4.5 stars? I'm rounding up because it was so enjoyable. This was one of the more gripping and unique fantasy epics I've read in a long while. I wish I'd gotten to it earlier.

The Fifth Season is unique in so many regards. To begin with, the magic system is just...beautiful and strange. Orogenes can exert some control over the earth - quelling and starting shakes within the earth. However, so much of their magic is still a mystery. Who leads the Guardians (the group that takes charge of the orogenes)? What makes someone an orogene?

What's this business about the moon?

I love that we are left with so many questions about the magic system and that there is so much still for our characters to experiment with and learn.

The character are another part of this book that are just wonderful. The story is told from the perspectives of strong women who are each fascinating. Hearing from three different perspectives and places helps flesh out the world and also give you a very clear idea of the culture our characters are living in. The supporting characters are also great - each is distinct and unique and adds something to the story.

The world-building in this book is insane! One of the big parts of this world is folklore that the earth is angry with humans and is seeking to destroy them by implementing a Fifth Season - a time when natural disasters run rampant and human life carrying on is uncertain. The world also has some distinct peoples and characteristics that, while they might have some parallels in our world, feel completely unique and yet so real.

And that brings me to the diversity in this book, which was one of the things I appreciated most. Most of the characters in this book are multiracial, but would probably be considered black in our society. However, the society of the world doesn't distinguish people by color. At least, not in a meaningful way. It's not an issue - and that's how the author handled every diverse bit of this book. There's a trans character, who acknowledges that transitioning cut off some marriage options earlier in their life. And that's the most we deal with that. There's a polyamorous relationship between a straight woman, a bi-sexual man, and a gay man. And it, again, is dealt with in a serious and yet realistic way. There are some authors who would write this relationship in a way that cheapens it or makes it feel like a porno, but this book kept everything dignified. My main appreciation with diversity was that each bit of diversity felt natural and like an innate part of the character. Instead of stuffing the book full of ALL the diversity (which is happening in a book I'm currently reading), this book made things feel like a natural part of characters and like something that wasn't their main consideration in light of their current circumstances- the end of the world.

This was a wonderful fantasy book that I highly recommend to all fantasy readers.