TheBookishSock

This is the thirteenth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

12: Syenite finds a new toy

In this chapter we observe Syen as she goes about her mission to clear the coral out of Allia’s harbor, but while she’s trying to clear the coral she accidentally discovers a broken obelisk of garnet color with a stone eater stuck to it. (Also she discovers a weird source of power again like described in her previous chapter which seems to somehow be linked to these obelisks maybe? And how did she activate the obelisk? Or is it even activated?)

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
we’re still in Allia

Important Things:
stone eater – a being possible of damaging obelisks (I’m guessing Hoa is one too)

Important People:
Heresmith Leadership Allia – another lieutenant governor

Personal Point of Interest

So are these stone eaters what power the obelisks or are they trying to destroy the obelisks. I need more obelisk info.

This is the twelfth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

11: Damaya at the fulcrum of it all

Well, as the title suggests, Damaya is now at the Fulcrum and is considered a new grit. And surprise surprise it’s an authoritarian regime filled with abuse! (I really want to give her a hug and get her out of there.) We’re given an idea of what life as a grit in Fulcrum is like and how the pecking order among students works. Damaya gets bullied but figures out a way to get the other grits to leave her alone. (And wow that was a TWIST – a short one, but still.)

The chapters ends on a much lengthier excerpt of old text.

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
nothing new here

Important Things:
torus – the area negatively affected by an orogene’s power which is toroidal in shape; a zone of effect that can extend downwards or upwards and can be deformed in other 3-dimensional shapes by skilled orogenes

Important People:
Arkete/Maxixe – an older grit who introduces himself to Damaya after she’s been at Fulcrum for about 6 months; he supposedly has a crush on her
Selu/Crack – the girl Damaya decides to team up with to get the bullies off her back

Personal Point of Interest

This chapter reminded me of how much I do not miss grade a middle school.

This is the eleventh blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

10: you walk beside the beast

Maybe we are back to the every-other chapter thing now? Just when I think I know the rhythm of this book it changes. Essun fell asleep in a field near a pump house with Hoa and left Hoa as the night guard. He was supposed to wake her up when the block of peat burned out but instead she woke up much later to others’ screams. They run away for a bit then go back to the pump to refill their water where they meet a random kind but fierce lady who Essun thinks is a geomest. They all get trapped in the well house when a feral kirkhusa debates whether or not to eat them – then things get weird when Hoa kills it by turning it into some sort of mixture of stone/mineral.

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
pump house – it’s what it sounds like, a small shack that protects a well pump off the side of the road

Important Things:
geomest – (these have been mentioned before in passing but not enough to know what it means, and I’m still not entirely sure what it means) a type of person who is gifted with feeling the earth and can identify orogenes; they’re often thought of as orogenes in the best way possible (sorry – I still don’t have a solid definition yet)
kirkhusa – a dog like creature kept as a pet that typically eats low hanging leaves (that is until it tastes too much ash then switches to eating people as its main food source during a Season)

Important People:
UC at the well – the lady Essun calls a geomest though the lady rejects the title

Personal Point of Interest

I want a cute little kirkhusa …. Oh wait, maybe not.

This is the tenth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

9: Syenite among the enemy

WOAH CHANGE OF PACE – we’re not switching between Essun and everyone else every other chapter anymore! (Not that I’m complaining; chapter 8 was a roller-coaster ride and I need more.) Alabaster and Syen have made it to the place of their mission in Allia where they are greeted with prejudice. Alabaster, however, knows how to play their political game to receive basic decency from their government (which would have – should have – been afforded them in the first place if not for their being orogenes). (I’m beginning to really like Alabaster.)

They stay overnight in an in and order various foods, and we learn that once someone is at the seventh or eighth ring they lose themselves in the earth and no longer feel basic human needs like hunger. (Only later during what feels like a fever-dream of sorts we learn that something in Alabaster’s food was poisoned [probably with botulism since the descriptor is of a vegetable can with a bent lid] and with the help of Syen he was able to use focus to remove the poison.) In the morning, Syen notices that an amethyst obelisk has definitely moved closer to the shore. (I’m getting the feeling that somehow whatever Alabaster did may have to do with the obelisks?)

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
Allia – a coastal city a week’s journey from the node outside of Adea Heights

Important Things:
parallel scaling – the thing Alabaster keeps doing to harness Syen’s power (like a yoke letting two animals share the load of a cart)
Amethyst Obelisk – apparently they can move

Important People:
Asael Leadership Allia – a lieutenant governor of Allia

Personal Point of Interest

temtyr fillet – a type of fish, served as a delicacy in Yumenes
hearty seafood stew – garnished with cream and a dollop of some kind of beet chutney
garlic yams and caramelized silvabees – a side dish served with the temtyr fillet

This is the ninth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

8: Syenite on the highroad

You guessed it again! We’ve cycled character arcs again and are back to third person observing Syenite, and for some reason this chapter is quite long by comparison of the others. (When are we going to get to hear more about what happened in the prologue? I want to know what’s up with that one guy and his marble-like companion.) Alabaster, the 10-ringer, her new mentor seems to infuriate her, but also he speaks historical heresy that actually makes sense and aligns more with what Syen really wants for the world (though I’m not really sure she’s ready to admit that to herself yet by the sounds of it).

While on their adventure something sets off a huge shake seemingly out of nowhere (later in the chapter we found out this was somehow done by the node maintainer) and Alabaster somehow tethers his and Syen’s powers together to settle the quake and repair the earth before anything too terrible can happen. (This is a really cool mechanic – I need to know more.)

Eventually they rest up and make their way to the node. (The node maintainer is dead and absolutely disgusting. If you’ve read the book you know what I mean, and if you haven’t read the book, well, consider this a trigger warning for child molestation and ridiculous amounts of lack of human decency. I don’t think I have words for how cruel this scene is.) Alabaster kind of loses his mind for a hot second and we get an idea of how things really are in the world for orogenes/roggas.

The chapter ends in a short Arctic proverb.

INTERLUDE

I didn’t want to make this section its own post since it’s only a page and a half between chapters 8 and 9. The typeface changes entirely from what we’ve seen used so far. I’m guess this is either the narrator or author speaking. (These could be one in the same?) It mentions how the people of this continent we’ve been reading about don’t notice what is/isn’t there – particularly in reference to the night sky. I’m going to say that the lore we’ve read at the end of chapter 7 ties in here. I’m going to guess that Father Earth is the earth and the Mother Life mentioned is the moon and something happened to the moon … perhaps related to the sky obelisks?

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
Mehi – a small city at the edge of the Equatorials
Adea Heights – a mid sized city Syen and Alabaster go through on their way to the node.

Important Things:
node stations – areas where 4-or-less-ringers are sent to quell micro quakes and keep the earth steady
sanze-mat – the language used at Fulcrum (presumably used in the Equatorial region as well)

Important People:
Alabaster – we finally learn the name of “10-ringer”
Hessionite – a name Alabaster drops after exhausting himself putting out the quake (I’m guessing this was either his mentor or someone else that believes the “historical heresy” he believes)

Personal Point of Interest

derminther mela – small melons with a hard shell that burrow underground during a Season. (Ok is this a form of food or animal? It’s described as a melon which makes me think this is another form of food I could come back to but then how does a melon burrow? It would make more sense to me that these melons just lay on the ground and get covered in ash and survive that way during a Season.) Syen puts them in the fire coals to cook them over the course of a few hours. (I’ve never heard of cooking a melon before.)

This is the eighth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

7: you plus one is two

You guessed it! We’re back to second person which means we’re on Essun’s storyline again. She takes Hoa with her on the road going south. They receive many off-putting stares since the boy is so ridiculously dirty. Eventually Essun spots a bit of water and takes the boy down to it to wash off only to discover he’s abnormally white – like albino white (dare I say marble white? – I’m definitely thinking he’s the red rock eating boy from earlier). She also discovers that Hoa is seemingly able to tell where all orogenes are; and he knows where Nassun is. (It seems like because he’s made of earth he can tell where all those who can move earth are? It probably isn’t a Guardian type of thing based on the description of Guardians in the last chapter. Oh, and since he’s refused the raisins Essun tried to give him as sustenance and claims he doesn’t need to eat often I’m definitely thinking the food he actually eats are bits of red geode.)

The chapter ends on another excerpt from an old text – only this time it sounds like another/different religious text (or perhaps the story of the actual origin of this world).

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
I mean, they’re on a road going south

Important Things:
Ehh, nothing new here unless you want to count the quote at the end of the chapter

Important People:
Hoa – he’s starkly white now that he has all of the dirty washed off of him

Personal Point of Interest

I have a pretty good hunch that Hoa is red rock eating boy from earlier, but if what we read earlier is how he was “birthed” into this world then how has he learned speech and know how to track orogenes so well?

Oh, and if you’ve gotten to the end of this post leave me a comment down below. I’m really interested to hear what people are thinking of this series.

This is the seventh blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

6: Damaya, grinding to a halt

We’re back to third person (there’s definitely a pattern here). While spending a night in an inn in Brevard, Schaffa dreams during the night – thrashing around and crying out like he’s dying, but when Damaya checks on him he has no awareness of what has happened. (I wonder if he’s having a bad dream or if this is some tell-tale sign that if his kind get too far away from a rend bad things happen?)

As they pass through an area that has somewhat recently been affected by a quake Damaya begins to listen to the earth which Schaffa picks up on and tells her not to do. She gets squirmy with trying not too so Schaffa decides to tell her a story to take her mind off of things. He tells her of Shemshena, a woman who used knowledge to protect her people and kill an orogene (among other things – come on, I’m not going to completely spoil/summarize everything).

Eventually, Damaya gets a bit sassy and claims that she can control herself without need of a Guardian, and then things get messy. Schaffa breaks Damaya’s hand in 3 places then basically gaslights her. (I’m furious at this point having at a few points in my life been gas-lit myself. I’m presuming this somehow comes in again later in the story. Also I’m beginning to think Schaffa isn’t actually a child of Father Earth anymore – meaning not birthed of a rend.)

This time the chapter end in an excerpt from a textbook, ruminating on what constitutes a “‘true’ Season”.

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
Sanze – the only nation to have survived a Fifth Season, a rending causing deadly ash winters which last years, 7 times

Important Things:
Shemshena – an ancient story used to explain many orogene mechanics (of course that isn’t how it’s framed in the story, but that’s what it actually does for the reader – and in a very entertaining way)

Important People:
Misalem – a male orogene from before the Fulcrum was established who killed many and wished to destroy Yumenes

Shemshena – “a renowned fighter of the finest Sanzed lineage” who understood how orogeny worked and accompanied the Emperor to his meeting with Misalem

Personal Point of Interest

I knew early on in this book that there was definitely some abuse happening to Damaya, but I had hoped that ended when Schaffa took her away from her home. Evidently the Guardians get to abuse orogenes to gain control over them. Gross.

This is the sixth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

5: you’re not alone

We’re back to second person (I’m beginning to see a pattern here), and I think we’re back in Essun’s life. (Yep – definitely back to her again.) She’s still heading south to get away from the rend and track down Jija and Nassun. While she’s settling down in a field for the night she runs across a boy named Hoa who’s probably around 7 or 8 years old.

The chapter ends in a quote from what I’m guessing is/was a University lecture. (It has a date, but I don’t know the dating system of this world.)

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
nothing new here

Important Things:
nothing new here either

Important People:
Hoa – a boy found in a field south of Tirimo who seems to have taken a liking to Essun.

Personal Point of Interest

cachebread smeared with salty akaba paste (packed a long time ago) p.79 – I’m pretty sure these are shelf stable foods, and I’m wondering if it’s possible to recreate them. I don’t know if these are world specific foods or if this actually exists, but if I do one of those book challenges where you have to eat like the characters do I know I can revisit this. Who knows? Maybe I’ll incorporate it into my spoiler free review somehow.

This is the fifth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

4: Syenite, cut and polished

We’re back to third person again! We meet Syenite and Feldspar who sound like they’re at some sort of school that gives out rings like how a karate class gives out different belts (I’m guessing we’re in in the Fulcrum). (A couple of sentences later and yep, we’re definitely at Fulcrum.) During the discussion of Syenite’s next assignment we learn that apparently orogenes with 5 rings or more no longer need a partner or Guardian to go out into the world, but her assignment involves something with a guy who has attained 10 rings.

(Woah this just took a turn I was not expecting.) The 10-ringer still doesn’t have a name, but he’s a grouchy 40-ish year old, and Syen’s assignment is to have a child with this mysterious 10-ringer within a year. (Let me just say that the way Syen describes the possibility of her staying at Fulcrum to make all the babies sounds both hilarious and boring.) After having business-like sex (it’s the only way I can think to describe it), Syen reveals that there actually is a mission that starts tomorrow where 10-ringer becomes her mentor on how to break up some coral and whatnot (this is much closer to what I had originally expected).

This chapter ends on a bit of notes on a conversation held just before the founding of the Fulcrum (which just makes everything about the Fulcrum now feel disgusting).

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
Shape Prominence – an area of Fulcrum used to house senior members

Important Things:
Safe – a nutritious drink which no one enjoys made from plant milk that changes color when contaminated with anything
Sanzeds – a physically superior race

Important People:
Syenite (Syen) – a girl (roughly 20 years of age) trained at Fulcrum who has obtained 4 rings and is sent on a mission with another Fulcrum member with 10 rings
Feldspar (Feld) – Syen’s mentor at Fulcrum; a member of the senior advisory board? (I’m not completely sure what her role is, but I do know that Syen is gunning for her job.)
10-ringer – a guy presumed to be in his 40’s who is the highest level of orogene at Fulcrum (we don’t know what his actual name is yet even though the characters clearly do)

This is the fourth blog installment of Read & React for The Fifth Season. If you’re new to the series check out the first installment here. Eventually I hope to take my notes from this and transform them into a Spoiler Free Review, but this segment will definitely be filled with spoilers since it is my thoughts as I go through the book. Reader be warned, this post is meant for discussion purposes; avert your eyes now if you wish to avoid spoilers.

3: you’re on your way

We’re back to second person – looking at the story through Essun’s eyes, but I having a feeling she’s about to get a name change. Sessapinae are coming (whatever those are), they sound scary for orogenes. In any case, Essun packs the runny-bag (something similar to what I would call a go-bag) and devises a way to get out of town, find Jija, and recover Nassun. She goes to Rask to ask where Jija went on her way out of town and learns that Rask’s sister was a “rogga” (not sure if this term only refers to orogenes or includes other bad people?) too.

Rask escorts Essun to the edge of town and has the guards open up the gates, but one of them tries to shoot Essun with an arrow. This triggers her to think all of the people in the town are responsible for Uche’s death and she uses her orogene powers to create an earthquake and create a fissure near the town that will empty the town’s aquifers. (Well that explains why you definitely don’t want to make an orogene angry!) After a mention of a deep-voiced conscience from her past and seeing a man run out of his collapsing house with his child, Essun breaks out of her rage and realizes that she has caused many deaths through both freezing and structure collapse. (Perhaps this voice is that of the Guardian mentioned in Chapter 2?)

IN SUMMARY
Important Places:
nothing new – we’re back in Tirimo which is south of Yumenes

Important Things:
Sessapinae – I don’t think this has been specifically defined yet? Maybe something about people who are orogenes?

Important People:
Oyamar – Rask’s second in command