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zone_a3's review
challenging
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Although I love Jemisin's body of work as a whole, and I enjoyed The City We Became, this book missed the mark for me. I understand and sympathize when the author's expressed difficulties in tackling this series' premise given the state of the real world at the time of writing, but I would be lying if I didn't acknowledge that it clearly negatively impacted the book.
While there were certainly elements I enjoyed, (every glimpse at other Cities was excellent), when I look back at this book and compare it to its prequel, its faults become very apparent.
While there were certainly elements I enjoyed, (every glimpse at other Cities was excellent), when I look back at this book and compare it to its prequel, its faults become very apparent.
In Book 1, there is clear, pervasive, present danger. In Book 2, any time danger starts cropping up, it is immediately resolved with no consequences. In Book 1, a lot of effort is made to humanize all sides of the conflict. Jemisin makes it very clear that the villain doesn't "turn people evil", but rather people with certain (bigoted, hateful) beliefs are susceptible to evil influence. Useful idiots, if you will. If the villain disappeared in Book 1, many of the problems facing the heroes would persist. In Book 2, however, this nuance is completely gone. Useful idiots have been replaced with brainwashed zombies; and when the villain is defeated, it magically fixes all of the massive institutional problems the heroes were facing. A large portion of the conflict in this book stems from mature (in many cases, literally multiple centuries old) adults deliberately failing to communicate. This is attempted to be justified, but I don't think it worked. And of course there's the issue of pacing and the unavoidable plot rush of crunching a planned trilogy down into a single (significantly shorter) sequel. There just wasn't time to explore the ideas Jemisin had set up in Book 1 before Book 2 was over. It really felt like we gasped over the finish line; or maybe more accurately, we stopped short and just moved the finish line up.
I've been really harsh in the spoiler tags, so I want to pull back a bit and reiterate that the book does have good qualities; it just wasn't what I've come to look for from Jemisin as an author.
If you are largely discouraged/depressed by the state of the world, and want to have a bit of escapism to a version of reality where bad people get what's coming to them and evil is an external force which can be defeated, you'll probably have a good time with this book. If you prefer a more difficult, nuanced view of humanity and the nature of evil, with fewer clean, easy answers, you're probably better off sticking with Jemisin's other works.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
azrah786's review
4.25
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, gore, body horror, hate crime, police brutality, racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, deportation, toxic friendship
--
Another Jemisin gem, The World We Make is an action packed finale to the wonderfully whacky Great Cities duology.
The conflict between the boroughs of New York and the eldritch being that is hellbent on destroying them comes to its head, and with the Woman in White’s chaos putting the entire planet at stake the other Great Cities of the world are called upon to join the fray.
I loved being back with the avatars and with them being together more in this sequel we get a chance to appreciate the little found family they have formed. There are a lot of moving parts to the plot around the ongoing dispute at the heart of the saga including a dash of modern day politics, some character backstories, a continuation on the apt commentary on real world social issues, as well as multiverse shenanigans. It all makes for an entertaining conclusion to the story.
As ever Jemisin’s writing and storytelling immediately transports you, immersing you right back into the colour and noise of "the city that never sleeps". I mentioned in my review of The City We Became that being someone who has never visited New York myself I didn’t feel like I was able to appreciate all the nuances and allusions to the place but you definitely get a very vivid picture.
I absolutely loved that even more city avatars from around the world were introduced! Tokyo, Turkey, London – the handful of pages in the perspective of these other cities were so much fun and further displayed the vibrancy of Jemisin’s imagination. I just wish we could have had more time with them.
The only major let down for me was the final showdown that occurs as a result of everything that went down. It felt a little lacklustre and rushed.. However, considering the fact that the length of the series was reduced and the direction of the overall story was shifted (a completely understandable decision made by the author) I feel like everything was adequately wrapped up.
If you liked book 1 then this one is just as enjoyable! And if Jemisin ever decides to return to this series or world in the future I just want to put it out there again that this kind of story would be pretty cool in graphic novel form.. 👀
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
**I received a copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, gore, body horror, hate crime, police brutality, racism, racial slurs, xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, deportation, toxic friendship
--
Another Jemisin gem, The World We Make is an action packed finale to the wonderfully whacky Great Cities duology.
The conflict between the boroughs of New York and the eldritch being that is hellbent on destroying them comes to its head, and with the Woman in White’s chaos putting the entire planet at stake the other Great Cities of the world are called upon to join the fray.
I loved being back with the avatars and with them being together more in this sequel we get a chance to appreciate the little found family they have formed. There are a lot of moving parts to the plot around the ongoing dispute at the heart of the saga including a dash of modern day politics, some character backstories, a continuation on the apt commentary on real world social issues, as well as multiverse shenanigans. It all makes for an entertaining conclusion to the story.
As ever Jemisin’s writing and storytelling immediately transports you, immersing you right back into the colour and noise of "the city that never sleeps". I mentioned in my review of The City We Became that being someone who has never visited New York myself I didn’t feel like I was able to appreciate all the nuances and allusions to the place but you definitely get a very vivid picture.
I absolutely loved that even more city avatars from around the world were introduced! Tokyo, Turkey, London – the handful of pages in the perspective of these other cities were so much fun and further displayed the vibrancy of Jemisin’s imagination. I just wish we could have had more time with them.
The only major let down for me was the final showdown that occurs as a result of everything that went down. It felt a little lacklustre and rushed.. However, considering the fact that the length of the series was reduced and the direction of the overall story was shifted (a completely understandable decision made by the author) I feel like everything was adequately wrapped up.
If you liked book 1 then this one is just as enjoyable! And if Jemisin ever decides to return to this series or world in the future I just want to put it out there again that this kind of story would be pretty cool in graphic novel form.. 👀
Final Rating – 4.25/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Deportation
thebookcoyote's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
TW/CW: Language, violence, body horror, fantasy violence, police violence, sexual talk and situations
REVIEW: I had been looking forward to this book since I finished The City We Became. It was such a unique premise for a story – unlike anything I’d ever read before – and I was dying to know how the story ended. This is that book, and it succeeded in everything that I wanted it to.
The World We Make picks up a couple of months after the end of The City We Became. I can’t give a lot of plot description without spoiling that book, but it works as a continuation of that story, picking up the plots and characters where they had been left and heading towards an exciting conclusion.
One of my favorite things about Jemisin’s writing in these two books is how she isn’t afraid to confront the politics and current events that clearly shaped some of the chapters in this book. Some people might not like this, of course, but I think it adds a lot to the story as a whole. But if you want a book that doesn’t tackle anything important, this book isn’t it.
The worst thing about this book is just that I’m sad it’s the last one in this universe! I would have loved to read more about the other cities, and what happens to all the new cities that were preparing to be born. I guess it’s a good thing, though, if the worst thing you can say about a book is that you wish there were more of it!
I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for good science-fiction/urban fantasy. You won’t be disappointed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, and Police brutality
jazhandz's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It’s never a good sign when the author says outright that the primary reason they’re writing a book is because they hate leaving things incomplete. The flaws of the first book are on full display here, and everything is painfully on the nose. The ending is a bit of an anticlimax, which makes sense because the pacing is a little off. All in all I was just disappointed. Not a terrible book but definitely not as good as the first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Xenophobia
Moderate: Body horror, Hate crime, and Toxic friendship
laguerrelewis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
N.K. Jemisin does it again (is anyone surprised?)! I was both eagerly awaiting this installment to see what was next for these brilliant characters and incredibly imaginative world, but I had no clue how the story would pick up from its predecessor—and wrap things up in one go. Of course, however, Jemisin is not only a master of fiction, but is also a particular talent when it comes to sequels, and this is no exception. With our avatars more sure footed in their city-powers, the fun of this book comes in their found family dynamic and creative problem solving, which now takes on a grander scale to save the entire multiverse! It’s Epic, and an excellent final return to a fantastical NYC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism
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