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tastor 's review for:
The World We Make
by N.K. Jemisin
Extremely creative and high concept and gripping to read. I probably should have re-read the previous book because there were definitely aspects that I had completely forgotten, the author catches you up on a bit of the existing characters without relying too much on "previously on" style exposition but in some cases it's just a tad too loose (the characterization of Neek, Manny, Padmini and Aislyn are all distinct enough to easily latch onto early into the novel but I kept blurring Bronca and Brooklyn until the latter got well into her mayoral campaign, and Veneza just would not stick in my mind for a large portion of the book at all). However the high concept ping-ponging across the multi-verse kept things interesting and exciting enough that this didn't bother me a ton. The authors explanation of why she decided to end on a duology made a lot of sense and in one way kind of strengthened the book for me -- you could see a ton of the concepts she wanted to play with but sometimes just a toe-dip into a handful of concepts can feel imaginatively stimulating in a way thoroughly exploring a single concept often won't (this most reminds me of the way comic author Grant Morrison is known for sprinkling in hints at amazingly high concept ideas and quickly letting them play out where lesser writers would milk them for all they're worth). Probably ultimately my preference for single books rather than sprawling 5+ book epics is why I liked this more than a lot of other modern and sci-fi fantasy...it actually told a complete story without stringing me along for years.