Aoife’s Comments (group member since Jan 14, 2018)

Aoife’s comments from the Robot Leprechauns group.

Our next Robot Leprechauns read is New York 2140 by Kim Stanely Robinson.

Blub:

"It is 2140.

The waters rose, submerging New York City.

But the residents adapted and it remained the bustling, vibrant metropolis it had always been. Though changed forever.

Every street became a canal. Every skyscraper an island.

Through the eyes of the varied inhabitants of one building, Kim Stanley Robinson shows us how one of our great cities will change with the rising tides.

And how we too will change."

Let us know your hopes for New York 2140 before you start reading.

This is the thread where we can talk about all our feelings about The Fifth Season! Warning -If you haven't read it yet, please read it before reading these comments as they may contained SPOILERS.

Discussion topics:

1. All the narrators in this book are female. How did you feel about their voices?

2. In your opinion, is this book science fiction or fantasy? There may be some debate about this!

3. Do you feel there was an overall message in this book? A warning to look after our earth? A lesson in losing everything but carrying on (like Essun and Syenite)? Discuss.

4. Alabaster's final scene in the book was slightly disturbing. How did you feel about the revelation that he seemed to be turning into stone? And what do you think he wants Essun to do with the moon?

5.The Fifth Season trilogy is being turned into a TV show. After reading the book, are there any fears or worries you have about this? Any scenes you're dying to see transformed for the TV screen?

6. An easy one - favourite and least favourite character, and why?

Our first read is the Fifth Season by NK Jemisin!

The Fifth Season is a much-talked about epic fantasy that won a Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2016. It's set on a continent called The Stillness, which is an ironic name as it's anything but! The land is rocked by earthquakes of different scales, and some can demolish entire civilisations giving way to new 'seasons' and you guessed it, we're currently in the fifth one on record. There's a certain type of people in The Stillness called orogenes, and they contain an ability to quell the earthquakes, or make them worse. Their anger or overemotional turns can be lethal for those around them and this is one of the reasons they're not free. They're taken away to train but always have to answer to a higher body and they're controlled by a scary set of people called Guardians.

In The Fifth Season, the reader follows three different POV's - Essun, a woman who has just lost her son to a violent act, Damaya, a young girl who has found out she is an orogene, and Syenite a young woman who is a trained, and adept, orogene who is ready to succeed even further in her field.

Please share all the hopes and fears you have for this book. There will be a separate thread for spoiler discussions.