The City We Became
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By N. K. Jemisin
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1 review
‘A glorious fantasy’ Neil Gaiman
‘The most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer of her generation . . . Jemisin seems able to do just about everything’ NEW YORK TIMES
‘Jemisin is now a pillar of speculative fiction, breathtakingly imaginative and narratively bold’ ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLYWinner of Best Fantasy at the Audie Awards***
Winner of the BSFA Award for Best Novel***
Shortlisted for the Hugo Awards***
Nominated for the Nebula Awards***
Five New Yorkers must band together to defend their city in the first book of a stunning new series by multi Hugo award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N. K. Jemisin.
Every city has a soul. Some are as ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York City? She’s got five.
But every city also has a dark side. A roiling, ancient evil stirs beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
‘The most critically acclaimed author in contemporary science fiction and fantasy’
GQ
‘N. K. Jemisin is a powerhouse of speculative fiction’
BUSTLE
Also by N. K. Jemisin:
The Inheritance trilogy
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Broken Kingdoms
The Kingdom of Gods
The Dreamblood Duology
The Killing Moon
The Shadowed Sun
TweetReviews
A fantasy like no other, in turns confusing and exhilarating.
In The City We Became we are asked to imagine a world under threat from a supernatural entity which invades its target, sucking the life out of it, consuming its essence and then taking its place in a new world. This could be seen as a metaphor for so many things, and though it did have me scratching my head a little initially I found myself engrossed in the fight.
These kinds of attacks have been going on for years. Nobody remembers the successful attacks as the city that is lost becomes nothing but a story. But this time is different because the city under attack is New York.
In this world, New York can be saved. It can be saved by the physical manifestations of the city - people who represent a borough of New York - working together to save the place they love.
When I started reading I really was not sure what to make of it. Manny, our first character introduced, remembers nothing of his life and can’t really place what’s happening to him. Though this makes it hard to gauge what’s happening, I felt it meant we learnt about the scenario as Manny did. Not really knowing New York I wouldn’t like to say whether the author has painted an accurate picture of these districts and cities, but it was a refreshing concept and highly entertaining.
