The Fifth Season is the first of N. K. Jemisin’s science fantasy trilogy, The Broken Earth. The series is unique in that all three books have won the Hugo award, and if that wasn’t enough, the stunning world building, complex characters and intricate plot should make this masterpiece top of your reading list for 2026.

The story is set in a world where some people have a unique ability: to control the earth itself. When her husband brutally murders their son, main character Essun chases him to save her daughter, as the world begins to fall apart around her.

Second person POV, what?!

The story is told through different alternating POV characters, and unusually, one of these POVs is written in second person. This is generally regarded as the hardest POV to do well, because it risks distancing the reader from the character. It forces the reader into a perspective where they become the character, and the ultra-closeness of this can backfire. If the reader doesn’t relate to being told what they do, then a barrier comes up. That’s not me.

 However, in The Fifth Season, it is done extremely well, and although jarring at first, I was surprised how quickly I got used to the form. The characterisation is so well done that it’s believable, and I was immersed in the fictive dream.

As the story progresses, the different POVs intersect. It takes a long time for this to happen, but when they do, it’s mind-blowing. The POV choices then make sense and tie the whole story together.  

Unique world building and magic system

Let’s talk more about the magical powers in The Fifth Season. Certain people can control tectonic faults, and train at an institute to master these powers, before being deployed across the country to keep people safe from quakes and solve geotechnical problems. For example, one of the POV characters is deployed to a coastal settlement to remove a coral-encrusted barrier in the water that’s impacting on the town’s ship-based commerce.

This triggers the appearance of one of the story’s mysterious repeating motifs: floating obelisks of distant-past origin. The truth about these objects is not revealed in The Fifth Season, even as they impact on the characters and their choices.

The magic system firmly situates this novel within the science fantasy realm because of the sense that the abilities are grounded in real science. It’s a world where “science so advanced it feels like magic” is true.

A world rich in history and lore

The world of The Fifth Season is plagued by, well, seasons, where periods of tranquillity and stability are interspersed with tectonic cataclysms that send civilisation into a spiral of panic and everyone-for-themselves. Townships are fortified against these disasters with caches of supplies, and when the season begins, all hell breaks loose.

The sense of deep time created by this history is pervasive and persuasive. It gives the world a sense of reality and permanence, without bogging down the story with overwhelming details. In fact, the whole of The Fifth Season is a treatise in how to world-build without info dumping. But it’s done without holding back critical information as well. There is so much complexity to the story. The necessary This is what’s going on is given in abundance, without making you feel like you’re being told the story instead of having it revealed to you. The world’s history is a big part of this, giving context to the characters’ motivations and stakes.

Come for the world building, stay for the characters

Where The Fifth Season really shines is in its compelling, character-driven plot. The POV characters each draw you in through their relationships to secondary characters, none of which are particularly positive. Each character feels real and well-rounded, there for their own agenda, instead of serving as a narrative device.

As the story evolves, the connections across storylines and POV characters becomes evident, bringing it together for a shocking finale that sends ripples of meaning throughout the whole narrative.

The Fifth Season truly is a masterpiece of science fantasy unlike any other. Add it to your 2026 TBR: you won’t regret it.