The Fifth Season

Abstract

N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season depicts a world constantly ravaged by natural catastrophes, forcing people to live quasi-nomadic lives and making themselves valuable if they want to be accepted into a community, or comm. During these periods of upheaval, called Fifth Seasons, communities close in on themselves, and it is up to certain castes in society to come up with ways to survive the Seasons. Among these castes are the Innovators, who are responsible for inventing and maintaining viable technologies for each community. They, along with the “geneers” and “geomests”, make up the class of scientists in the novel. The “geneers” are engineers of everything related to geothermal mechanics, mining, and underground infrastructures. The “geomests” are mostly researchers in the areas of chemistry, geology, and orogeny. One of these “geomests”, Tonkee, accompanies the protagonist in a journey across the continent, making observations on the geological phenomena that are occurring during the novel and imparting her knowledge of these scientific aspects to the protagonist and readers.