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lukeb314's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
3.0
It's a cool idea, but you'd need to know NYC better to really get it, it feels. I enjoyed reading this but didn't feel the characters were particularly well-established. The ending set up the next book more than it wrapped up this one, which felt a bit unsatisfying.
vaenadal's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this but didn't love it, certainly not as much as I hoped. I vacillated between 3 and 4 stars, but the writing was just too good to round down.
Let's start with what with worked, because the good parts were really good. As a start, the concept of great cities having incarnate souls is awesome. And as someone who grew up in NYC, I feel like Jemisin really nails the personalities of all the boroughs and NYC generally (even Staten Island, *mostly*, which is an achievement). On the one hand it was cool to see this concept applied to a city I know, but it would also be cool to read about other cities in this way. Also, I'm going to link Tochi Onyebuchi's review on Tor.com here, because his analysis felt spot on.
Then there were the other parts that annoyed me. The pace was slow for the first 1/2-2/3 of the book and I had some trouble getting into it. Some parts felt a little too episodic for the overarching plot. And some of the metaphors felt heavy-handed. As the book got closer to the climax, things picked up, but then the ending really pissed me off. Or more accurately, struck a raw nerve, because I don't think Jemisin was really wrong, per se. Maybe there will be a redemption arc in the rest of the trilogy, but heavy sigh about the ending of this one.
Let's start with what with worked, because the good parts were really good. As a start, the concept of great cities having incarnate souls is awesome. And as someone who grew up in NYC, I feel like Jemisin really nails the personalities of all the boroughs and NYC generally (even Staten Island, *mostly*, which is an achievement). On the one hand it was cool to see this concept applied to a city I know, but it would also be cool to read about other cities in this way. Also, I'm going to link Tochi Onyebuchi's review on Tor.com here, because his analysis felt spot on.
Then there were the other parts that annoyed me. The pace was slow for the first 1/2-2/3 of the book and I had some trouble getting into it. Some parts felt a little too episodic for the overarching plot. And some of the metaphors felt heavy-handed. As the book got closer to the climax, things picked up, but then the ending really pissed me off. Or more accurately, struck a raw nerve, because I don't think Jemisin was really wrong, per se.
Spoiler
I grew up on Staten Island and unlike Aislyn, I enjoyed traveling to and being part of the City and I acknowledge the Island has flaws. But I also love some parts of the borough and it's always going to be my hometown and have some good memories. So I really hate that she's probably right about how the avatar of SI would be more likely to break off from the rest of the city in those circumstances (though going so far as to betray the others to the bad guys is really hard to read). SI ends up hated and misunderstood by the rest of the city because they're not speaking the same emotional language, and ugh, true but painful. And then replaced by Jersey City as an honorary borough! Again it's probably emotionally true, but damn is that ending just rubbing salt in the wound.districtreader's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
sayshal's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
fancytoast's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
aricclark's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
majamija's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
squigleylib's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so badass. N.K. Jemisin may have single-handedly converted me into a sci-fi/fantasy enthusiast. It began with the Broken Earth trilogy and has been cemented with this story. I’m hooked.
zach_edenwild's review against another edition
4.0
★★★★
Unsurprisingly, as all the advanced praise has hailed, 'The City We Became' is a massive love letter to New York. However, what truly caught me by surprise was that the book is not just about the city and its inhabitants. It's not just a checklist stroll through all the historic and touristy attractions that people think "signify' the Big Apple. No. N.K. Jemisin's "The City we Became" is New York, just as much as any of the fictional "avatars" that represent NYC in the story.
This is the work of a writer with a deep, spiritual connection to The City That Never Sleeps. It's so hard to put into writing, but from page one, the book is suffused with every little detail that only a true New Yorker could not just recognize, but feel. I am born and bred Queens, an inhabitant of this city for life, and there are beliefs and notions put to words here that I have never said aloud, but that I know in my heart are true, that consciously or unconsciously, I have felt and thought and maybe even tried to deny. Because not everything about this city, about its residents, is okay, but it's New York all the same.
In complete honesty, I didn't love the actual speculative fantasy aspects of the book. That's not to say it wasn't unique (it most definitely is!), but that's not what kept me reading. It was the surreal nature of it all, the poetic writing that was content to be in the moment at all times, feeling and presenting everything. In many ways, 'The City We Became' is also a commentary on all the destructive things that are slowly eroding the tradition and history of one of the greatest cities on Earth, and the forces that work tirelessly to silence such a diverse cacophony of voices. Racism, close-mindedness, gentrification, and corrupt capitalism (just to name a few) are as much the villains of this story as the ancient evil opposing our heroes. But instead of just condemnation, N.K. Jemisin seeks to understand, and show how even these antagonizing forces are an integral part of the story of New York.
Unsurprisingly, as all the advanced praise has hailed, 'The City We Became' is a massive love letter to New York. However, what truly caught me by surprise was that the book is not just about the city and its inhabitants. It's not just a checklist stroll through all the historic and touristy attractions that people think "signify' the Big Apple. No. N.K. Jemisin's "The City we Became" is New York, just as much as any of the fictional "avatars" that represent NYC in the story.
This is the work of a writer with a deep, spiritual connection to The City That Never Sleeps. It's so hard to put into writing, but from page one, the book is suffused with every little detail that only a true New Yorker could not just recognize, but feel. I am born and bred Queens, an inhabitant of this city for life, and there are beliefs and notions put to words here that I have never said aloud, but that I know in my heart are true, that consciously or unconsciously, I have felt and thought and maybe even tried to deny. Because not everything about this city, about its residents, is okay, but it's New York all the same.
In complete honesty, I didn't love the actual speculative fantasy aspects of the book. That's not to say it wasn't unique (it most definitely is!), but that's not what kept me reading. It was the surreal nature of it all, the poetic writing that was content to be in the moment at all times, feeling and presenting everything. In many ways, 'The City We Became' is also a commentary on all the destructive things that are slowly eroding the tradition and history of one of the greatest cities on Earth, and the forces that work tirelessly to silence such a diverse cacophony of voices. Racism, close-mindedness, gentrification, and corrupt capitalism (just to name a few) are as much the villains of this story as the ancient evil opposing our heroes. But instead of just condemnation, N.K. Jemisin seeks to understand, and show how even these antagonizing forces are an integral part of the story of New York.