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quarkie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What I liked: Each character has such a strong point of view, and is so multi-dimensional. They feel so effortlessly real. Jemisin puts them in so many (terrible, awful, amazing, beautiful, human) true-to-life situations, and they respond in a way that feels both real and true to their characters. I feel like I know each character - not that I know a specific individual that is just like them, but they serve as true avatars of not only their boroughs but for their populations. So many of the thought processes and comments that characters make are so relatable, and I see them played out daily. Nothing in the book "just happens" - everything has a cause as well as an effect. The storylines are tight and pacing is great. And I just can't get over how beautifully written it was.
What I didn't like: I think my only complaint was that while some of the pop and political cultural references feel fresh now (in 2024), but I'm not sure how well some of them will age.
Concepts that will stick with me: In a way, this book personifies racism, xenophobia, and gentrification by turning it into a singular entity that can be taken on and beaten. This is a comforting thought. It explores the concept of "personality gentrification", or as I came to think of it, gentrification of the soul. It also deals with what happens what the gentrifier meets with gentrification. It also shows how someone can be seen as "nice" by one set of people (and actually be genuinely nice to them), but also participate in oppressive structures that hurt everyone, including the people they are nice to. It's a haunting exploration of the fragility of xenophobes (especially the well-meaning ones), and the mental and emotional work people have to put in to deal with that.
Graphic: Cursing and Deportation
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
zone_a3's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Moderate: Body horror, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Deportation
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism