Storyline: 3/5 
 Characters: 4/5 
 Writing Style: 4/5 
 World: 5/5 
 As I experienced it, an internal narration: 
 This is going to be good; one can tell from the first few pages. It begins with promise. A narrator grasping for words, panting and searching for the right way to begin. You know that a story - no a tale! - is forthcoming and understand that the trauma that came with its experiencing is going to infect the telling. 
 A little acerbic at times; I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it. I sense that it is out of place - shoved in for affect when we weren't ready for it. The wild shifts in narration, too, are unsettling and don't engender the confidence in the author that the tale could have earned already. Not fond of the 2nd person voice used. 
 This is the way fantasy is supposed to be written! Jemisin doesn't dump a glossaryfull of terms over your head in the early chapters. They get doled out as if treasures. The story can continue with familiarity alone; one doesn't have to be able to distinguish between and memorize. Each new term is a trinket, gadget, or unfamiliar tool. Fun to look at and play with but knowing that it does or stands for something keeps you in suspense for further revelation. 
 Confrontational characters, full of angst. You suspected as much when the dedication was "For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question." Heavy, very serious. Cruel and malicious even. It's not gratuitous though. This is their world. This is their experience. This is what builds and drives and defines them. You know Jemisin is making real world allegories. Not sure how I feel about that. I can appreciate it here, though, in the Fifth Season. It has a place and a purpose. 
 Up to about the halfway point this is paced just perfectly. Mystery properly paired with revelation, suspense with action, despair with some light. Wonder throughout. The world is coming together but at the same time going forward. The details matter, the world works, everything is put to purpose. This is what a book is supposed to do. 
 Slowing. Jemisin hasn't lost her confidence, but she has lost her momentum. To see something new now we have to backtrack over paths already trekked, see sights already viewed. Too little going forward, too much emphasizing what we already know. This is supposed to be character building, but the author was much more efficient with her words in the first half. 
 Too much effort trying to make social-political statements. Stick to the theme, the story; don't get distracted. 
 She's lost the sense of perspective - the first portions were written the way someone wants to read them. These later pages are there because there are supposed to be more pages. It has also turned gratuitous - an unfortunate turn. Now the cruelty is here because we're supposed to think this a serious novel, because we're supposed to suffer alongside our characters. Jemisin should have had more confidence in what she'd accomplished already. She's gotten to a place where its starting to hurt the story, to expose plotholes, prompting questions that distract from the story's direction. I could have defended the book against accusations of too much cruelty earlier. I can no longer do so. 
 I wish it would have finished out as strongly as it started. I think that planning for this as a trilogy released the author from the obligation to make every word and scene count. Worthy of recognition and acclaim. I'm definitely reading on in the series.