The Fifth Season

If you haven't heard, N.K. Jemisin is the new hotness, relatively speaking. The Broken Earth series seems to be her biggest and most popular work. How could we not select its first installment, "The Fifth Season," for our next book club.

It won the Hugo Award for best novel in 2016. The second book in the series "The Obelisk Gate" won the same award in 2017. How much would you like to bet the third novel wins in 2018?

The book is about a very dangerous world. It has the usual four seasons of winter, spring, summer, and autumn. Then there is also a fifth season of geological calamity. This fifth season has been the end of many civilizations. Their ruins are strewn all about, and there are none who remember the people that built them. All human society is structured in such a way as to make sure they survive the fifth season(s) where others have failed.

Also, some people, including many central characters, are born as orogenes. Basically, they are geology wizards. Much like the mutants in X-Men, they are outcast victims of oppression, prejudice, and genocide. Yet, they are simultaneously respected, feared, and called upon to use their powers to save society from disaster.

I've already started, and I can tell you this is a must-read for all GeekNights listeners.