In the seventeenth chapter of The Fifth Season<\/i>, I will never forget this moment. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to be utterly annihilated by The Broken Earth<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For discussion of abuse, manipulation, and grooming of children.<\/b><\/p>\n
I had a whole review I was ready to write. I wanted to talk about the contrast between Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story and that of Essun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Syenite. Unlike the others, Damaya wholeheartedly accepts and believes the world of the Fulcrum, so much so that there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s virtually no question on her part in regards to what position she deserves in society. Literally, on the first page:<\/p>\n
(Friends do not exist. The Fulcrum is not a school. Grits are not children. Orogenes are not people. Weapons have no need of friends.)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no irony here; this isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t some sarcastic or satirical outburst. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what she believes, and we see the manifestation of that throughout this chapter, especially<\/i> when Binof arrives. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not until the final scene in chapter seventeen that Damaya begins to question things, but\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 I have thoughts about that, too. So that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what I wanted to talk about! Look how effective the brainwashing is! Syenite, through her interactions with Alabaster, was well on her way to questioning the arrangement of the world. Essun seemed far beyond that, especially in a world where she was able to have two children and hide in plain sight as an orogene. I honestly was ready to talk about how Jemisin was deliberately showing us three different characters in three different stages of awareness of orogeny.<\/p>\n
And you know what? I guess she technically did <\/i>do that.<\/p>\n
Fuck me.<\/p>\n
So, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll talk about the thing that ruined me later. Because look, even if you took out that final exchange, this chapter would have ALREADY been utterly mind-blowing. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to make a comparison here that I know is not something that Jemisin was inspired by, so HEAR ME OUT, because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a point to be made. I love that The Fifth Season<\/i> invokes so many worldbuilding mysteries. What I mean by that is there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much hidden beneath the surface (shit, probably quite literally) in this book. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s built out this layered, complex, and vibrant world, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still so much we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the mystery of the obelisks, left either under the ground or which float mysteriously and soundlessly in the sky. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got the stone eaters, these statue creatures that aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t human, who have an agenda of their own. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got Alabaster\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life! What happened to that Guardian that was brought up before he was stabbed? What else can he do as a ten-ringer? What plan does he have for Syenite? Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the orogene comm we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve just come to in Essun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s chapter, as well as the fate of Nassun.<\/p>\n
And don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get me started on the three points of view. (Only because I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to scream about this later.)<\/p>\n
I was lucky enough early on to be able to watch The X-Files<\/i> in real time. And while that show had many week-to-week stories that were \u00e2\u20ac\u0153resolved\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in forty-five minutes, there was a complicated machinery at work under the surface. Conspiracies. Mysterious identities. Agendas that would slowly boil up to the top. Well over a decade after that show began, I stumbled onto LOST<\/i> at a friend\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s urging, and I watched a single episode of season two. That episode was so compelling that I spent three days catching up on what had aired, and I was hooked until the very end. Trying to piece together the mysteries at the heart of these shows\u00e2\u20ac\u201deven when some of those answers were disappointing\u00e2\u20ac\u201dwas so fucking fun<\/i>, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.<\/p>\n
Now, creatively and narratively, all three of these stories have virtually nothing to do with one another. But I bring them up because The Fifth Season<\/i> is satisfying the mystery\/thriller part of me that eats this shit up. There are multiple EXTREMELY compelling mysteries at hand, plotted out painstakingly over this book, and that part is important because of how<\/i> Jemisin gives us a sleight of hand. It matters how she chooses to reveal information, and how often she teases the answer to a mystery, only to introduce a completely new train of thought, one that answers a question I never thought to ask. Case in point: Up until this chapter, I never once wondered what was actually in the campus at the Fulcrum. I was interested in the sense that I wanted to know what sort of training\/brainwashing Damaya would receive; I was interested to see where her story would go; I was interested in how all of this would be achieved.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But Jemisin, through Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s curiosity, began to challenge what I cared about. It reminds me of the textual challenge about islands! Why hadn’t<\/i> I thought about them or noticed that they weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t ever mentioned? When it came to Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exploration during her Free Hour\/Night, I had to start questioning myself. Why hadn’t<\/i> I ever wondered what was on the grounds of this place? Where did<\/i> they take orogenes like Crack? What else was in the Ring Garden? Why this<\/i> place? Was the Fulcrum put here simply because of its proximity to Yumenes? Why not somewhere else?<\/p>\n
As a reader, this kept me on my toes. Look, I never would have thought to ask these sort of questions if I hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been led in this direction. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating parallel here, too: I got comfortable within the story, trusting what was narrated for Damaya, and in a sense, she got comfortable, too! She begins exploring where she can, and that includes the administration buildings, as well as Main, the core location in the Fulcrum. (Oh my god, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shaped like a hexagon. OH MY GOD.) And this is where Jemisin creates a new mystery: Why are there so many disused wings in Main? Damaya wonders this, too, but because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing all of this through the eyes of a young orogene, we know only what she knows.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Which means I have to question that<\/i>, too. What Binof represents for Damaya is uncertainty. I believe that Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presence is what finally will introduce doubt into Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind. For example: prior to meeting her, Damaya just accepts this:<\/p>\n
In Main, there are wings that have fallen into disuse because the Fulcrum is larger than it needs to be, or so Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s instructors have told her when she asks them about this. No one knew how many orogenes there were in the world before the Fulcrum was built, or perhaps the builders thought that more orogenes would survive childhood to be brought here than has proven true over time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
At this point in the book, I have to question anything<\/i> the Fulcrum tells orogenes. As we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen in Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story (IT HURTS TO TYPE THAT, OH MY GOD, I FELL FOR IT SO HARD), we know the Fulcrum either outright lies or is ignorant of a lot<\/i> of things concerning orogenes. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 did<\/i> no one know how many orogenes there were prior to the creation of the Fulcrum? Also, one aspect of this story doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Even if the rooms fell into disuse, they still look used<\/i>. Some of those rooms were clearly for a purpose, and I have a hard time believing that no one ever used them. Like the room with all the ornate chairs. Or the laboratory. No, these were abandoned for a purpose, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing, not because there weren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t enough orogenes.<\/p>\n
So what the fuck happened at the Fulcrum?<\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an answer somewhere within Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s appearance, and Jemisin doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it easy for the reader. By the chapter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s end, I wanted<\/i> to believe her story, but I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know how much I should trust a human in this world. Was she using Damaya? Was this all part of some agenda? I want more than anything to believe that she was a rebellious, curious kid, one who used her privilege as a Leadership comm member to infiltrate the Fulcrum and then get Damaya out of trouble. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a nice story, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
But is it just a story?\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I think Binof told the truth here. As I re-read this chapter, she seemed genuinely surprised by a lot of what she witnesses. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shocked by not being noticed; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shocked by how few orogenes there are, which suggests she was told that the Fulcrum was overflowing with them. I am, however, suspicious of the fact that Binof seems to find and latch on to Damaya so quickly. Why her<\/i>? Why talk to Damaya over everyone else? Maybe it was coincidence; maybe Damaya made her feel safe. Damaya was also curious, and again, that curiosity begins to turn into something else later in the chapter. Perhaps Binof saw that and used it to her advantage. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also obvious that Binof is not just privileged but ignorant. She offered Damaya money to help her, despite that orogenes have no need for it within the Fulcrum. Then she offers Damaya \u00e2\u20ac\u0153privileges\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for the next time she leaves the Fulcrum\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 which is never. They don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that until they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re older and have rings. So, Binof is in over her head, right? I wondered in the notes below if her parents were geomests, which was mostly me noticing that Binof has an academic understanding of orogenes, not a personal one. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s never spent time with an orogene! Look how often she seems interested in orogeny in a way that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s deeply uncomfortable for Damaya! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like Damaya is something to be studied; she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not a person to Binof most of the time. I say most of the time because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s that painful moment later on where Damaya has to teach Binof about how orogenes aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t kids, they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t human, and no one really cares if an orogene gets hurt. So, as much as Binof might be interested in orogenes, she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t actually know<\/i> what it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s like to be one.<\/p>\n
Anyway, lets talk about the Main, and this is where I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to start, as I think this is a hint to Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivations:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not as scary as the lorists said you would be. But then, lorists lie a lot.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u201dif she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lying\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis a fascinating character because, unlike Damaya, she is openly<\/i> questioning what she is taught. She needed a question answered, and the people who are teaching her apparently could not do it. So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, all this<\/i> happens. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a desperation to Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions, too, as if this is the only chance for her to find out what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in the mysterious room in Main. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t come back another time. It has<\/i> to be now.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I loved that Damaya refused to let Binof head down into said mysterious room without interrogating her as to her goal. I just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect this:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fine. Okay.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d She takes a deep breath. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something, an artifact, at the heart of the Fulcrum.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
How!!! HOW WOULD BINOF EVEN KNOW<\/i> THIS???<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153All I know is that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 something\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s missing from the history. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a hole, a gap.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153What?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n\u00e2\u20ac\u0153In history.<\/i>\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Again, when I had a much different review planned, I was going to talk about how Syenite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s story with Alabaster mirrors this. Does Syenite learn that there are gaps in information from Alabaster? Doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he constantly reference a Tablet that apparently does not exist? Jemisin has, up to this point, convincingly shown us that this is a world that is incomplete in terms of its official history. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much missing, so much unsaid, so much untold. Not lost, I imagine, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gonna guess the stone eaters tie into this. But still! There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an official story, one that puts the orogenes at the bottom of the social hierarchy. And there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually happening.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
And that thing<\/i> is whatever was here, an artifact that terrified people so much that no one settled in Yumenes until the first Emperor, Verishe, settled and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153built a city around the thing they were all afraid of.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Well, not just that, but:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153That actually helped keep Yumenes safe in those early years. And later, after the Empire was more established, somewhere between the Season of Teeth and the Breathless Season, the Fulcrum was founded on this site. On purpose. On top of<\/i> the thing they were all afraid of.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Which was\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 an obelisk? Maybe??? A hexagonal shape, a deep impression in the ground, flat-sided walls\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 yeah, it seemed obvious to me. There was once an obelisk in the ground at this point. And right as I was certain I had figured something out, this hit me:<\/p>\n
There: Along every smooth slope, she can see thin, barely visible sharp objects. Needles? They push up through fine cracks in the smooth walls, jagged and random, like plant roots. The needles are made of iron; Damaya can smell the rust in the air. Scratch her earlier guess: If she fell into this pit, she would be shredded long before she ever hit the bottom.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jemisin answers a question with a new<\/i> mystery, one even more confounding than before. WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS PLACE.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the answer to that, either. The final fifteen pages of this chapter are just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 jesus, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. Suspenseful. Horrifying. Completely mind-boggling. Damaya and Binof are caught by a Guardian, and Binof surprisingly does what she can to take blame off of Damaya. At least, I think<\/i> that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what happened here. And she also told the truth: She had a question that required an answer.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Was<\/i> her question answered?<\/p>\n
At this point, who fucking CARES, because I can barely re-read the NIGHTMARE that is everything once Guardian Timay returns to interrogate Damaya. What the fuck do I say<\/i>? A socket<\/i>? That pit was a socket<\/i>? So\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m right about the artifact being an obelisk, was it a power source? Because that word feels so specific! And why did Timay ask if Damaya touched one of the needles???<\/p>\n
All the expression just stops, in her face. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Did it call to you? Did you answer?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Hi, what the fuck are you talking about? Why does Timay\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s voice change? Who or what suddenly starts speaking through her? WHO IS ANGRY? WHO IS \u00e2\u20ac\u0153READYING, FOR THE TIME OF RETURN\u00e2\u20ac\u009d?<\/p>\n
I have no fucking clue what any of this is. What exploitation? What communion? What battle<\/i>? What compromise is she referring to?<\/p>\n
Well, for the time being, we won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know, because Schaffa arrives and RIPS OUT TIMAY\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S BRAIN STEM. I mean\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what the FUCK, first of all. Second: At least now I know that this is where the surgical implant goes. Third: Schaffa actually tells Damaya about this! That part knocked me flat, because\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, why would you admit openly that you have an implant that allows you to control an orogene? But I see this as part of the way that Schaffa controls Damaya. I think he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s figured out how curious she is, how much she wants to learn about the world. He even says that Timay believed that Father Earth was communicating with her, though he ultimately dismisses it as a delusion. Why would he tell Damaya all this? Schaffa uses honesty\u00e2\u20ac\u201dor at least partial honesty\u00e2\u20ac\u201dto give her the sense that he cares about her.<\/p>\n
And maybe he does, in his own, fucked up way. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard for me to see anything in this chapter (or the book, for that matter) as real<\/i> love. The power dynamic alone is terrifying. For all intents and purposes, Damaya is enslaved, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see any expression of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153love\u00e2\u20ac\u009d within that context as being true or real or fair or not\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 completely revolting? So his honesty is a tactic, and I think he relies on these tactics so much that perhaps they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been confused as love in his mind. His perspective is that he cares so much for her that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to see her hurt, which also disturbingly means he probably doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even consider himself as someone who has harmed Damaya. Even though he has!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
In this moment of vulnerability, volatility, and terror, Schaffa pushes her further. Granted, I do agree that he is aware that Damaya is most likely in a ton of trouble. Taking the test for the first ring\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand passing it!\u00e2\u20ac\u201da full year before she is supposed to will show the Fulcrum that she is an asset to keep. It may be the only way to keep her alive.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I need you to live, Damaya.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Schaffa touches his forehead to her own. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153My compassionate one. My life is so full of death. Please; pass this test for me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This feels like grooming. It feels like Schaffa manipulating Damaya so that she places his emotional needs and desires over her own. Look how he tries to make her feel pity for him. His life is so full of death! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a passive summary of the truth: Schaffa causes<\/i> much of the death in his life. He does not ask her to pass the test so she<\/i> can live; he requests it so that he<\/i> can.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
And then something happens. It is what feels like the first genuine time that this thought process appears in Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narration. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t divorce it from what happened prior, either. This strange girl, a Leadership human from Yumenes, broke into the Fulcrum because she refused to accept what she had been taught. Because Damaya was with her, Damaya learned that there was a secret beneath the Fulcrum, one that had never been discussed or hinted at.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I believe the tiniest seed of doubt has been planted.<\/p>\n
But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n
But\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n
But. She turns her head, and looks at that single drop of her blood on the table.<\/p>\n
This is not right.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Damaya?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
It isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t right<\/i>, what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re doing to her. What this place does to everyone within its walls. What he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s making her do, to survive.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Will you do it? For me?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
She still loves him. That isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t right, either.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
The wrongness is there. She has acknowledged it. And if it starts here, where does it go? How does it grow? How will Damaya look at the world around her, knowing that this is wrong<\/i>? She has a new lens of perception, and if she is willing to entertain it, where will that lead her?<\/p>\n
Well, we know the answer. Sort of. Because then N.K. Jemisin, not content with ruining my life with this brilliant, terrifying, and visceral chapter, reveals the game she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been playing this entire fucking time.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153If I pass.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Damaya closes her eyes. She can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t look at him and say this. Not without letting him see the it isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t right<\/i> in her eyes. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I, I picked a rogga name.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
He does not chide her on her language. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Have you, now?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He sounds pleased. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
She licks her lips. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Syenite.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Syenite.<\/p>\n
The character I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve spent a third of this book with.<\/p>\n
The orogene with Alabaster.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Damaya.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
And if that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Damaya\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fuck. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s another character. One who arrived in Tirimo ten years ago. Who never speaks of her past. Who somehow hid her orogeny from everyone but one member of the comm and her two children. Who lives in a world that doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to have the Fulcrum.<\/p>\n
Damaya.<\/p>\n
Syenite.<\/p>\n
Essun.<\/p>\n
They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all the same, aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they?<\/p>\n
The same person, three different points of her life, and together, they give a portrait of the Stillness at three key moments. The Fulcrum at full swing. The destruction of Allia and the return of the stone eaters. The end of the fucking world.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
I want to know everything, obviously. How does Damaya become Syenite? Why doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t Syenite ever refer to Schaffa? What the fuck happened to the Fulcrum in Essun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time?<\/i><\/p>\n
I will await some answers. In the meantime: Holy shit, I got played. Completely and utterly fooled. THE STRUCTURE OF THIS BOOK IS SO WILD. I immediately want to re-read everything to see if there were clues I missed??? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all too much. IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S ALL TOO MUCH.<\/p>\n
NOTES<\/b><\/p>\n
\n
- hey, why does that chapter title give me anxiety<\/li>\n
- wow, the first page of this chapter ALONE is heartbreaking<\/li>\n
- \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Dysfunctional weapons are simply removed from the stockpile.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d help me, how is one sentence so GUTTING<\/li>\n
- ooooh, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting to see more of the complex!!!<\/li>\n
- oh god, now i know what Damaya is talking about. the guardians\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 surgery!!!<\/li>\n
- oh, that IS interesting. why is the building so large?<\/li>\n
- nope, don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like the image of all the belongings left behind<\/li>\n
- NOPE.<\/li>\n
- yeah, this is both very cool and incredibly unnerving. why was this part of the building left like this?<\/li>\n
- NOPE, DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LIKE THE STRANGE GIRL, DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T LIKE THIS AT ALL.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- WHO IS BINOF???<\/li>\n
- this is so suspect. why would this girl approach Damaya about that?<\/li>\n
- Leadership Yumenes??? so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 her role and where she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s from???<\/li>\n
- she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NOT an orogene??? then why is she here???<\/li>\n
- also it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not like damaya knows how to get in that room!<\/li>\n
- okay, it seems really obvious that Binof is really ignorant about certain things? Like offering Damaya money.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Lorists lie a lot\u00e2\u20ac\u009d???????????<\/li>\n
- i hope that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why everyone is noticing her???<\/li>\n
- i don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t like this. why does binof think no one is noticing them???<\/li>\n
- OH. THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S WHY.<\/li>\n
- is binof the child of a geomest? that would explain a lot<\/li>\n
- binof can pick locks???<\/li>\n
- well, i can see that damaya is now starting to question what she has been taught. but where will that questioning lead her?<\/li>\n
- oh god, that warning is both literal and metaphorical, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t it? WHAT ELSE IS BENEATH THE SURFACE<\/li>\n
- \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re a Leader; change the rule.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d THE SOUND I JUST MADE<\/li>\n
- an artifact???<\/li>\n
- a gap in history???<\/li>\n
- WHAT WAS HERE? WHY WERE PEOPLE AFRAID OF YUMENES????<\/li>\n
- I AM VIBRATING WITH NERVES RIGHT NOW<\/li>\n
- okay, my guess is it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on top of an obelisk? maybe another obelisk with a stone eater inside it?<\/li>\n
- how did those lights come on<\/li>\n
- omg there was an obelisk here, right???<\/li>\n
- NO<\/li>\n
- NO NO NO<\/li>\n
- I NEED TO KNOW<\/li>\n
- STOP<\/li>\n
- i am so nervous!!!!<\/li>\n
- what the fuck is going on<\/li>\n
- okay clearly Binof\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s use name commands respect and power<\/li>\n
- socket???????<\/li>\n
- call to her???<\/li>\n
- what the fuck is happening??????<\/li>\n
- it didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say anything to her????<\/li>\n
- WHO IS TALKING????<\/li>\n
- I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M LOSING IT, WHAT IS THIS???<\/li>\n
- what the fuck did schaffa do?!??!?!?!?!<\/li>\n
- what the fuck is this book!!!!!!!!<\/li>\n
- okay now that I have (barely) recovered, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m guessing Schaffa removed whatever surgical implant Guardians get to give them their powers<\/li>\n
- Father Earth?? that socket is a connection to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 what??????<\/li>\n
- i am so confused by Schaffa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reaction<\/li>\n
- this is SO DISTURBING<\/li>\n
- oh my god he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153connecting\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to her through his implant, isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t he?<\/li>\n
- what the fuck HOW IS SHE IN A STATE TO TAKE A TEST<\/li>\n
- Why does this feel so deeply, deeply manipulative?<\/li>\n
- wait wait wait why is she having these thoughts right now???<\/li>\n
- fuck you<\/li>\n
- fuck all of you<\/li>\n
- fuck you all forever<\/li>\n
- i can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe it<\/li>\n
- i can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe i fell for this for four hundred and fifty fucking pages<\/li>\n
- i am never going to forgive any of you ever again<\/li>\n
- oh my god<\/li>\n
- all three of them<\/li>\n
- they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re all the same person aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t they<\/li>\n
- oh my fucking god<\/li>\n
- damaya grew into syenite who grew into essun<\/li>\n
- THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S WHY WE DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW ANYTHING OF WHAT HAPPENED BEYOND TEN YEARS AGO WITH ESSUN<\/li>\n
- OH MY GOD I HAVE A MILLION MORE QUESTIONS<\/li>\n
- OH i don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like i have EVER in the history of ALL TIME been so completely ruined by a plot twist<\/li>\n
- HOW MANY UNFORTUNATE THINGS HAVE I SAID OVER THESE REVIEWS<\/li>\n
- LITERALLY IN THE LAST ONE I SAID SOMETHING EMBARRASSING<\/li>\n
- i can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a>
\n– Not only that, but my very first pre-order campaign is now live for North American readers! If you submit proof of pre-order, you can get a limited edition print that comes with the book<\/a>.
\n<\/strong>– If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the seventeenth chapter of The Fifth Season, I will never forget this moment. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to be utterly annihilated by The Broken Earth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569,570],"tags":[571,413],"class_list":["post-5234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-broken-earth","category-the-fifth-season","tag-mark-reads-the-broken-earth","tag-nk-jemisin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markreads.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}