The City We Became

N.K. Jemisin's new one is an urban fantasy in every sense of the word. It runs along riffing on quest fantasies, superhero origin stories, Lovecraftian cosmic horror and a dozen other genre standbys. This isn't a complaint, more an acknowledgement that this is absolutely for the right path to take for a book championing the diversity and blend of New York. It takes all these elements, chops them up, turns them around and builds them into something new, just like the best hiphop does (about half way through, a memory of the Wu Tang Clan proclaiming that they form like Voltron popped into my head and stayed there, another part of the legend of New York that suffuses this book (although, considering how Jemisin treats Staten Island, they might not quite enjoy it so much!)).

It bounces, crackles, pops and fizzes, full of the livewire energy of the city it celebrates. This couldn't be more different in tone or setting from the author's multi-award winning Broken Earth trilogy, but that just shows what a capable and talented author we have here, because it is just as readable and just as impactful. Bring on volume two!