In a recent lesson on fantasy fiction, I asked my y9 class to name some conventions of the genre. Amidst the expected dragons, wizards, enchanted jewellery and unicorns, there was not a single mention of an enigmatic race of stone-eaters, or apocalyptic seismic activity. The Fifth Season, the first in Jemisin’s Hugo-winning trilogy, is indeed audacious, both in its use of the genre (was ‘geological fantasy with environmental themes’ a pre-existing sub-genre or a wholly new invention?) and in its narrative structure, though the lesser said about that the better.

I have to admit this was my 2nd attempt to read this after my first faltered, and I wouldn’t have picked it up again without the raving endorsement of a good friend of mine. Though I didn’t love it anywhere near as much as him, finding it to take a long time to get interesting, there is a lot to respect here. There are exciting moments and some wonderful world-building and characterisation. ‘Magic’ was definitely a feature of my Y9’s lists, but Jemisin’s magic system, and the combination of prejudice and dependence towards it, is brilliantly imagined.

There are some turning points that make the book standout amongst its many fantasy peers, but before those, it did feel a little directionless and difficult to engage with. Once the three narrative threads meld together though, Jemisin’s novel thrums and reverberates with brilliance. I loved the slow reveal of hidden truths and the final line has to be one of the greatest non-sequitur cliffhangers (another Jemisin invention?) of all time.