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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I dunno I just wasn’t super vibing with it
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm sorry N.K. Jemisin, it's not you, it's me. Or maybe I'm just not that New York.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book with some really interesting ideas. But I found parts of it incredibly repetitive, and I just could not bring myself to care one way or another about what happens to these characters.
The book pivots between 6 POVs, one for each of New York's different boroughs and the whole of New York itself. The readers get to see how each of them awakens in the face of a threat from the Enemy – a being from another world determined to keep the city from being born, no matter the cost.
Pros: Jemisin has a great gift for voice, and it shows in the uniqueness of each of her characters as the chapters switch between these 6 POVs. Even if you are dropped in the middle of a story, you can always tell that one narrator is different from the last. She also is very good at incorporating real-world issues into her fantasy, especially in a more familiar setting that forces readers to confront familiar modes of discrimination.
Cons: Unfortunately, the 6 POVs (no matter how unique) lost me early. Our introductions to pretty much all of the characters follow a very similar formula, with very similar pacing. Character is introduced, they are forced to confront some sort of danger, they are intimated but then they realize that New Yorkers are ballsy and don't let anyone push them around, they awaken some sort of power and defeat the Enemy in battle (with one notable exception). And this happens 4-5 times in the book. I got tired after the second one.
I also thought that Jemisin continuously used very similar tropes in all of these confrontations with the Enemy. Most of them focused on very explicit forms of discrimination, which powered the Enemy's tactic of gentrifying (and thus destroying the integrity) of New York City. I love the idea there, and would have loved to see insidious instances, rather than the cut-and-dry white ladies screaming and white supremacists yelling and etc.
I also thought that the way she handled the Enemy was not as thoughtful as it could have been, considering the "twist" at the end when her motives are revealed. The narrative itself seems to justify colonialism and genocide with Bronca's, "It's the way of life, my father taught me to know where my food came from and to use every part of it," speech in a way that made it clear that this is the end of discussion on that.
Overall, this was an enjoyable book with some really interesting ideas. But I found parts of it incredibly repetitive, and I just could not bring myself to care one way or another about what happens to these characters.
The book pivots between 6 POVs, one for each of New York's different boroughs and the whole of New York itself. The readers get to see how each of them awakens in the face of a threat from the Enemy – a being from another world determined to keep the city from being born, no matter the cost.
Pros: Jemisin has a great gift for voice, and it shows in the uniqueness of each of her characters as the chapters switch between these 6 POVs. Even if you are dropped in the middle of a story, you can always tell that one narrator is different from the last. She also is very good at incorporating real-world issues into her fantasy, especially in a more familiar setting that forces readers to confront familiar modes of discrimination.
Cons: Unfortunately, the 6 POVs (no matter how unique) lost me early. Our introductions to pretty much all of the characters follow a very similar formula, with very similar pacing. Character is introduced, they are forced to confront some sort of danger, they are intimated but then they realize that New Yorkers are ballsy and don't let anyone push them around, they awaken some sort of power and defeat the Enemy in battle (with one notable exception). And this happens 4-5 times in the book. I got tired after the second one.
I also thought that Jemisin continuously used very similar tropes in all of these confrontations with the Enemy. Most of them focused on very explicit forms of discrimination, which powered the Enemy's tactic of gentrifying (and thus destroying the integrity) of New York City. I love the idea there, and would have loved to see insidious instances, rather than the cut-and-dry white ladies screaming and white supremacists yelling and etc.
I also thought that the way she handled the Enemy was not as thoughtful as it could have been, considering the "twist" at the end when her motives are revealed. The narrative itself seems to justify colonialism and genocide with Bronca's, "It's the way of life, my father taught me to know where my food came from and to use every part of it," speech in a way that made it clear that this is the end of discussion on that.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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:
Complicated
This is my favorite N.K. Jemisin book since the Inheritance series. So epic, so cool and this time the worldbuilding is happening in our world. I love when Jemisin merges her love of, and influence from, China Mieville with anime and the whole backend of this book is viscerally wild.
I highly recommend the audiobook because the more out there trippy moments have music and sound effects, a veritable soundscape of wild abandon and Robin Miles narrates in all the voices so you know its good.
I highly recommend the audiobook because the more out there trippy moments have music and sound effects, a veritable soundscape of wild abandon and Robin Miles narrates in all the voices so you know its good.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism
Maybe another year I'll be able to read this, but I've really been struggling to finish it and my 'to-read' pile isn't getting any smaller, so I'm just going to leave it as 'DNF' for now.
My suspension of disbelief was shattered when I was supposed to believe that Aislyn was working an off-the-books public librarian job. Not even a little hobby-library (I almost got a librarian position at one that seems more in line with what she'd be doing)--she specifically says branch. Staten Island is part of the New York Public Library System! It can be argued that she's a volunteer that's getting paid under the table, that makes more sense, but not everyone who works at a library is a librarian! I can understand eldritch monsters invading the city and math-based magical powers, but I draw the line at under-the-table librarian.
My suspension of disbelief was shattered when I was supposed to believe that Aislyn was working an off-the-books public librarian job. Not even a little hobby-library (I almost got a librarian position at one that seems more in line with what she'd be doing)--she specifically says branch. Staten Island is part of the New York Public Library System! It can be argued that she's a volunteer that's getting paid under the table, that makes more sense, but not everyone who works at a library is a librarian! I can understand eldritch monsters invading the city and math-based magical powers, but I draw the line at under-the-table librarian.
This was definitely a story that is in a completely different direction to what I usually read!
Jemisin’s homage to New York definitely shone through, but I have little to no knowledge about the city and I struggled to connect for a third of the book. The later half kept me engaged and I had fun.
3/5
Jemisin’s homage to New York definitely shone through, but I have little to no knowledge about the city and I struggled to connect for a third of the book. The later half kept me engaged and I had fun.
3/5