The City We Became

Imagine waking up to discover you’ve become the City of New York. And meeting the avatar of São Paulo walking around trying to be a mentor. As a New Yorker, I’m all for it, and I was hooked right from the start of this urban fantasy. Aliens are trying to eat the cities of Earth, but the cities fight back by choosing champions from among their populations.

New York, being New York, has six—one for the City as a whole and one for each borough because we do things right here. I got such a kick out of every borough’s… show more.

Okay, so this one is urban fantasy, not strictly historical fantasy, but what I loved so much about this book was its exploration of how the history of a place going back millennia continues to impact the present. The author, N.K. Jemison posits a mind-blowing proposal: a city can be not just a character but the main character of a story. AND a city can simultaneously be ancient and modern.

One of the many inventive aspects of this book is the idea of a city animated by female energy and power. My future travel experiences will be forever changed by… show more.

To build a better future, you must find other world builders. N.K. Jemisin is just that—someone who can craft a convincing imaginary world. I love that the characters are complex personifications—avatars—of cities, including the boroughs of NYC.

The book is in conversation with one of my favorite lyrics from artist Lucy Dacus: “You say nobody loves a city | Nobody loves what can't love 'em back.” Place is so important to the human experience in part because it shapes who we are, and we exist in relation to it. At the same time, I believe cities (towns and other spaces)… show more.

2023 was an opportunity for me to catch up on modern classics I did not have the bandwidth to explore prior. 

N.K. Jemisin has always been one of my influences and inspirations. One of the most decorated authors in the world, she often offers raw, political storytelling with undertones of intersectional feminism and black girl power. 

I’m a huge fan of her other works (The 5th Season, The Killing Moon…), but this project has a special place in my heart: as a ten-year NYC resident, the City being the first place I set foot on in the US,… show more.

What better way to start talking about some of the world’s greatest cities explored in SFF than with a book that’s the origin story of a city avatar, the first of a series called The Great Cities? New York and London are probably the most explored cities in English literature—for anyone who’s grown up reading books in English, there are versions of these cities that exist in your imagination, layered over the years by generations of talented authors. But despite seeing NY in several hundred films, shows, comics, and books, The City We Became delved deeper into the hearts of… show more.

Suddenly, for reasons no one can quite explain, five ordinary New Yorkers become-slash-embody the city’s five boroughs. For example, a newcomer named Manny discovers he *is* Manhattan; he feels and sees its streets and crowds. Through telling these five people’s stories—and chronicling their efforts to save the city from a powerful evil force—Jemisin tells the story of New York. It’s sort of sci-fi, it’s very funny. It’s also a portrait of the city today through regular, non-wealthy residents.