The City We Became by N.K. JemisinMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
N.K. Jemisin's first full-length novel since The Stone Sky is pretty well-primed to win her some more Hugo Awards - maybe in 2021? Hopefully there'll be an in-person ceremony again by then. Until then, we can savor the fine flavor of this book, grown very organically from her story "The City Born Great," as featured in How Long 'Til Black Future Month? Here we get not only that story replicated in the prologue - at least, until a gnarly little twist comes along - but then five different avatars for each of New York's boroughs, each as diverse as the city itself, spanning all the spectra of race, gender, and sexuality, come up and learn of their mission to continue the birth of their city. Even if a literal H.P. Lovecraft villain (naturally, Jemisin specifically invokes this particular mythos as a supernatural driving force behind systemic racism and eco-fascism, a direct rebuke of Lovecraft's own bigotry) wants to bring that growth coming to a crashing halt. Though the world-building is a bit dense, relying on a heavy stream of hard sci-fi vocabulary at times, it's always refreshing to see Jemisin's signature snarky, world-weary narrative style back on our bookshelves again for a new trilogy.
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