Jaelyn reviewed The City We Became by Jemisin N. K. (The Great Cities Duology, #1)
In Manhattan, a young grad student gets off the train and realizes he doesn't remember …
Review of 'The City We Became' on 'Storygraph'
4 stars
At a certain point in a city’s existence, its social construct becomes so great it bursts into life. These living cities are represented by their avatars. A citizen who embodies the spirit of the city and acts as its defender.
New York City, however, has a troubled birth. Its avatar, a homeless graffiti artist, is wounded during his awakening by a malevolent force. But unlike most cities, New York has its avatars split between its boroughs, each representing the diverse backgrounds and characteristics of their boroughs. Lacking their primary avatar for the city, they must find each other and piece together the force undermining the city.
This force is both out in the open with white Lovecraftian tentacles attacking the city and controlling the more xenophobic-minded citizens; and in the background in the form of shell companies gutting and gentrifying neighbourhoods. However, the city isn’t as united as it should be, with Staten Island’s avatar becoming manipulated by the enemy.
These books certainly hits their intended topics rather on the nose several times but frames important discussions about the nature of community and diversity in megacities, the toxicity of the far-right within a cosmopolitan society, and the nature of urbanism itself. The reticent of the elder living cities to recognise the growing threat also has a parallel to environmentalism. However, at the end a lot of its more interesting, down-to-earth plot threads are left submerged under the more fantastical plot elements.
New York City, however, has a troubled birth. Its avatar, a homeless graffiti artist, is wounded during his awakening by a malevolent force. But unlike most cities, New York has its avatars split between its boroughs, each representing the diverse backgrounds and characteristics of their boroughs. Lacking their primary avatar for the city, they must find each other and piece together the force undermining the city.
This force is both out in the open with white Lovecraftian tentacles attacking the city and controlling the more xenophobic-minded citizens; and in the background in the form of shell companies gutting and gentrifying neighbourhoods. However, the city isn’t as united as it should be, with Staten Island’s avatar becoming manipulated by the enemy.
These books certainly hits their intended topics rather on the nose several times but frames important discussions about the nature of community and diversity in megacities, the toxicity of the far-right within a cosmopolitan society, and the nature of urbanism itself. The reticent of the elder living cities to recognise the growing threat also has a parallel to environmentalism. However, at the end a lot of its more interesting, down-to-earth plot threads are left submerged under the more fantastical plot elements.