The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Might contain spoilers.
This is a good story with compelling characters and fascinating concepts. It’s deliciously triumphant at times (particularly the stirring and rousing ‘We are New York, aww yeah’ at the end). I enjoyed the topical flourishes like the alt-right operation at the gallery. I’m not sure I understand what exactly happened to (Staten) Aislyn.[1]
That said, I didn’t find it as resonant as the Inheritance trilogy or the Broken Earth cycle. This might be because of the focus on New York: not being an American, leave alone a New Yorker, I wasn’t drawn in quite as much. Apart from that, I’m not fond of lionizing the darkest parts of human society, such as emotionless murderers and savage bigots.
I’m looking forward to the next book, which I’m sure will be enjoyable, but I don’t feel any urgency or impatience as I did with the two aforementioned series. I’ll be content to read it in good time whenever it’s published.
- Solid wordplay.↩