The City We BecameThe City We Became
Score Modern
What it's about
N. K. Jemisin's fantasy imagines that great cities come alive, embodied by human avatars. When New York City is born, its five boroughs take human form, and they must come together to defend the city from an ancient evil, in a story of culture, identity and myth in contemporary New York.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for both the Hugo and Nebula awards. Jemisin is a three-time Hugo winner.
You'll love it if you liked
The Fifth Season
American Gods
NeverwhereGood to know
It's the first of the Great Cities duology. It's a love letter to New York.
By the numbers
- Readers38 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics43 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller42 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz19 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #146 of the 313 science fiction books we rank
- #220 of the 459 fantasy books we rank
- #827 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1537 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous
More by N. K. Jemisin
The Fifth Season
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
The Killing MoonIf you like this, read next
A Game of Thrones
Dungeon Crawler Carl
Gideon the Ninth
Red Rising
Outlander
All Systems RedExplore the best-of lists
All 36 best-of lists →
Quick answers
Is The City We Became worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for both the Hugo and Nebula awards. It ranks #1,537 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is The City We Became about?
N. K. Jemisin's fantasy imagines that great cities come alive, embodied by human avatars. When New York City is born, its five boroughs take human form, and they must come together to defend the city from an ancient evil, in a story of culture, identity and myth in contemporary New York.
How long does it take to read The City We Became?
About 11 hours (448 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after The City We Became?
If you liked it, try The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin, American Gods by Neil Gaiman or Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman.