tarsynium for a thousand years, shielding its people from a world ravaged by bloodthirsty demons. When a young ranger's apprentice named Owyn Lund discovers that the Arc of Radiance has been breached, he tries to warn anybody who will listen. But legends aren't supposed to be real. When a village is mysteriously destroyed, rangers, mages, and rebels all point the finger, blaming each other for the demons' brutality. However, Zara Dennel, a mage's ward, has heard Owyn's tale - and she's inclined to believe him.
-
-
Outstanding Fantasy
- By Brett Bishop on 03-11-20
-
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
- By: N. K. Jemisin
- Narrated by: Casaundra Freeman
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Yeine Darr is an outcast from the barbarian North. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, she is summoned to the majestic city of Sky. There, to her shock, Yeine is named an heiress to the king. But the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is not easily won, and Yeine is thrust into a vicious power struggle with cousins she never knew she had. As she fights for her life, she draws ever closer to the secrets of her mother's death and her family's bloody history.
-
-
Eh...
- By bren on 04-10-19
By: N. K. Jemisin
-
The Way of Kings
- The Stormlight Archive, Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 45 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roshar is a world of stone and storms. Uncanny tempests of incredible power sweep across the rocky terrain so frequently that they have shaped ecology and civilization alike. Animals hide in shells, trees pull in branches, and grass retracts into the soilless ground. Cities are built only where the topography offers shelter. It has been centuries since the fall of the 10 consecrated orders known as the Knights Radiant, but their Shardblades and Shardplate remain: mystical swords and suits of armor.
-
-
Great Story!! Cons: slow start & poor narration
- By Monica on 01-17-17
-
The Final Empire
- Mistborn Book 1
- By: Brandon Sanderson
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 24 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For a thousand years the ash fell and no flowers bloomed. For a thousand years the Skaa slaved in misery and lived in fear. For a thousand years the Lord Ruler, the "Sliver of Infinity," reigned with absolute power and ultimate terror, divinely invincible. Then, when hope was so long lost that not even its memory remained, a terribly scarred, heart-broken half-Skaa rediscovered it in the depths of the Lord Ruler's most hellish prison.
-
-
Prepare for sleepless nights
- By tercia on 10-21-18
-
The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With unforgettable characters, a sweeping backdrop, and passionate storytelling, this is a fantasy debut to rival that of Robert Jordan. Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice is the story of a royal house and the young man who is destined to chart its course through tempests of change.
-
-
Somewhat depressing
- By Jackson on 08-09-17
By: Robin Hobb
-
Dune
- By: Frank Herbert
- Narrated by: Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Maud'dib. He would avenge the traitorous plot against his noble family and would bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
-
-
This classic deserves better
- By Matthew Salvo on 07-01-21
By: Frank Herbert
-
The Black Prism
- By: Brent Weeks
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 21 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Guile is the Prism. He is high priest and emperor, a man whose power, wit, and charm are all that preserves a tenuous peace. Yet Prisms never last, and Guile knows exactly how long he has left to live. When Guile discovers he has a son, born in a far kingdom after the war that put him in power, he must decide how much he's willing to pay to protect a secret that could tear his world apart.
-
-
Nice first book. slow start
- By Amazon Customer on 12-13-16
By: Brent Weeks
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
-
Well written but boring
- By surfgoat on 08-06-18
By: Dan Simmons
-
A Game of Thrones
- A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1
- By: George R.R. Martin
- Narrated by: Roy Dotrice
- Length: 33 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winter is coming. Such is the stern motto of House Stark, the northernmost of the fiefdoms that owe allegiance to King Robert Baratheon in far-off King's Landing. There Eddard Stark of Winterfell rules in Robert's name. Far to the north, behind the towering Wall, lie savage Wildings and worse - unnatural things relegated to myth during the centuries-long summer, but proving all too real and all too deadly in the turning of the season. Yet a more immediate threat lurks to the south, where Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, has died under mysterious circumstances....
-
-
Everybody is apparently a chain smoking old man.
- By Althea on 11-04-13
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
A Good Story Told Very Badly
- By Brandon M. Salazar on 03-29-19
By: Steven Erikson
Publisher's Summary
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.
Featured Article: The Most Stellar Sci-Fi Authors of All Time
Science fiction is a genre as diverse as you can imagine. There are stories that take place in deep space, often depicting teams exploring or running away from something; stories that focus on life at the most cellular level, such as a pandemic tale; and stories that take place in times that feel similar to our own. Depicting themes of existentialism, philosophy, hubris, and personal and historical trauma, sci-fi has a cadre of topics and moods.

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
More from the same
What listeners say about The Fifth Season
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Steve Groves
- 02-10-20
The Nay-Sayers are Wrong.
Okay, so, I ALMOST didn’t use my credit for the month on this book. Some of the negative reviews were scathing, and I try not to pick up books unless they come recommended by people or sources I trust.
This trilogy won THREE Hugo awards, (I’ve never met a Hugo winner I didn’t Love...) So I ignored the nay-sayers.
THANK GOD!
I haven’t enjoyed a book this much since the first time I read Dune.
The sequels will be the first time I spend money for books beyond the free credits.
Guys, this book is wonderful.
The characters are beautiful, tragic, and desperately human. The setting is refreshingly new. The plot is...
...you get the point.
I hope you decide to ignore the negative reviews and give it a chance. Savor it. Take it slow, and PAY ATTENTION. The author is masterful in her storytelling.
That’s the strongest review I can give, but I wish I could give more.
-Steve
514 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 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
190 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paul Griswold
- 05-04-19
No idea why anyone would give this a positive
When I saw well over 12k positive reviews I figured I'd give this book a shot. I tried to stick with it, but it is so crass, so poorly worded, and so unnecessarily gratuitous that I am returning it.
I finally gave in when the narrator read a line which was something like, "she had just finished her morning f**k". Seriously, how on earth does this book have that many positive reviews? It reads like it was written by a high-school sophomore who is trying to spice up their book by throwing in a lot of unnecessary vulgarities under the guise of artistic writing.
What a giant waste of time.
146 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Miles
- 06-11-20
This book made me so mad, with lots of unnecessary child abuse, neglect, polygamy, filthy sex depictions etc...
First off, this book should come with a filthy content warning. I should have read more reviews before I bought this, but I didn’t realize it would have so much of the story based on hate and sex. My biggest problem is I got halfway through and it has a part that describes a little boy getting teased by other children about getting sexually molested to get some alcohol. Then he basically get sent off to seclusion and what the author describes as his indirect punishment. What’s worse is it’s just left at that no real justice or anything to address the fact that you basically write in the worst possible scenario for seemingly no other reason then you want to make your readers feel like shit or pissed off.
There’s also lots of child abuse, neglect, polygamy, filthy sex depictions etc...
The whole time I was listing to this book it basically made me feel awful. I’m mostly mad at myself for getting 3/4 of the way through with the book and not stopping it.
133 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- W.
- 11-07-18
Usually a Huge award is a great indicator
I have in fact, volunteered for four different WorldCons where the Hugo's are given. I tried so hard to like these books, but I just cannot. I understand the originality of how they're written and recognize that the author has a brilliant grasp on how to paint a picture with words, but I just don't like it.
To quote a song by one of my favorite bands: "Different isn't better, it's just different..."
Had I not purchased the first two books in this series together, I wouldn't have bought the second one. I certainly will not be buying the third. My thought after not really caring for the first was: Maybe the story will flush out in the second... Sadly no. Not for me.
94 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DavidtheVoice
- 05-23-18
Mostly Boring With a Little Touch of Interesting
I'll start with the good. This book has a really interesting magic system and has just enough mystery to keep you somewhat interested. The writing is quite solid too, though I find her style to be a bit annoying but that's a personal preference.
The biggest flaw that this book has is that it is boring and that's quite a big sin for a book especially one in fantasy/sci-fi. It takes a good third to halfway through the book for anything interesting to happen and then it is sporadic thereafter. It was quite a struggle for me to finish this book and that's not something I want in a book I listen to for pleasure.
I personally found most of the characters to be pretty flat and boring and they all seemed somewhat similar. I know this is against the popular opinion but I just didn't think the characterization was very good. I also thought the "twist" was pretty telegraphed and I had guessed it long before I was given confirmation.
This book actually won the Hugo (and so did it's sequel) and I honestly can't understand why it was given such a prestigious award. It's an okay book, but I can't really recommend it to anyone that doesn't want to work really hard to push themselves to listen to it. My best guess for why it won the Hugo, and this is completely my personal opinion, is that it hits a lot of group identities. All the people in the book are black, it has gays, transgendered people, and a class of people that aren't treated much better than slaves. Some of this actually feels forced in my opinion, but it wouldn't be the first time an award was given for something because the voters agreed with the political views of the creator.
69 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John Barnett
- 11-04-18
Heavy on the World Building, Light on Plot
This is clearly a book written by someone with an amazing imagination. It pokes and prods with questions about the world we currently reside in by creating, with immense detail, a new world full of love and history. That alone is enough for some people. I might just be one of those crazy folks that hopes a novel also tells a story. I was game for about 5+ hours of world building, hoping that something resembling a story would begin next chapter. Nope. It's just a collection of details describing a world I initially was curious about, then was bored with, and finally labored to just finish.
210 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joe
- 11-04-18
Not good enough to be interested in the next book.
Interesting way to tell a story, but between the difficulties in rectifying the timeline, understanding the world, and having to struggle to become interested in the main characters, I am satisfied with letting the story rest where this book finishes.
59 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Fantasy
- 12-01-15
ORIGINAL AND MOVING, EXCELLENT!
An intriguing concept and story. It wanders far and then comes back to tie up loose ends. Very well performed and beautifully -- poetically -- written. Robin Miles is one of those great narrators who becomes the book so that you don't notice her at all because she is the characters, she is the story. I will be very happy to recommend this one to everyone who likes speculative fiction and very interested to read the next episodes!
The description is a bit deceptive. It sound depressing, but it isn't, not at all. There is magic ... of a kind. Not traditional magic or traditional magicians. No elves, wizards, or other standard fantasy elements. This is the first book I've read in quite a while that has not been derivative of someone else's foundation story. A breath of fresh air after a long run of Tolkien wannabe tales.
It is set in a time outside of time. It could as easily be before now or anytime in the future. You will have to decide for yourself. The author doesn't tell you. Lots of hints, but nothing specific enough to use as evidence. I suspect more will be revealed in subsequent books.
It's also, in its own way, rather sexy. Non-traditionally sexy -- so if you are one of the "traditional family values" crowd, this is probably not for you.
514 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 05-22-20
DNF
No beginning. No middle. I’m guessing no end. No plot. Not sure what I just listened to.
10 people found this helpful