I had high hopes from this book but was unfortunately disappointed. I expected a fantastical sci-fi tale filled with adventure, but what I got was a slow and boring plot (which doesn't progress in anyway) and characters who are nothing but the NY borough they embody. Each chapter follows a different character (and I usually like this in books), but no one character was fleshed out properly. The characters don't stand on their own (and there's little to no backstory) and are just there. The sci-fi element is barely there and doesn't make much sense. The villain and general plot is so average it made me feel bored. Reading this book was honestly a frustrating experience for me. The only thing that kept me going is the discourse on racism, which the the author did a fantastic job of incorporating in the story. Almost every character is a POC, and we see how they struggle with the racism in NY. The book also highlights how American history has disregsrded people of colour. The writing style is great too, I just didn't feel connected to the plot or characters or NY. I think people who have lived in NY might enjoy this more.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

This book was so bizarre. But in the best way.

In this story, New York is a person, and so are the five boroughs. The five main characters and boroughs are Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. You follow them while they try to stop this ominous villain who is trying to destroy New York.

This was one of the most unique books I've read in a while. You immediately get thrown into the story without any buildup, and then you just figure everything out along with the characters. The entire time while reading this book I was so confused but I didn't even care, because I was invested anyway.

N.K. Jemisin puts fantasy elements in a story about a city that exists and everyone knows and she does it flawlessly. She also makes you feel emotionally invested in the existence of a city. Which is a weird feeling to have. And even though I think the characters were a little underdeveloped, I still rooted for them (plus there's time for development in the second book) and I absolutely HATED the villain, because they felt so real.

I definitely recommend this book and I recommend you go into it not knowing anything about the plot. :)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that no book suits every reader and this really wasn't one for me. I found it really difficult to finish.

The concept of this book - the city of New York as an entity - is one that the reader will either engage with or not. I really struggled to do so.

I am typically drawn to character rich fiction,  but (unless one counts the city of New York itself) the protagonists here are paper thin throughout.

Instead of harping on about why I didn't like this book,  I'll suggest instead that you download a sample or read the prologue of the hard copy. See what you think.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had already read The Fifth Season by Jemisin, and although it was not easy there either, I managed to get to the end of the book. This time, however, I dragged myself to the middle and then gave up. I don't like the characters or their interactions, although the initial idea was really very good, but it wasn't enough to give me the strength to get to the end or to a point where I didn't have to struggle anymore.

Della Jemisin avevo giá letto The fifth season e, nonostante non fosse stato facile nemmeno in quel caso, ero riuscita ad arrivare in fondo al libro. Stavolta invece, mi sono trascinata fino alla metá e poi mi sono arresa. Non mi piacciono i personaggi né le loro interazioni, nonostante l'idea iniziale fosse veramente molto buona, peró non é bastata a darmi la forza di arrivare in fondo o ad un punto in cui non mi era piú faticoso leggere.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

Unfortunately I decided to not finish this book after reading 30 %. The story itself is easy to follow, but the style of Jemisin's prose is just not my cup of tea. The dialogues seem to be endless and - in some cases - pointless, And while I am very happy to see a lot of characters representing various ages, genders, social groups and people of colour, I wish it would fit in more naturally into the prose. Some scenes tried too hard for my taste.

Nevertheless, I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who feels a deep connection to New York City - I believe they might enjoy it much more than me.

This is a tricky book to review. I intensely disliked the first half of the story; it was all build-up with no action. I found the sycophantic attitude to New York alienating and pretentious. I only stuck with it because I enjoyed the author's previous book "How Long 'til Black Future Month?" I'm glad I did - because it has an immensely satisfying pay-off.

At the start, it's confusing whirligig of a book. I don't get the fetishisation that some city dwellers have for people from their sub-regions. Like, are Brooklynites really so different from Manhattanites? The sole British character is... Well, let's say Jemisin writes the English accent about as well as I do the New York accent and leave it at that, eh? Luckily they don't appear again after the first few chapters. The "only-with-our-powers-combined" story felt a little like a Captain Planet episode.

The constant thinly veiled attacks on white-flight and white-gentrification felt heavy-handed and clumsy.

And then...

The last few chapters really showed the author's teeth. Lots of little seeds planted early began to sprout and bear fruit. It completely flipped my experience of the first half of the book. Transforming it into something much more intense and exciting than I'd initially given it credit for.

The slow build up and recycled tropes absolutely works in its favour. It's hard to say much more without giving the game away - so open the spoiler box at your peril.

It's sort of a superhero novel - ordinary people getting super powers and saving their city. But I think it's also a book about lost people trying to save themselves, and each other, from a desperate psychological state. It rewrites the history of some classic stories in a surprising way. Highly recommended.

--Spoilers--

H.P. Lovecraft was a racist monster who wrote some terrifyingly good fiction. His pathological horror of anyone non-white infects his work making it deeply uncomfortable to read these days. I imagine it's even worse if you're from one of the races he sees as inferior and infectious.

What Jemisin has done so masterfully here is flip the script. She recasts herself as a modern-day Lovecraft and turns the creeping whiteness into indigenous and minority spaces into body horror.

If you're not welcome in those spaces, I think you're supposed to find the book a slightly uncomfortable read. What's it like to being on the receiving end of Lovecraftian distaste? The insidious nature of prejudice and power are perfectly woven into the story.
--/Spoilers--

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. The book can be ordered from the following links:

'The City We Became’ is one of the most inventive urban fantasy novels I’ve ever read. The premise is spectacularly creative and Jemisin carries it out brilliantly, with a real sense of tension and atmosphere throughout. The ending is a little weaker than the rest of the novel, but this is the start of an intended series so some loose ends are inevitable. A highly recommended read.

Every city has a a soul – an identity. When cities get big and established enough, that identity starts to manifest – always choosing a human caretaker for this process. New York is finally coming of age. But New York is too big and too diverse to have just one soul – instead, its got five. Five new city protectors. Each of the five is waking up confused, unsure what’s happening to them as the city takes hold. But they don’t have long to figure things out – for cities have an enemy just as ancient and powerful as them, and its coming for them. The five new protectors must come together and learn to trust each other or it will spell New York’s doom.

Distilling an entire city down into a character is a daunting task. Jemisin makes her job slightly easier by diving New York in five – each a major New York borough – but its still an unimaginably complex idea. Not being a New Yorker, I can’t say how believable her characterisations are – but I can say that they’re all brilliant, diverse characters, fully fleshed out and powerful. Manny (Manhattan), Bronca (The Bronx), and Aislyn (Staten Island) are given marginally more page time than the others, with Bronca a favourite. An older lesbian artist who marched at Stonewall and spent her entire life fighting the system, she has bags of guts and attitude – but she also feels like she’s fought her fight and its time for others to take up the mantle. She wants no part in some sort of war between the city and an ancient enemy, content to help run the Bronx’s art gallery and look out for those who otherwise slip through the cracks. Its wonderful seeing an older female heroine in fantasy, and its fascinating seeing how she views the present day. So much has been achieved since she was young and marching, yet so much hasn’t changed. Her observations on the internet – which has almost entirely passed her by – are also interesting; she makes some very astute points about how protest now is simultaneously easier and harder than it was for her.

There’s always a risk with a novel like this of the characters becoming stereotypes, but all of them feel complicated and three-dimensional enough for this to be avoided. They also all have elements the reader can sympathise with – even the enemy. Whilst the setup initially appears to be good versus evil, it turns out to be a lot more complicated – all villains have propaganda which sounds good and rational, otherwise they’d never accrue their power.

The writing is excellent. Each character has a distinct voice, with the writing subtly changing depending on whose perspective is taken. The novel moves at a rapid pace, with constant action and new developments and a permanent undercurrent of tension. There aren’t many plot twists until the end – instead, there’s a gradual accumulation of knowledge, changing the reader’s perspective and understanding alongside the protagonists. The final plot twist is blindsiding but also strangely unsatisfying – it feels like a cop out. Its a single stain on an otherwise excellent book.

This is an urban fantasy novel, but the fantasy elements have most of their roots in science fiction. Saying more would be a spoiler, but this is definitely a novel with crossover appeal to fans of both genres.

Overall, ‘The City We Became’ is a brilliant urban fantasy novel with a creative premise and strong execution. The pacing makes it a fast and engaging read, and the characters are all complex and intriguing. Elements of the ending are unsatisfying, but otherwise this is another excellent offering by one of fantasy’s greatest contemporary authors. Highly recommended for all fans of fantasy and science fiction, along with anyone who’s been to New York.

Unputdownable, intense, compelling scifi/urban fantasy love letter to NYC.

When cities reach a certain density of history, culture & people they are born - living people become avatars for their city. 6 people: 5 boroughs & 1 heart awaken - they feel the air, the rumble of traffic, the heartbeat of their city. But something is desperate to prevent cities from surviving this process, a process that affects more than this universe and they're ready to put an end to New York before it can get started

I can't comment on the accuracy of the personalities of the New York boroughs but we all know how different parts of a city have a different feel & atmosphere.

This was a really compulsive read, I struggled to put it down- it's a breathlessly, full-throttle, not stopping for anyone kind of book (is that what NYC is like?)

I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book! I've been very excited about reading this one.

This wasn't my first encounter with Jemisin so I won't lie, I had quite some expectations based on what I previously read - and the premise of this book itself.

I'm not sure where to start, with my comment. Ultimately? I'm underwhelmed and slightly disappointed. And it's not that this book is bad, I honestly believe that this is one of those unfortunate situations where a book falls into the wrong hands.
This is a book about cities becoming living, breathing things, which is an INCREDIBLE premise - and having read the short story, which this book follows and which I liked quite a lot - and something I'd love to read about a lot. I'm so curious about what would, culturally, awaken different cities. What's the turning point? How does the birth of one city differ from the birth of another? I would so love to read more about that.

But wow was this book easy to zone out to. I told myself I'm going to DNF it probably more than ten times. I'm a little glad I didn't, but I'm going to have to let it simmer for a long time before I decide whether or not to continue with this series as it comes out.

I was, honestly, unfortunately, very bored for the majority of this book. The characters I could not connect to one bit, and I don't particularly care about New York (I'm not even from the same continent and the chances of me ever going there are nil) - still, even considering this, I think I could have really liked this book if there was actually more, well - plot, and more about cities being alive, how this happens, how it doesn't happen, what are the rules, how do the rules get broken. We get some answers, but to me as a reader, I don't think it was enough compared to how much of the book felt like filler material. But, really - I'm probably just the wrong reader. A lot of the content from this book is very important, culturally and historically.

There were some things that seem minor that did bother me, though, for instance a trans character appearing once and never again, and it ended up feeling like the fact of him being trans was just ... there for points. There's a lot about diversity in this book, yet the term "Asian" is used generically very often (though I admit that any intricacies may have flown over my head).

My main issues were that the start is incredibly slow (it took me over 75 % of the book before I kinda got into it, which is probably too long, even for a first book in a series) and that there were very random jumps between points of view mid-chapter.

There were, however, some very, very intriguing parts. I have mixed feelings about the revelation of where the White Woman is from, but I'm leaning towards excitement - if this is a thing, what ELSE can be true? Which other cities and worlds were real? Which failed? Why did they? Or why were they born? The potential of cosmic horror from under the hands of Jemisin, in this type of story with this plot - delightful. The more I think about it, the more I want to know about it.

As I said, I couldn't connect with any of the characters, but the way one of them was introduced was another thing that intrigues me. For someone with dyscalculia, I'm way too excited about math. I want to learn more about this character.

All in all. Would I recommend this book? Yes, and I most likely will, in the future. It's got an audience. I'm not in it, but I hope it finds the people who are.

I loved the ‘Broken Earth’ trilogy, set in a futuristic world completely removed from our reality, but this book might be even stranger and more alien, despite the familiar geography, and it took me a while to find my feet.

NK Jemisin takes that quintessential book review trope, that New York city is a character in the book, and turns it into a weird and wonderful piece of fantasy in which New York City is a literal character, alongside the five boroughs: Manhattan, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island—with personalities corresponding to the collective disposition of that neighbourhood. (If I lived in Staten Island I might be slightly offended at this point.)

In this world, when a city reaches a certain stage, it goes through a process of birth and the city is embodied in one living person. But if that process is interrupted then the city will die, and millions of lives will be lost in the process. When the five boroughs of New York realise that they have become living embodiments of the city, they must find each other and work together to locate the city Avatar and defend themselves against an evil force trying to destroy the city before it is born.

I particularly love the way that NK Jemisin uses Lovecraftian references and imagery in a book that joyfully celebrates and embraces the cultural diversity of New York—a authorial middle finger to Lovecraft’s white supremacism. I’ve never been to New York, but I feel like I’ve learned a lot more about it from this book than anything else I’ve read.

'The City We Became' is a thrilling, wildly inventive urban fantasy, and the start of another epic series from a hugely talented author. Highly recommended.

An ensemble story about a group of people who embody the different boroughs of New York as it gains its soul as a city. The premise of cities having souls is very intriguing but I don't feel there was much explanation of why this happens of why there is this monster that tries to kill them. We slowly learn about the different characters as they become aware of their abilities but the pace at the start was quite slow because of this, introducing the reader to them one by one. Overall, I thought the story was interesting but took a while to get on its feet. I liked the discussion of culture and politics about who a city belongs to.

This book has been on my TBR for some time and when I saw it was available to review thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown it gave me the opportunity to read this incredible book. Jemisin introduces us to a concept where New York is literally alive, bringing the character of her boroughs to life in amazing ways.

This author has always had a talent for creating a cast of characters that are well-developed and really complex and unusual, and this book is no exception to that rule as these characters grow and develop with brilliant arcs throughout the story. The layers each character has and what they have to lose as the plot fleshes out is really interesting and makes for a captivating story.

The plot is a slow burn thing, but in those last one hundred pages the story falls into place and it really does pick up the pace with the villain really coming into it's own and making it self something incredibly insidious? There's a creeping fascist thing that just grows in this book as it goes and it makes for a really powerful thing that can be taken from the here and now.

It took some time to get into, but once you're in, it's incredibly hard to leave!

4*

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review).

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Co. and NetGalley for the e-arc of The City we Became by N K Jemisin in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
I’ve heard so much about this book that I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to read this, both as an admirer of the author and as a fan of sci fi, however I do tend to struggle with urban sci fi and it did take me a bit to get into this story. This is in now way indicative of this being a poor quality book, but more that this was not to personal taste.

However, I persisted and found that what may not work for others, definitely worked for me, th urgent pacing applied to the story created a sense of urgency and added to the impending urgency and desperation of the story itself. New York as a being and the fact that characters were named after global cities made it all the more enriching a story. I absolutely loved the cultural mix and descriptions, all of which made the story so immersive, it was easy to bring up images of New York in my mind’s eye.

There is a lot to be said about this book that is so good, including the well developed characters and the great plot, that if you are a fan of urban sci fi you definitely need to pick this one up. I definitely stepped out of my comfort zone for this book, and I’m glad that I did.

Urban fantasy from the writer of Fifth Season. Her unusual style shines again in this book. Couldn't put it down. Fully recommend this book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wasn't a huge fan of this book but let's start with what I liked.
I think the Author created a really great visual of New York and it was believable as a sci-fi setting. They encompassed the feel and the mix of cultures in the city really well and it helped make it feel like a really magical place which helped you suspend believe and buy into the story.
What let it down for me was the pacing especially at the beginning of the book. This book gave me anxiety, It was all go from the second you pick it up and it all feels so urgent and desperate which is usually a good thing but I feel like you don't get the information you need to really enjoy the urgency that the book creates. So you're just panicky reading trying to figure out what's going on.
I also didn't really connect with many of the characters I don't think they were developed well and the book was very plot driven and not character driven. If you like that in a book though and you enjoy sci-fi I'm sure you will love this book.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for kindly providing me with this eArc!

What a great book! I’m so glad it’s finally coming out in a paperback format. I highly recommend trying this out if urban fantasy/scifi is your thing!!

Gripping and propulsive, a homage to New York and a fabulous start to a new series. Great characters, stirring standoffs and so much tension and jeopardy that I couldn't put it down. Initially sad that I'd never read N. K. Jemisin before but then delighted that I have the previous novels to enjoy. Thank you to Orbit and Netgalley for providing me with a free ARC that gave me a thrillingly good read and introduced me to a new favourite author.

Urban fantasy from the writer of Fifth Season. Her unusual style shines again in this book. Couldn't put it down.

Thank you very much to NG and the publisher for this copy

One of the recent collections I've enjoyed most was NK Jemisin's How Long 'Til Black Future Month? which includes a story ("The City Born Great") in which New York is, literally, born - in the form of an avatar. The birth is complicated by an enemy, which wants to destroy the newborn city, but all is, in the end well.

Or maybe not.

Jemisin discussed in her introduction the origins of some of her short stories, including that some were written to try out ideas which might be the basis of longer works. So it shouldn't have been too much of a surprise - but was a delight - to see that "The City Born Great" was only the start, that rather more was going on around that difficult birth... and that the story wasn't over yet. Still isn't over, because I think (I hope!) that TCWB will have sequels.

That original episode features, slightly reworked I think, as the prologue to this novel, where the consequences and reality of a city's birth are explored in more depth. It was already clear a city-avatar isn't all powerful, but what can one do and be? Why would anyone wish to harm one? Who would wish to harm one? Answers to these questions come, sort of, but if you're conversant with your SFF, the repeated motif of tentacles and alternate dimensions may give you a hint of something that wasn't spelled out before.

The City We Became is an exciting, fast moving and high stakes story but it's more. I loved, for example, that Jemisin isn't just landing on New York as a random, if obviously appropriate (big, already much storied, impossible to ignore) city. She takes time, and takes care, to give her avatars personality, rooted in their localities.

Yes, avatarS. LocalitIES. Plural. It turns out there is more than one - in fact there is one avatar for each of the city's Boroughs: Brooklyn, The Bronx, Staten Island, Queens and Manhattan itself. And another for New York as a whole (though this, sixth, avatar is missing and in danger). As they suffer attacks from the Enemy, we learn more about each. There is an interplay here between them as people - each with a distinct history, a real place in the world, real attitudes and prejudices - and between the loci of which they are genii. For example, Bronca, avatar of The Bronx, an artist and supervisor of a community arts project, is tough, but untrusting. She's been hurt, looked down on. At first she refuses to cooperate. The other boroughs will, she declares, have to look after themselves, it's what The Bronx has always had to do. And the others also play to the characters of their boroughs whether loftily superior, stand-offish, welcoming or indeed, newly arrived. (I've never been to New York, but the characterisation here is so well done that the book would I think feature as a handy guide before a visit, indeed it conveys what a guidebook never could).

There is care and attention in this book both to the founding myth of New York - that strangers come there to be part of something, to make it - and to the reality that the history of the city is, has to be, built up from layers of colonisation, assimilation and appropriation, going back to the original swindling of the land from the native Lenape (who, nevertheless, survive to appear in this book, if disguised). This complex history is something Jemisin refuses to background: it's part of the tension between the avatars (wait till you meet Aislyn, avatar of get-off-my-lawn Staten Island). It is both their weakness, and their power. It's part of what makes New York, New York. The unwinding of the story is about the teasing out of those historic relationships, but it's about more than history, it's also about how they build something together.

Of course many novels feature a team of strangers learning to work together. In itself that wouldn't be so special. Jemisin though does so much more with the idea. That unity in diversity, in conflict, is something she locates, I think, as the essence of New York, and coupled with the vulnerability of these avatars it makes the stakes so much higher. While they have powers, the six are located firmly within human society and face the risks that implies: one is subject to coercive control; others, people of colour, are liable at any time to the wrong sort of attention from the police; another is homeless with doubtful immigration status; and so on. Above all they have to learn what they are facing - and the alien threat is itself mutating, changing. Even the advice and support of established cities is not necessarily going to help.

And just as Jemisin is, in telling this story, acknowledging New York warts and all (the dubious origins, the racist police, the gentrification, the power of finance) so at another level she is doing the same with the genre she's working in. At one level this is a Lovecraftian horror story in which nameless evils from unspeakable depths of reality are at work. But wasn't Lovecraft a rogue, a racist and a misognynist? Well, yes. But, just as NY, founded on layers of theft, slavery and oppression can be recovered, turned into something glorious, so we see here HPL's prejudices, fears, certainties transcended. The threat here is embodied in the city's vulnerabilities - white flight neighbourhoods, trendy alt-Right artists trucking in stereotypes, those police - but these things can be faced, can be opposed, in solidarity, and love, and with trust and cooperation. That's a deeper power than just a team of oddballs learning to work together, and it's the glory of this book.

Strongly recommended.

While an admirably ambitious attempt to sheath the madness of a modern metropolis and all the social matters that mar it, The City We Became sadly didn't work so well for me, maybe because it's so singularly and specifically aimed at an American audience well-acquainted with its set-up and ambiance, and I struggled to mesh with the writing style and alien (to me) subjects. I'm sure that for some it merits the wealth of acclaim it's gotten, though!

Thank you to Orbit/Little, Brown Book Group UK for kindly passing on this ARC! 💫