Action & Adventure
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The World We Make: A Novel (The Great Cities, 2)
Four-time Hugo Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N.K. Jemisin crafts a glorious tale of identity, resistance, magic and myth.
All is not well in the city that never sleeps. Even though the avatars of New York City have temporarily managed to stop the Woman in White from invading-and destroying the entire universe in the process-the mysterious capital "E" Enemy has more subtle powers at her disposal. A new candidate for mayor wielding the populist rhetoric of gentrification, xenophobia, and "law and order" may have what it takes to change the very nature of New York itself and take it down from the inside.
In order to defeat him, and the Enemy who holds his purse strings, the avatars will have to join together with the other Great Cities of the world in order to bring her down for good and protect their world from complete destruction.
N.K. Jemisin's Great Cities Duology, which began with The City We Became and concludes with The World We Make, is a masterpiece of speculative fiction from one of the most important writers of her generation.
The Great Cities Duology
The City We Became
The World We Make
Editorial Reviews
"Jemisin is one of the most highly decorated writers in fantasy and science fiction today."
―New York Times/Ezra Klein Show
"Jemisin molds real world events from the past few years with magic and myth into this fantastical page-turner. If The City We Became is a love letter to New York City, then The World We Make is a love song."
―USA Today
"The kind of book you lose an entire day to...and emerge shaken and dazzled on the other end. The writing is clear and visceral and intense. It's some of the most brilliant, unapologetic speculative fantasy I've read in years."―Washington Post
"Hopeful and enthralling, The World We Make is more evidence of [Jemisin's] ferocious talent."―Esquire
"Jemisin brings her living-city saga to a satisfying conclusion, maintaining a sense of energy and excitement throughout."―Booklist
"It's cathartic to imagine fighting these slippery, inimical forces with magic, to believe for a moment that some complex problems have direct solutions-that passion, faith, and the will to fight can make miracles happen. Perhaps the possibility of confronting those problems head-on might serve as inspiration for all of us facing variants of this issue in the real world and help us model ourselves after Jemisin's characterization of New Yorkers: tough, nasty, but ultimately kind people who defend their own while embracing newcomers into their midst. A ray of hope in a dark time."―Kirkus
"The conclusion to Jemisin's Great Cities duology is a searing commentary on present-day politics as manipulated by a primordial evil...This riveting and powerful urban fantasy duology is masterfully written."―BuzzFeed News
"Jemisin explores resistance and identity through magic and myth, expertly crafting a world in which contemporary concerns are met with catharsis."
―TIME
"Jemisin embodies the spirit of the city in as lush and lively a voice as ever and does a masterful job incorporating even more history and magic."―Publishers Weekly
"Highl...
―New York Times/Ezra Klein Show
"Jemisin molds real world events from the past few years with magic and myth into this fantastical page-turner. If The City We Became is a love letter to New York City, then The World We Make is a love song."
―USA Today
"The kind of book you lose an entire day to...and emerge shaken and dazzled on the other end. The writing is clear and visceral and intense. It's some of the most brilliant, unapologetic speculative fantasy I've read in years."―Washington Post
"Hopeful and enthralling, The World We Make is more evidence of [Jemisin's] ferocious talent."―Esquire
"Jemisin brings her living-city saga to a satisfying conclusion, maintaining a sense of energy and excitement throughout."―Booklist
"It's cathartic to imagine fighting these slippery, inimical forces with magic, to believe for a moment that some complex problems have direct solutions-that passion, faith, and the will to fight can make miracles happen. Perhaps the possibility of confronting those problems head-on might serve as inspiration for all of us facing variants of this issue in the real world and help us model ourselves after Jemisin's characterization of New Yorkers: tough, nasty, but ultimately kind people who defend their own while embracing newcomers into their midst. A ray of hope in a dark time."―Kirkus
"The conclusion to Jemisin's Great Cities duology is a searing commentary on present-day politics as manipulated by a primordial evil...This riveting and powerful urban fantasy duology is masterfully written."―BuzzFeed News
"Jemisin explores resistance and identity through magic and myth, expertly crafting a world in which contemporary concerns are met with catharsis."
―TIME
"Jemisin embodies the spirit of the city in as lush and lively a voice as ever and does a masterful job incorporating even more history and magic."―Publishers Weekly
"Highl...
Readers Top Reviews
I love New York. These books are a love song for the city and for the diverse people who live there. This wa a very satisfactory conclusion to the story started in The City We Became.
MT0130
I read The City We Became and anxiously awaited this second book. The City We Became was like nothing I've read before; fantasy but with real world teeth. Anyone familiar with NYC saw the city in the characters that Jeminsin created. The World We Make was another delight. This plot builds on The City We Became and incorporates current cultural and social struggles in a riveting story line. If only the Ur would disappear from our world and take some of their hate with them. I highly recommend both books.
L. M. Gulick
Okay, yeah, I was a wee bit disappointed to find out that N.K. Jemisin was making "The Great Cities" into a duology instead of the planned trilogy...but then I read The World We Make, and I changed my mind. Because she didn't slice and dice the story--she *condensed* it. So instead of a lovely, spongy layer cake, instead we got a super-dense mini-brownie that's chock-full of great stuff! The war with the Enemy (aka The Woman in White, R'lyeh, or [thank you, Jersey City] Squiggleb***h) is far from over. In fact, she and her extremely nasty masters have been playing a long game, and it turns out the cities aren't the only targets. But since Neek (NYC) and his fellow city avatars have been such a pain in R'lyeh's squiggly butt, she starts in on them first, both as individuals and collectively: Queens suddenly has problems with ICE, Brooklyn's space is attacked by a neo-brownshirt group wielding paintball guns with frozen paintballs (her daughter is injured in the fray), and Manhattan's past is catching up with him. And the entire city is in danger from a mayoral candidate whose slogan is Make New York Great Again. Meanwhile, Staten Island's avatar isn't real happy with what her gaslighting "friend" is doing to her island...but can she ever find the courage to ask the others for help? And will they give it if she asks? As I said, there's a lot packed into this book (which is also shorter than The City We Became). I did not see Manhattan's history coming, and even the short time we spend in Padmini's empty city makes me wish *I* could macro-step! And although there is a showdown, it's not all throwdown; in fact, I am reminded a little of the ending of the Broken Earth trilogy, though it isn't the same. As usual, Jemisin has a few points to make, not only about diversity but also about not judging books by their covers. The end actually leaves room for another sequel (whenever Ms. Jemisin gets her energy back) or at least a novella like she did with the Inheritance series. (I still want to see how it goes with Los Angeles, 15 years later.) When you read this book, be sure to also read Jemisin's afterword, in which she explains why she wrote the novel the way she did. God bless you, Ms. Jemisin. I hope y'all get better up there in New York City. And thanks for finishing the story!
