Scan barcode
ireadinbed's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Should have known I would love another N. K. Jemisin book. She is genuinely so talented. The definition of a wordsmith.
Reading this book is a very descriptive, aesthtic experience.
I'm not a New Yorker so a lot of this was both very foreign and also familiar to me because of how mythologized NYC is. But it was all held together do well by the bourrough avatars that let me get a grip on the idea of the city as a creature.
This book feels very new weird? Lots of like weird warping of the familiar. I'm surprised I don't see more people talking about how much they loved it.
I feel like it might be because the metaphors about racism are kind of on the nose but I don't think that's fair as it's a more real world analogous fantasy? Like it's set not just in our world but like deeply in our world.
Thoroughly enjoyed myself.
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Sexual harassment
its_van_vulpen'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
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Confinement, Genocide, Abortion, Alcohol, and Colonisation
azrah786's review against another edition
4.0
CW: racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, sexual assault, rape threats, violence, body horror, gore, police brutality, religious bigotry, emotional abuse, doxxing, hate crime, abortion, addiction/alcoholism, attempted drowning
My first N. K. Jemisin book and I can only really describe it as wonderfully whacky.
The City We Became is more or less a story about the 5 boroughs of New York being personified to fight off an eldritch being that is hellbent on destroying the city. How cool of a concept is that?!
It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea as it is a little strange and slow going and took me a lot longer to get through that I expected but I did enjoy it.
Jemisin’s writing is absolutely fantastic. The atmosphere created immerses you right in, from the creeping elements of Eldritch/Lovecraftian horror to the rich descriptions of the life, diverse cultures and stereotypes of New York that meticulously shape both the setting and the characters that embody it. One downside though is that as someone who has never seen or experienced the city in person, I did feel like I couldn’t fully appreciate every aspect of the book.
The storyline gave me major comic book vibes – The Wicked and the Divine or Watchmen were some that came to my mind - with how it focuses on a bunch of individuals being reluctantly bestowed powers and coming together to save a city. So although the written novel form worked well to vividly portray all of this in lieu of a comic strip, I can’t help but think it could have worked even better in graphic novel form – it would have particularly helped with the pacing.
The ending was also quite abrupt and hence gave the overall feeling of a prequel novel setting up a bigger story. All that aside however, it was still an impressive work of fiction as well as an immense homage to the city of New York and I can definitely see why Jemisin is such a big name in modern sci-fi and fantasy. I look forward to the sequel and picking up her other work.
Final Rating – 4/5 Stars
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcoholism and Abortion
georgiakirkegard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
eve_reads'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
4.0
⁕ Like a lot of her other books, you don’t really understand what’s going on at first. Jemisin slowly feeds you info and keeps you hooked on the mystery of it.
⁕ It seems like SO much research went into this book in regards to the Burroughs of NYC and their distinct cultures and institutions. It was such an interesting read from the perspective of someone who’s never been there.
⁕ Jemisin flawlessly stitches together multiple perspectives in the third person; which is super impressive on its own, but even more so given the complex topics discussed and the varying identities of her characters.
⁕ A lot of the magic/superpower elements in this book are based in metaphysical and conceptual realms. It’s probably just cuz I’m new to Sci-Fi, but I had trouble envisioning these things sometimes.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, and Police brutality
Additional Content Warnings: white supremacy, gentrification,