Hello friends! If you have been following my blog for a while, you would know that I don’t read a lot of urban fantasy. But I love well done audiobooks and books with unique concepts. At the WriteHive Book-nook channel, we are hosting monthly readalongs. The theme for this month is Black/Black-American authors and the community voted to read The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin. Jemisin is a well known author in the science fiction and fantasy realm and most of the time, I stay away from the hype until an opportunity like this one arises! So here I am, bringing you my thoughts on this amazing book, the first in a series, and let me reassure you, it is worth your while to read this book. Go listen to the audiobook. It will be like being in the Matrix.
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 beneath the earth, threatening to destroy the city and her five protectors unless they can come together and stop it once and for all.
Content Notes: Depictions of racism, death, gore, violence.
Thoughts on The City We Became
I started The City We Became as an ebook but the world was so different from any I am used to, that I had a hard time getting into it. But as it often happens when you are reading with other people, you want to give the book a fair shot. I decided to switch to the audiobook and see if it helped me engage with the story more and it blew my mind. The City We Became is the story of New York fighting an interdimensional entity that wants to destroy it. There are so many things I loved about this book but first, I must rave about the audiobook.
On The Audiobook Experience
Narrated by Robin Miles, while listening to the audiobook, I would not have guessed it was one person’s solo performance. Miles does a fantastic job of depicting the characters and the world. There are additional sound effects throughout the book to amp up the tension and I don’t think I will ever be able to forget the sounds of the evil laughter by the Woman in White. It haunts me.
One of the reasons Robin Miles’ performance is so spot on is because of the story itself. Jemisin weaves a roller coaster of a narrative and yes, for most of the book, I am just along for the ride. I do not have a clue of what is happening except it is so engrossing and immersive that I can’t stop spacing out and entering this terrifying world where cities have personalities and… I’m just going to let you figure out the rest by reading this book. Oh the revelations in this book!
On Cities
In some capacity, we have all studied cities in school. Whether it was ancient civilizations or learning about our own cities, the places and communities we call home are an important part of us. I loved how the author connected this prior knowledge about lost and present cities to the book. Though I do not know a lot about New York (my only experience comes from watching How I Met Your Mother every few months), I learned so much! Enough that if I do visit it, I will not be the typical tourist.
The City We Became depicts the relationships between the people who live in the city and the city itself. How the two affect each other and change each other, and while we may not personify them, different parts of the city have their own personalities. I loved learning about why and how Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island came to be who they were and the intricacies of representing parts of a city. Jemisin created such distinct and vivid characters that I feel like I know the regions that they represent through them. The tug of war for these parts to be separate from the city itself was a really interesting commentary on how people don’t always want to belong to a group, and when the opportunity comes, they might separate.
Some Quotes
This is the lesson: Great cities are like any other living things, being born and maturing and wearying and dying in their turn.
The City We Became
He pretends to be less special than he is, because the world has punished him for loving himself.
The City We Became
Coldness would be reprehensible, horrifying. Compassion is worse, because it cannot be dismissed as evil.
The City We Became
The City We Became is a close look at New York and its evolution over time. If you live there or have been there, you will likely connect at a deeper level with this book. I am quite curious to see what happens next with New York as well as which other cities we will meet along the way. I am also looking forward to reading other works by the author and narrator. Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
** The City We Became is now available in stores. Be sure to check your local library for the book or audiobook. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Audiobook
Thanks for reading! 🙂 For other Fantasy books, check out the Book Review Index.
Cover image: Photo by Colton Duke on Unsplash
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