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shoshin's review against another edition
The treatment of
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Bullying, Police brutality, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
harpoonholly's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I'll also get the sequel because NK Jemisin is an amazing writer. I'm fascinated in the personification of concepts and to personify cities is to maximize adds greater complexity because of course it has to. I also like how she goes about acknowledging Lovecraft's literary contributions (northeastern U.S. sublime, dread, and monsters) and shining a scalding light over his overt bigotry that was startling even for his time.
10/10, would recommend, especially the audiobook.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Gaslighting
jjstallone's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Cursing, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Cannibalism, Abortion, Lesbophobia, and Deportation
martinatan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I could sense a lot of research and creative license went into writing this, and the concept must make it hard to really flesh out the characters, but ultimately the writing voice rubbed me the wrong way with almost all of the characterizations. Especially when
Also, I felt really unbalanced by the amount of “screen time” given to each character, as some did not get many POV chapters and it left me hyperfocused on why. Even if they get more focus in future installments, I wish they had all been developed to the same degrees in the first. Additionally, the ordering and pacing of how information is revealed felt really off to me, there were times where even how a scene was established rattled my immersion in the characters’ point of view.
Slight ramble ahead. On the premise itself, what I started labeling it in my head early on was
Anyway. Being someone from New Jersey who has lived close to New York City all my life, perhaps a contemporary fantasy story with this setting wasn’t the right book for me to pick up. Even though I’ve enjoyed the Broken earth trilogy in the past. Hard for me to say!
I can say overall this is somewhat worth reading if you want to explore the base concept of living cities a little, but because of the reasons above, I ultimately didn’t get too much pleasure or satisfaction out of the story.
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Transphobia, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War
kirstenf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Ableism, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
toyin_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism
joisaddler's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism
skudiklier's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Colonisation
troisha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Islamophobia
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
akblair's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Genocide, Antisemitism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
This is essentially a study of all the different cultures that make up NYC- for better or worse- and it doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts.