N.K Jemisin always amazes me. Despite turning the trilogy into a duology, she writes a fullfilment ending to the storie. Full of critics to our own and real world. The ability to do this, to talk about the real life in fantasy and science fiction is what I like most on her books and that's why I always recommend her to my friends - and to anyone who likes a god reading. Love, love, love Jemisin! It was a great reading, a really page turner.
Thank you, Netgalley.

I couldn't get through this series. It tried too hard to be poetic and different, forgetting to focus on the story itself.

3.5 Stars - Somewhat hurried conclusion to the duology

I consider myself a fan of N.K.Jemisin's writing so I was very pleased to actually receive an e-ARC for the second book in her "Great Cities" duology. I had enjoyed the first book a lot and was looking forward to finding out how events would unfold.

The premise stays fantastic, where cities can be born into entities of their own, with human avatars - who lately have been under attack by forces working against them. In our case, the newly born city is New York, who actually ends up with avatars for each borough (Brooklyn, Bronca, Aislyn, Manny and Padmini) and an additional one to represent the whole city (Neek), the avatar for the bad guys is the lady in white.

Jemisin is a fantastic writer and so this is - as usual - great, fun reading, actually even easier reading than a lot of what she has written previously. This makes it a lot easier to not pay much attention to the still really slapdash world-building, somewhat underdeveloped characters and uneven plotting. To be honest, I also thought that the conclusion was good in concept but a bit anticlimactic in its execution.

I think the main reason for this is that on the surface this is Fantasy but quite obviously it's rather about the problems of modern day America: a deeply rooted racism at the core, general huge issues in cities like gentrification, inequality, total failure of the legal and police system, general late stage capitalism etc. pp. I very much sympathize with being fed up with all of the crap one has to constantly deal with when one isn't white and privileged but again and again I felt like I was being lectured on what is wrong with the world instead of being told a story.
And I kind of think that the people who are into Jemisin's book are most likely not the ones who would need some wake up calls.

On the other hand, it was a bit eye-opening to see just HOW wrong things seem to be on the other side of the pond - from a European perspective some of the things mentioned are absolutely mind-boggling to me. Like, is it really possible to disown people in New York with the flimsiest of legal excuses???

Jemisin writes in the afterword that this one almost didn't get finished and that she changed her plan from initially making this story into a trilogy and instead ended up with a duology. And all of this does show. Again, I sympathize a lot - I think this was written during Covid in addition to all of the other ways the world is blowing up in the last years so I can't be mad that it shows. I'll still buy whatever she writes next!

So, not the best Jemisin out there but still a blast and well worth anyone's time!

I have received an advance review copy via NetGalley from the publisher and voluntarily provide my honest opinion. Thank you very much!

N.K. Jemisin's "The World We Make" is a fascinating blend of urban fantasy, science fiction, and socio-political commentary. New York City comes alive in this novel, and our antagonist serves as a catalyst for the story's tension and development.

The story is a thrilling ride through a city that is both recognisable and strange. Each twist and turn in the plot offers both a challenge and a revelation about the characters we've grown to care deeply about. As the sequel to "The City We Became", "The World We Make" is an imaginative work that cements Jemisin's status as a visionary storyteller. Highly recommended for its ingenuity and heart.

Thank you to Orbit books and Netgalley for this advance copy (and sorry for the late review!).

NK Jemisin does it again. This is a stunning finale to her newest mythology. I love love loveddd it.

Jemisin never disappoints! Cities as characters are not something new, but city as people is something I never read before! And this is not a spoiler, I promise.
This book started as a short story published before and is used as an introduction in this one and that works amazingly as she expands the story.

The World We Make was the most unique theme I ever saw in fantasy book. This book is my first read from author and I wish i can enjoy another series more than this one.

I really hope I can understand the awesome concept and premise the author want to share with the readers. Human avatars of big cities tried to solving their difference problems from their nonstop growing cities. Some of their issues very related with our own world, that's why make it feel so real expecially with Covid 19. The writing style is great, and each chapter bring different perspectives to think about. Some characters very standout and their issues is enjoyable. But I still think although this book is good, I'm not the suitable target reader for this type of story.

Thank you Orbit from Little Brown Books UK for provided me with this copy. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you for my eARC of this bookM I loved the story overall and found it engaging for the most part. There were times I felt a little lost and was brought out of the story but they were few and far between. Overall a feat book I’d recommend.!

"The World We Make" is the second book of the duology "The Great Cities", started with "The City We Became".

In the first book, we are introduced to Neek, New York City personification, and his partners (for lack of a better word), who personify the city's boroughs, so different and complementary. We also learn that cities can be born and guided by their avatars, a phenomenon that has lasted thousands of years but has recently slowed down thanks to a supernatural force determined to kill cities during birth.

"The World We Make" concludes the saga by portraying NYC avatars who struggle to understand each other and work together while trying to convince the oldest cities that the Enemy also threatens their existance. Jemisin brilliantly characterizes the people/cities she presents and, regarding NYC borough, gives each one their own distinctive identities and voices.

Sometimes the book loses itself in descriptions that seem like videogame fights but the characters' personal lives and struggles kept my interest. The resolution of the conflict is perfec. This duology is very different from other sagas by the same author that I've read before ("The Broken" and "Dreamblood") since it is low fantasy. Jemisin shines writing high fantasy sagas, but "The Great Cities" deserves to be read.

After finishing the long awaited sequel to Jemisin's 'The City We Became', I felt somewhat disappointed with the outcome. I felt like some of the magic that I so loved in the first book was lost, and the conclusion just didn't feel particularly satisfying.

With such an ensemble cast of characters, I understand that some characters won't get as much POV time as others. However, it really felt that some of the main characters were put to the side l, barely having any POV chapters compared to others. I will say though, the characters that shine really do SHINE, and are fleshed out beautifully. The dialogue is just as sharp, and there are some great character moments throughout.

My other big gripe with the book is the pacing. While I loved the inclusion of the Lovecraftian horror attacks throughout, which were very well built up to and written, it did become somewhat repetitive. Similarly, I felt like the ending was extremely rushed, and left a lot of loose plot threads. The epilogue felt very much like a last minute attempt to tie everything back together.

While I did have my problems with this sequel, I really enjoyed reading it and would definitely recommend it to people who read the first book.

The great city series was a good duology (I'm happy were seeing more of them!)
I enjoyed the previous book in this series so was excited to carry on even though the urban fantasy world Jemsin has created isn't my cup of tea (I much prefer her broken earth trilogy)
I still enjoyed the second, you could tell however that this was a struggle to write I think originally it was supposed to be a trilogy, so some things seemed a tad rushed. I've loved all her previous series but they are definitely more rooted in traditional high fantasy and I honestly feel its where Jemisins storytelling is best. I cannot wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for letting me have access to an e-arc of this amazing book. N.K. Jemisin, this duology was a work of art and thank you so much for writing it!

This was the second and final book in the ‘Great Cities’ duology. Did I understand a lot of the math and scientific terms used in this book? No. Did I enjoy myself anyway? You bet I did.

This book focuses on the 6 ‘avatars’ for the city of New York and their lives 3 months after the Enemy (capital E) had tried to destroy their city. Turns out, she’s still here and ready to rumble again, but this time she’s being a little bit sneakier about it.

I thought this book, it’s story and it’s characters, were pretty much close to perfect. I loved the way this story was written, it was intertwined with ongoing world issues but changed to fit the book such as gentrification, protests, and a politician
with the slogan, 'Make New York Great Again'. The world building was intense with a lot of multiverse additions but it was explained so well it made you feel like you understood what was going on. The momentum of the story was fast paced to keep you hooked, but manages to still add all the
necessary touches to her characters and the settings.

The character arcs in this book were some of my favourites, like seeing the avatar for Queens - Padmini - learn to stand up for herself and fight for what she believes in. I also loved seeing the other cities and their avatars, especially Istanbul and his calico cats. I’m hoping there will be some spin offs for the other avatars as I can imagine the wars of old that these cities fought would be amazing!

The only issue I had was this book was the ending, it just felt so short for me I wanted so much more! However after reading into this a little more it seems this series was meant to be more than a duology so that explains it a little bit. Jemisin notes at the end of this book that her plan for a trilogy had to change to a duology because her ideas for New York politics and society were being shadowed by factual events and she felt unable to continue further. Which I completely understand.

This was a great urban-fantasy, with a well written story and sharp-tongued commentary mixed in with some humour and it was so profoundly relevant to the here and now. I would 100% recommend this series to any fantasy readers out there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

The World We Make is the 2nd book in the Great Cities Duology by the amazing N.K. Jemisin. A world where cities have souls, and once they have been around for long enough, come alive. but in New York City each borough is so distinct that each gains its own avatar. Now these 5 + the avatar of NYC itself have to work together to defeat lovecraftian horrors from another dimension preying upon the city, and all of creation.

The 2nd book in the series was an anticipated release for me, and unfortunately it took me a long time to get around to finally reading it. To me it was very relevant to the society we live in today, especially the political climate and this played a big role throughout the story. Lovecraftian horrors taking control of white supremacists is not something that I had thought of before but Jemisin manages to do it. I love how incredibly inclusive her books are and each of the characters felt vibrant.

I really wish the original idea of a trilogy happened instead of it being a duology. I would have loved to spend more time with Brooklyn and Bronca. I loved both of them so much.

I have so, so many thoughts about this book. It’s the kind of book it’s hard to come away from without feeling like there’s so much to talk about. To the characters’ struggles on a personal level, to the possible-universe-destroying dangers, to just…well, every second of this book had me completely hooked and engrossed. I felt so invested in what happened to Neek and the other avatars, and Jemisin masterfully keeps up the tension and interest from book one throughout this.

It's hard to read this and not see the real world parallels with recent events, but something I truly loved was how this book doesn’t shy away from the awful realities of current life, reflecting the rise of the far-right and the way things seem to be going backwards on many different things, but here there is, at least, a way away from these monsters, and the avatars can help their cities away from the worst.

Jemisin really digs into the nuances, as well. Staten Island is represented as a scared, lonely young girl who, through her own ridiculous view of the world, is fair game for grooming by the enemy. Similarly, when we peek behind the enemy, we see something else far bigger and more dangerous guiding her actions – neither of these characters are absolved from the acts they commit, but they’re used to show how bigotry can be exploited and magnified by those who are truly in control and stand to actually gain something from it, while those in the lowest rungs risk losing everything they hold dear to appease their masters.

Every victory experienced by the NY avatars feels triumphant, no matter how small it seems relative to the universe-ending threat. And each of these characters is learning more about the city, their boroughs, and themselves throughout the book, truly using their own unique personalities, backgrounds and quirks to progress forward.

In The City We Became, Jemisin responds to Lovecraft’s bigotries by taking control of Cosmic Horror and holding a light to it, showing how ridiculous these prejudices are. In The World We Make there’s a similar achievement, but this time aimed at the far-right and all those who fall under that banner, who try to consistently deny others the right to simply live because of some preconceived notions mixed with powers whispering in their ears and telling them how to think and feel, directing anger at marginalised targets and pulling strings to keep that anger from where it should be directed. Bigots will always be bigots, but The World We Make shows how community and love really can win out. It’s a dark book with a hopeful message underlying it, and though this would have made for an excellent trilogy, it’s easy to see why it wasn’t something Jemisin wanted to remain steeped in for too long.

There are moments of this book that feel utterly bleak because they so brilliantly capture what’s happening in the real world, but there’s a hopeful edge to it, too, reflected in the sense of community and intersectionality, the way we all need to look out for one another and help protect the most vulnerable communities.

Jemisin has once again written a powerful, brilliant book that completely sweeps you up in the story, a love letter to New York and all great cities, and a reminder that no one person can do it all alone.

While I love N.K. Jemisin's writing, the book felt unfinished. In the afterword, she explains that it should have been a trilogy but then the pandemic happened. It hit us all, and this book suffered. I will still auto-buy everything Jemisin released, though.

DNF 45% in. Felt like Jemisin has lately lost whatever it was Iiked so much in Broken Earth. This duology has been pretentious and overwritten. I don't know if it's because I'm not from NYC but I struggle to connect to anything happening.

Amazing sequel! Already loved the first book and its unique setting and writing style and the second one is just as amazing. IThe story is very well paced, but it still manages to add new facettes to the characters and the world they live in.

The new avatars that were shown in this book were also amazing (Turkey by far being my favourite!) and I would've loved to delve even deeper into this world outside of New York, but I am more than happy with what we got already. I'm sad to hear that NK Jemisin does not want to write a third book due to political and moral reasons, but this book manages to have a satisfying ending that I enjoyed every bit of.

Excited to see what Jemisin writes next!

A story of culture, identity, magic and myths in contemporary New York City.
This has an interesting cast of characters that carry the story along a nice pace and create depth to the story. Great plot and I found myself filling an afternoon reading this in one sitting as I found it so enjoyable. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest , unbiased review. 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

As usual N. K. Jemisin is a genius. This book is amazing it got me captivated since page 1. I really enjoyed it!

N.k. jemisin is really one of the best. Loved this follow up and was right back in this world. Hope she will write more in this world