Three-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts her most incredible novel yet, a “glorious” story of culture, identity, magic, and myths in contemporary New York City. In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’‘t remember who he is, where he’’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, … But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power.
In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it’’s as if the paint is literally calling to her.
In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels.
And they’‘re not the only ones.
Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’’s got six.
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)
“A glorious fantasy.” –Neil Gaiman
ldren. New York? She’’s got six.
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)
“A glorious fantasy.” –Neil Gaimanldren. New York? She’’s got six.
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)
“A glorious fantasy.” –Neil Gaimanldren. New York? She’’s got six.
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)
“A glorious fantasy.” –Neil Gaimant:
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)
“A glorious fantasy.” –Neil Gaimanmore
A glorious fantasy, set in that most imaginary of cities, New York. It’s inclusive in all the best ways, and manages to contain both Borges and Lovecraft in its fabric, but the unique voice and viewpoint are Jemisin’s alone.
Read for 2021 Hugos
I see a lot of conflicting reviews on this book, simply because it is so weird! I’m going to fall on the “like” side. This is an amazing response and criticism of the Lovecraftian mythos, and especially to the racism and colonialism inherent in that whole genre. So yes, there is a fairly blatant message in several parts of this book, but that’s also sort of the point.
Now, that doesn’t even get into the great story and characters contained in this book. I really don’t want to spoil a whole lot because once you get into it, there are some really big ideas included, as expected for otherworldly plots. I thoroughly enjoyed this and I’m really looking forward to another in this series.
The City We Became’ by N.K. Jemison is a wildly creative fantasy/sci fi novel that asks the question: what if cities were actually alive? In the first instalment of the Great Cities Trilogy, Jemison introduces readers to New York City, but not as we know it. New York has become embodied in five human avatars representing each of its five boroughs – Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island – as well as a primary avatar who represents the city as a whole. The city is under attack from interdimensional invaders and the avatars must find each other, learn to use their new powers and protect their city at all costs from those who would seek to Rob it of what makes it unique. The premise of this book is so creative and the story is fast-paced, funny and like nothing I’ve read before. The characters are brilliantly written and perfectly embody their respective boroughs (side note: I would die for Queens). Ultimately Jemison has written a brilliant new sci fi/fantasy novel but a heartfelt love letter to New York, so this is perfect for fans of either.
Without a doubt, one of the most brilliant books I have ever had the honor of reading. An homage to New York City, packed with all its love and harshness, and so incredibly inventive that I felt my own imagination and the boundaries of what fantasy can be expand
The City We Became is a wonderfully inventive love letter to New York City that spans the multiverse. A big middle finger to Lovercraft with a lot of heart, creativity, smarts and humor. A timely and audacious allegorical tale for our times. This book is all these things and more.
As usual, from page one, Jemisin draws us into a new world as action rocks the scenery all around, but this time the world closely resembles one we know: New York City. It’s a fascinating ride! Fun and witty in its way, but also bringing up serious issues of class, wealth, inclusion and exclusion, art, race, gentrification, and about 83 other things, it’s a book no one else could have written, and it’s a book you should definitely read.
This book is spectacular. Clever, funny, tense, gorgeously written, very New York.
This is the most original and intriguing story I’ve read in years. Every single character is so vibrant. having them be a personification of the different parts of the city is genius. Not only is it original, it is perfectly executed. The story has you on the edge of your seat from the get go, and the ending… I literally screamed for more.
I first heard of The City We Became by N.K. Jeminsin from the writing community I work with, WriteHive. They’d done a group read of the book a few months before in the Book Nook channel of our little Discord server. At the time, I hadn’t had time to join in, but everyone in the Book Nook was raving. So I knew I had to check this one out. That was before I looked at the synopsis, and was all in.
Book Summary:
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn’t remember who he is, where he’s from, or even his own name. But he can sense the beating heart of the city, see its history, and feel its power.
In the Bronx, a Lenape gallery director discovers strange graffiti scattered throughout the city, so beautiful and powerful it’s as if the paint is literally calling to her.
In Brooklyn, a politician and mother finds she can hear the songs of her city, pulsing to the beat of her Louboutin heels.
And they’re not the only ones.
Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She’s got six.
What I Enjoyed:
This book was a love letter to New York City, the good and the bad, and it made my heart swell, at a time where New York City is still riding the end of a wave that nearly killed it. The city that never sleeps was hit, perhaps the hardest of all American cities, and we’re still struggling to get back on our feet. To read a story in which each of the boroughs of our city have personalities that mirror the positive, (the get up and go, the hustle and bustle, the musicality, the toughness, the sharp wit, the rugged independence) and the negative, (the ruthless nature, the do or die–literally–of the corporate climb, the shadows of racism, the obliviousness) of my city made me miss the city that was even more. I was certain it would rebound even stronger. Because that’s what New York does–it thrives.
What works about the personification of the city in this way is that it creates some really excellent characters that you can’t help but root for. There’s Manny, a grad school student who gets to reinvent himself the moment he walks into the city proper–except, not through the traditional way. He literally forgets who he was before. There’s Bronca, an older lady whose life was steeped in the violence and beauty of the Bronx, who is prepared to stomp her way through any threat. There’s Brooklyn, who hears the music of the city, but doesn’t let it define her, carving out a life for her child and her father, and taking care of the rest of the city with business savvy and connections.
The magic system was outrageous, but I believe that was because it was intensely inventive. Magic and power that is based on the understanding of what makes NYC the city that never sleeps: money, traffic, rap, combat boots, and a native connection to the land are all used as a power at some point in the story, each avatar of the city getting their own draining but effective ability against the enemy.
And who is the enemy, exactly? That’s where the really fun part takes off. Some of you may not know this, but H.P. Lovecraft, creator of Cthulu and many other fun Edritch creatures, was a MAJOR racist. Everything in The City We Became rails against racism, with the heart of the city being made up of Lenape Natives, Black Americans, Tamils, and one definitely white person, with some questionable priorities (avoiding spoilers best as I can). But there are such heavy references to Lovecraft, and this story draws heavily on his influence, while completely turning his ideas on their ear, and I love that. In the year of Lovecraft Country, both of these takes by Black Americans are so welcome in our current landscape.
What I’d Avoid:
There were a few things in this book that I didn’t care for as much, although as a whole I was a fan.
There wasn’t more than maybe one white ally in this entire book, and I know that isn’t a true representation of this city. But I think that was the point. I don’t think white people like me were supposed to be terribly comfortable reading it. That’s not the part I would avoid. That’s just the lead up.
The part I would avoid is a problem inherent in when you give a character the traits of an entire city. No group is a monolith. And that is true of NYC too. To make an entire borough come off as racist, an entire borough come off as dangerous and edgy, or even an entire borough come off as nervous nerdy mathematicians felt a bit odd. And that’s the weird thing about this story conceit. It’s clever, but when one tries to really gaze into what this all means, it ends up feeling like stereotyping…which is a strange thing in a book as anti-racist as this. Maybe I’m missing the point here. Which is cool. I can accept that’s a possibility. This book wasn’t written for me. And that’s fine.
Separately, there was a bit of Instalove that was a bit much. A character seeing another character and being instantly willing to die for him is a little over-the-top. And I get that these characters are being driven by some pretty powerful magic here, but still. If they’d had even one interaction, I may have been okay with it. But as it was…
What I Can Learn From It:
While sitting back and listening to the views of this black woman who had a lot to say about New York City, I learned a lot about the way people that are not like me view the city I’ve lived in all my life. I also learned a lot about allowing myself to be as weird as I want to be as far as magic systems. This story is also SO voicey. It has a voice that pulls you in from page one. And it sounds like a New Yorker’s voice. The authenticity of the voice in this very bizarre story is amazing.
Would I Recommend It:
Absolutely. This was such a cool book with so many incredible twists. I can’t wait to see what the book’s planned sequel has in store.
This book made me want to visit New York with a tour guide who knows the parts of the city that tourists really don’t see.
Honestly, might be my favorite read of 2020.
This is a powerful, thought-provoking book that I could barely put down. It gave me a very different perspective on New York than my usual tourist point of view and made me think about the many different kinds of people who make up the city. The sense of place was so strong that it made me homesick for New York. It’s been far too long since my last visit. I was a little leery of the horror elements, but it’s not that scary. I think the more “realistic” horrors, like the “Karens” with the police on speed dial and alt.right trolls were more frightening. They may not be powered by eldritch horrors from another realm (or are they?) but “Karens” do exist. I’m less worried about giant tentacles from beyond. The characters really grew on me, getting under my skin so that I couldn’t help but emphasize with them, even though they were all very different from me.
3.5 stars. I did enjoy this book, but something about it just didn’t click with me. I liked the whole idea of the story and found the premise really interesting. It just seemed really long. I was really confused at the beginning of the book. I also felt like it took so long to really figure out what was going on. It made it hard to connect with the book because I didn’t really know what was going on. I felt like there was so much that happened right at the end that it was a bit overwhelming. And then the “final battle” was a little disappointing. I look forward to continuing this series, though.
New York City is beloved and disdained and magical in ways Jemison really gets. Not only does she get it, but she masterfully leads her reader to getting it, too. Original and weird and massively inventive, just like New York City itself. The City We Became is as great an ode to New York as any ever crafted. I look forward to the next book/s.
If NYC boroughs were people… a very interesting book. I enjoyed it and yet, it is hard to articulate why. One thing is for sure, it is not like anything that I have read before.
Like all of N.K. Jemisin’s books I’ve read (so far!), this one is simply amazing. Jemisin has earned her place in the same pantheon as Ursula K. LeGuin and Octavia Butler.
This story is a stunner. In our world, some cities can become alive, sentient beings. It’s a rare mix of ingredients, but New York has it. Usually, one human rises up as a mid-wife and defender of the city, but our New York is ever a beautiful pain. A group of humans representing the diversity of the boroughs of the city must defend it from a cosmic horror intent on its destruction. Such a great book!
I read some reviews on Amazon, and I want to respect thier opinions, but I’m not surprised that most of the negative reviews were written by white males. I’m also assuming a certain Mr. N is a cis straight male otherwise I don’t think he would have been so offended by the “stereotypes” against white people. I lived in Brooklyn, (Flatbush errr the now gentrified title of Prospect Lefferts Gardens), and in Manhattan. I lived in what was once called Alphabet City near 8th at C. Yes, a not yet gentrified section when I there so when I went to vote since I was close to Ave D and the projects it took over 3 hours. My friend who lived in the very white Upper West side, surprise, voted in like 20minutes. Racism exists, it’s real and if you haven’t realized that in the past 2 weeks you’re at that back of the train, or maybe you got pushed off?
That said.. back to the book. It’s amazing. Yes, it is a bit different than N.K. Jemisin’s other books. I’ve read the Broken Earth, & Dream Blood, How Long ‘til Black Future Month and just started Inheritance. The world building is different since, well, the world exists. The way she writes about NYC is spot on and if you never lived there, maybe you wouldn’t realize it is segregated. So for Mr N***** to act like these observations are reverse racism makes me think that maybe he should check himself. Seriously, he’s offended because the reader is told the color of the character’s skin? Did he get offended at Star Wars for making all the villains seem English? It’s time for a book like this. It’s past due!
Jemisin’s world building is different, but just as immersive. The language, no, does not have tons of weird references to Egyptian magic or lots of new terminology because they are in NYC! The language is spot on, not some “street feel” attempt, as another reviewer referred to it. Again, guessing not someone who’ve lived in NYC/Brooklyn. Reading about the city, really put me back there. The characters are not shallow, they are New Yorkers. We often don’t learn the twists and full depth of Jemisin’s characters until the second book, but I still wouldn’t say they lack depth in this book. Further, I relate to all the characters in some way; an older Bronx lesbian who always feels the need to fight, the ex-MC and the math wiz both worried about their families. Each one uses their strengths in very imaginative ways to fight the ever changing monster. Reading as each one of the boroughs comes alive and is learning how to fight singularly using the power of their borough and then in groups of 2 or 3 while this monster grows is really engaging.
I almost like this book better, because I didn’t get tripped up by all the world building, new terms and strange names. I read the first 100 pages really quickly, instead of flipping back and forth trying to remember who everyone is and how they are related. There are main characters and helper characters, and how they influence each other is really innovative, but you have to look for it. It’s not a tell, don’t show book, you just have to read beyond the surface. You might have to think, consider, and possibly alter your first impressions.
If you only see a book about race, again, you missed the train. You were right at the Prospect Park stop, but missed the Q, and hopped on the S to the Brooklyn Museum, buddy. You’re never going to make it to Atlantic, never mind Union Square. Stop trying to hail a cab at Flatbush and Lincoln. Don’t be afraid to talk to the brown person in K-Dog’s and ask for directions.
I can’t wait for the next book.
On second thought… Mr. N, I don’t respect your opinion. Keep touting “all lives matter,” and stay off my train. 🙂
Wonderful timing. I felt the monster was our current administration.
Definitely in my top five for 2020. If you love truly multi-cultural stories that feature characters of color but not BECAUSE they are characters of color, this book is amazing! Magical. Thought-provoking. Relevant.
And the audio book is one of the best I’ve ever heard.