The City We Became
Ratings169
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings169
Average rating3.9
Five New Yorkers must come together to defend their city from an ancient evil in this stunning new novel by Hugo Award-winner and NYT bestselling author N.K. Jemisin. Every great city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She's got six. But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs in the halls of power, threatening to destroy the city and her six newborn avatars unless they can come together and stop it once and for all. For more from N.K. Jemisin, check out: The Inheritance Trilogy The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms The Broken Kingdoms The Kingdom of Gods The Inheritance Trilogy (omnibus edition) Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych (e-only short fiction) The Awakened Kingdom (e-only novella) Dreamblood Duology The Killing Moon The Shadowed Sun The Dreamblood Duology (omnibus) The Broken Earth The Fifth Season The Obelisk Gate The Stone Sky How Long 'til Black Future Month? (short story collection).
Featured Series
2 primary books3 released booksGreat Cities is a 3-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2016 with contributions by N.K. Jemisin.
Featured Prompt
2,097 booksWhen you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
Featured Prompt
60 booksI'm interested in new genre books where the setting is almost like a character. I'm especially interested in books that also have a strong plot. For me, the prime example is "Finch" by Jeff vander...
Reviews with the most likes.
Read while in the mood for something fun during a long weekend. This is indeed fun; an assemble-the-avengers action-filled adventure with a ton of deliberate representation. Special call out for the Tamilian with H-1B lottery problems from whom I learnt a new Tamil phrase: kan kettu piragu Surya namaskaaram. Favourite quote: “Home isn't where the heart is, it's wherever the wind feels right.”
I actually wasn't sure if I was gonna read this book. I thought I would also be in for a long wait at my library, but, once I got it immediately after the release, I just thought, why not?. And to be honest, I'm surprised that I enjoyed it so much.
I have a couple of disclaimers first.
So I had this carefully calibrated to-read list, and then the world ended, and I didn't feel like reading anymore. But in my head, I just kept repeating: “everything changes in a season”, so I figured if I could read anyone, I could read Jemisin.
I had thought that Jemisin was the epic fantasy writer of my generation. I was wrong: I'm pretty sure N.K. Jemisin is THE speculative fiction writer, in general, of my generation. This is an urban fantasy that redefines what it means to be urban fantasy. This is a book about the fantasy of cities. It's a love poem to cities. (a much needed ode, when currently living in a city seems like a death sentence, weaving around masked figures on the sidewalk.). I've never been a fan of New York, but through Jemisin's eyes, I found myself loving it. (Jemisin notes herself: there are NYC people and there are London people; I'm a London person). Even before the fantastic elements, Jemisin's NYC is alive.
And Jemisin's NYC is alive, in one of the most inventive modern fantasies I've read. Full of relatable, human characters, who also manage to slip to just the other side of inhuman. There is a villain who is relatable, understandable and also completely evil. It's the best modern take on Lovecraft: acknowledging and incorporating his racism
