Review of The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Listened to the audiobook. No idea how to spell the names of any characters. 

The narrative was compelling, though the second person perspective sections felt unnecessary. Earth-based magic system, caste systems, dystopian world, social commentary. This kind of complex world-building almost makes me want to take a break and go back to reading Golden Age pulp S-f. You get all the themes here. I expected it to be more descriptiony, but it’s not on the level of China Mieville. It felt like a well-orchestrated Mercedes Lackey novel. Better than a lot of s-f coming out nowadays, but I will have to try the rest of the series to see if fatigue sets in, or if the voiciness grates, or if the heavyhandedness of some of the undertones drowns the immersive splendor of ruptured worlds, ragtag characters, crisp internal dialogue and the sort of blurred setting. Overall enjoyable.