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The City We Became
(Great Cities #1)
by
Five New Yorkers must come together in order to defend their city in the first book of a stunning new series by Hugo award-winning and NYT 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 b ...more
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 b ...more
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Hardcover, 437 pages
Published
March 24th 2020
by Orbit
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Popular Answered Questions
N.K. Jemisin
Yep. It will start where that story leaves off. :)
Jen Johnson
Audiobook aside, all of the five have names (or nicknames in the case of Queens) that sound like their borough. So Eyes-lyn for Staten Island.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The City We Became (Great Cities, #1)

Feb 09, 2020
chai ♡
rated it
liked it
Shelves:
priority-new-releases,
lgbtq-trans-side,
fiction,
lgbtq-rep,
2020-releases,
poc-rep,
lgbtq-bi,
read-in-2020,
adult,
adult-sff
✧
find this review & others on my blog
✧
New York might be born in the world only to be shown right out of it.
Early in “The City We Became”, New York’s human avatar, a young queer Black man living in the streets, tries to salvage the City, to hold the breaking jar, keep his fingers over the cracks, but a battle with the Enemy—who sent forth the police as its harbingers—had worn him to little more than edges. He is weak and unsteady as moonlight on water, and the City was a candle that might b ...more
New York might be born in the world only to be shown right out of it.
Early in “The City We Became”, New York’s human avatar, a young queer Black man living in the streets, tries to salvage the City, to hold the breaking jar, keep his fingers over the cracks, but a battle with the Enemy—who sent forth the police as its harbingers—had worn him to little more than edges. He is weak and unsteady as moonlight on water, and the City was a candle that might b ...more

“I have hated this city. I have loved this city. I will fight for this city until it won’t have me anymore. This is my homage to the city. Hope I got it right.”
~ N.K. Jemisin
I always start a new book by a favorite writer with a bit of trepidation: Please be good, please stand up to the earlier ones, please deliver that satisfaction that you tend to feel after reading something that is solidly strong writing. With her ‘Broken Earth’ books N.K. Jemisin touched something in my soul that has never ...more

Oh no! I think this review will earn me so much glances, hater looks, curses and a unique place in the minority because when you get one of your favorite authors’ book into your hands, you get excited, hardly slow down your heart rate and want to devour it at few bites! You truly expect more and deserve more because you know what the author is capable of and how unique talent she is. So this is first for me giving three stars to one of my most anticipated reads of the year. Stop booing me or thr
...more

Surprisingly underwhelming for me. Admittedly, I'm not a huge new-adult fan, and this has 'coming-of-age' plot line all over. I was also surprised that there was a strong Lovecraftian vibe going on here--add this to the growing body of work subverting Lovecraft's (white) universe. So perhaps there were a couple flavors that were not intriguing to my reading preferences. On the other side, I like N.K. Jemisin, and one of her books is in my top twenty list. I'm also fond of NYC in its many varieti
...more

I want you to understand that you're not ready for this book. Even if you've read Jemisin's other work, even if you've read The City Born Great, which is the starting place for this book (https://www.tor.com/2016/09/28/the-ci...).
You're not ready for the fun and pop of it, the rhythm and beat. You're not ready for the wit and weight of it, the subversions that are both subtext and said out-loud. You're not ready for the cleanness and cleverness of the prose, the daring of it, the way the whole t ...more
You're not ready for the fun and pop of it, the rhythm and beat. You're not ready for the wit and weight of it, the subversions that are both subtext and said out-loud. You're not ready for the cleanness and cleverness of the prose, the daring of it, the way the whole t ...more

Jul 07, 2020
Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin
rated it
did not like it
Shelves:
library-book,
audio
Nope. On to the next. Don’t ask me! Sometimes I love her books and sometimes I don’t 🤔🤨

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾 ...more

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.
The story started a bit slow as our team assembles, but once our heroes are together (or as together as they're gonna be), it was a blast - sharp and insightful but also just fun. There are definitely some creepy and disturbing moments, and ...more
The story started a bit slow as our team assembles, but once our heroes are together (or as together as they're gonna be), it was a blast - sharp and insightful but also just fun. There are definitely some creepy and disturbing moments, and ...more

"I sing the city."
When I first read The Fifth Season, it was like taking a cold shower - almost like waking up, since I had no idea that you could actually write like that. But N.K. Jemisin doesn't play by the rules; instead she creates her own, stomping all over both genres and everything binary to create something amazing that is purely hers. I love it, and I love her. That's why it broke my heart when I didn't find myself in love with The City We Became.
All remarkable cities have souls, and a ...more
When I first read The Fifth Season, it was like taking a cold shower - almost like waking up, since I had no idea that you could actually write like that. But N.K. Jemisin doesn't play by the rules; instead she creates her own, stomping all over both genres and everything binary to create something amazing that is purely hers. I love it, and I love her. That's why it broke my heart when I didn't find myself in love with The City We Became.
All remarkable cities have souls, and a ...more

Tragically, not one thing about this novel is holding my attention. You also have to be very open to social justice issues (the issues I whole heartedly support in real life) being bluntly jack hammered into the narrative, something that was never present in Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy, where the author’s political and social commentary was woven into a tremendously interesting fantasy story with nuance and measure. Jemisin’s ability to show rather than tell disappeared somewhere in the proce
...more

Easily one of my favorite books of the year, and I'm grateful this is the first installment of a planned trilogy. How soon till I can read book 2?
Every city has a soul, and the great cities of civilization—like Rome, Athens, São Paolo—finally reach a point when they come to life. Now it’s New York’s time to be born, but the city itself is too weakened by a gruesome attack to complete the process. If New York is to live, five people—or, more precisely,
five avatars, one for each of the city’s bor ...more
Every city has a soul, and the great cities of civilization—like Rome, Athens, São Paolo—finally reach a point when they come to life. Now it’s New York’s time to be born, but the city itself is too weakened by a gruesome attack to complete the process. If New York is to live, five people—or, more precisely,
five avatars, one for each of the city’s bor ...more

Coming back to Jemisin, my expectations are extraordinarily high. After reading the short fiction that this novel was based on, it made me wonder and scheme and imagine where it would go.
I mean, hey! This is all about human avatars being created out of a City, FOR the City's own protection and soul! It's like crossing American Gods with a NY monster movie with the SOUL of xenophobia (or any other kind of prejudice).
Coming into this, however, I should recommend that you manage your expectations. ...more
I mean, hey! This is all about human avatars being created out of a City, FOR the City's own protection and soul! It's like crossing American Gods with a NY monster movie with the SOUL of xenophobia (or any other kind of prejudice).
Coming into this, however, I should recommend that you manage your expectations. ...more

This is a wild ride, and reading it I felt the exhilaration of watching the incredibly talented N.K. Jemisin riff on many tropes of popular speculative entertainment in increasingly fun ways. Tropes surrounding the superhero origin story, the diverse fellowship of strangers joining together to defeat an Enemy story, the mythology of H.P. Lovecraft, and stereotypes of what New Yorkers are like; Jemisin filters them all through her abundantly humane, fiercely progressive, and joyfully propulsive p
...more

The positives:-
Says some interesting things about race and inclusivity both in general life and within the Sci-Fi genre. There is a fair amount of intertextuality with the work of H.P Lovecraft, as well as repeated criticisms of his world view. Lovecraft is a pillar of the genre, despite his now widely publicised racism, anti-semitism and homophobia. He remains hugely popular so it’s good to see a big name name in contemporary sci-fi confront him like this.
The negatives:-
The writing is patchy; v ...more
Says some interesting things about race and inclusivity both in general life and within the Sci-Fi genre. There is a fair amount of intertextuality with the work of H.P Lovecraft, as well as repeated criticisms of his world view. Lovecraft is a pillar of the genre, despite his now widely publicised racism, anti-semitism and homophobia. He remains hugely popular so it’s good to see a big name name in contemporary sci-fi confront him like this.
The negatives:-
The writing is patchy; v ...more

Sep 05, 2018
Meagan ✊🏼 Blacklivesmatter ✊🏼Blacktranslivesmatter
marked it as dnf-try-again-later
3/27/20 I am reading 3 other books right now and I tried desperately to finish at least one before starting this, BUT FUCK IT. I am starting this tonight! :)
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3/24/20 did I say I didn't like this cover?? Because now that I have it in my hands, I fucking love it! It's giving me all the 90's vibes! Ah I can't wait to start! I can't believe release day is finally here!
_________________________
2/15/20 so close to the release date now! Can't wait!!!! 🥰🥰
__________________ ...more
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3/24/20 did I say I didn't like this cover?? Because now that I have it in my hands, I fucking love it! It's giving me all the 90's vibes! Ah I can't wait to start! I can't believe release day is finally here!
_________________________
2/15/20 so close to the release date now! Can't wait!!!! 🥰🥰
__________________ ...more

The City We Became is N.K Jemisin’s newest book and it is the first novel in the Great Cities series and overall, it’s a pretty solid start. I had a good time reading it, and while I didn’t love it, it’s pretty solid fantasy, with an almost creepy and mysterious vibe to that was cool. There are a lot of primary characters and for a book that’s four hundred pages(which is not very for fantasy), it tried to accomplish a lot all while introducing the reader to a pretty interesting concept.
All of t ...more
All of t ...more

I want to start by saying that I've read all of Jemisin's novels to date, and have enjoyed all of them thoroughly! They are vibrant, dynamic, fascinating and fresh. This applies to The Killing Moon duology, as much as it does to The Broken Earth Trilogy: The Fifth Season, The Obelisk Gate, The Stone Sky. I've been a huge fan for years, and I think the author is truly one of the most innovative voices in the new generation of fantasy fiction.
Unfortunately, I can't say much of this applies to this ...more
Unfortunately, I can't say much of this applies to this ...more

Absolutely brilliant. Read it twice for the sheer joy of it.

Not quite as masterpiece like the Broken Earth trilogy. It might also be the wokest novel I ever read. It is even woker than The Future of Another Timeline since it does not only touch the gender issues, but also race and identities. Considering the political climate nowadays in the US, readers will have no problem to immerse themselves inside the world.
Speaking of the world building, at first I wish I had been to New York before I read this book. Sure, it is probably the most famous city in th ...more
Speaking of the world building, at first I wish I had been to New York before I read this book. Sure, it is probably the most famous city in th ...more

Whew, can we just appreciate the talent that is NK Jemisin? The writing in this is so specific to her style & is honestly the star of the show here. I think the metaphors, while incredibly apt, where *slightly* too spelled out on the page for my tastes, but other than that... yeah. This is just a super solid piece of speculative fiction that is shockingly relevant for everything that has been going on this year. Don't over think this one-- if the description appeals to you & you like a strong wr
...more

I read this because it was included in the Tournament of Books' Camp ToB 2020 (you can see the final discussion on their website.) I like N.K. Jemisin but I don't always read past the first book of her series, and I think a closer examination of my feelings of this book help explain why.
In the book, people are transformed into different boroughs of New York City (one person per borough,) because the city is under attack. Some stereotypes are at play in those sections but it's fun as each person ...more
In the book, people are transformed into different boroughs of New York City (one person per borough,) because the city is under attack. Some stereotypes are at play in those sections but it's fun as each person ...more

Such a fun and light read! In The City We Became, N.K. Jemisin writes about a fantasy world in which when a city reaches a certain population or status, it receives a “soul” as embodied in a human form. Thus, we follow five humans who each personify a borough of New York City: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and Staten Island. We learn early on that they face a dangerous enemy bent on destroying their city – both each individual borough and all of their respective inhabitants. While it l
...more

Don't read if you are preparing to read for SFFBC and want to go in without outside opinions!
(view spoiler) ...more
(view spoiler) ...more

2.5 stars. Don't hate me; I'm totally in the minority here.
I just could not seem to get into this book. I thought the concept was really great. This book was very creative and original but I'm just not sure it was for me.
I usually love fantasy and science fiction but I think it may have been a bit too out there for me. There was a lot of info and descriptions of the world, the magic system, the concept of what was happening and the personalities that it was a bit confusing and I found it hard t ...more
I just could not seem to get into this book. I thought the concept was really great. This book was very creative and original but I'm just not sure it was for me.
I usually love fantasy and science fiction but I think it may have been a bit too out there for me. There was a lot of info and descriptions of the world, the magic system, the concept of what was happening and the personalities that it was a bit confusing and I found it hard t ...more

Words! I don't know her! I can't describe her! All I know is that my hands are still shaking even though it's been almost two weeks since I finished this book. My body still feels jittery. My skin still feels tingly. This book reached out from within its bindings and dipped into my soul, clutching its fists around my heart. It hasn't let go since. I am in awe. I am amazed. I am shaken! How on earth is this the first N.K. Jemisin book I'm reading?!!! What on earth happened to me that I went this
...more

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releases: 26 Mar 2020
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okay so. I love creepy city aesthetics, and this book is about a city with an actual living soul. which sounds so so amazing. I'm here for this!!!! ...more
okay so. I love creepy city aesthetics, and this book is about a city with an actual living soul. which sounds so so amazing. I'm here for this!!!! ...more

If you picked this up because you liked Inheritance and The Broken Earth, check your expectations at the door: The City We Became is nothing like them. And while saying that this book has rubbed me the wrong way is an understatement, this is hardly motivated by subjective reasons alone:
IDEA: Call me simple, but I like my stories human, my characters relatable, my conflict engaging. Cities that are ‘midwifed’ through song and afterwards battle Lovecraftian monsters through human avatars? How can ...more
IDEA: Call me simple, but I like my stories human, my characters relatable, my conflict engaging. Cities that are ‘midwifed’ through song and afterwards battle Lovecraftian monsters through human avatars? How can ...more
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4 trivia questions
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“People who say change is impossible are usually pretty happy with things just as they are.”
—
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“This is the lesson: Great cities are like any other living things, being born and maturing and wearying and dying in their turn.”
—
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