The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season by N.K.Jemisin was the alternate pick to the 83rd official Sword and Laser Book Club selection, A Darker Shade of Magic.

Reading period: Apr 1, 2016 - Apr 30, 2016

How/Why was this book chosen: It tied with "A Darker Shade of Magic" in a March Madness style knockout poll and was picked by Veronica as the alternate book because we hadn't read V.E.Schwab yet. Round 1 Match 1

106 votes 51.5% The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin 

100 votes 48.5% Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

 Round 1 Match 2 

100 votes 53.8% Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence 

86 votes 46.2% Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

 Round 1 Match 3 

113 votes 58.5% Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

80 votes 41.5% Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson

 Round 1 Match 4 

104 votes 54.2% Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

88 votes 45.8% Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner

Round 1 Match 5

99 votes 51.0% The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

95 votes 49.0% The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

 Round 1 Match 6 

110 votes 60.4% The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley 

72 votes 39.6% Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Marillier

 Round 1 Match 7 

110 votes 55.0% The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett 

90 votes 45.0% A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle

 Round 1 Match 8 

114 votes 60.6% A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab 

74 votes 39.4% Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone

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 Round 2 Match 1 

158 votes 67.8% The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

75 votes 32.2% Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

 Round 2 Match 2 

129 votes 57.6% Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

95 votes 42.4% Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey

 Round 2 Match 3 

116 votes 53.5% The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

101 votes 46.5% The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley

 Round 2 Match 4 

139 votes 62.9% A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

82 votes 37.1% The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

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 Semi-Final 1 

152 votes 60.8% The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

98 votes 39.2% Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan

 Semi-Final 2 

152 votes 60.3% A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

100 votes 39.7% The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu

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 Final 

138 votes 50.0% The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

138 votes 50.0% A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab

Sword & Laser Goodreads Group Discussion of The Fifth Season

The Fifth Season by N.K.Jemisin
This is the way the world ends. Again.

Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze -- the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years -- collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.