The World We Make

I absolutely loved the book “The City We Became.“ I loved the sequel “The World We Make,“ as well, but not as much as the first.

The characters are still fantastic, and we get to spend more time with Neek, which I was glad to see, even though it still wasn’t enough for me. In general, that is the way I feel about the characters in this book as a whole, though. I wish I had more time with each of them, and they all do get moments to shine, though some got more exposure than others. Padmini was a standout, but some of the others faded into the background a bit, and I wish we’d spent some more time with Aislyn - not because she is a person character to experience, but rather because she could have used some more screen time to show some growth and development. Some change.

The world building and lore deepen in interesting ways, especially when we meet more cities from around the world, and get a grasp of the true shape of the history of the conflict between the cities and the true bosses of the Woman in White.

I have only two complaints, and in reality one of them is less a real complaint than a roundabout compliment.

The first, and only real complaint, is that there are some story lines that feel thin, or that they fade away after being introduced as something very important. They are resolved, sure… but they feel a touch rushed - which makes sense after I’ve seen some interviews with the author afterward.

My second complaint is that this is all we get. This is the end. I love the world-building, concepts, themes, and upturning of Lovecraftian mythology, and the fact that there’s not likely to be any continuation of the story of these characters - this world - is depressing.

I highly recommend this book and series.

"I realized my creative energy was fading under the onslaught of reality, and I didn't have it in me to write three books in this milieu. I came dangerously close to quitting after book one, in fact - but I absolutely hate leaving stories unfinished (and readers disappointed) once I've begun a thing, so I finished this out of sheer bloody-minded stubborness." [N.K.J. in the Acknowledgements]

It figures, dear NKJ, it feels throughout the book. I guess as Padmini would say that finishing something for finishing it takes out that little bit of chaos every story needs to sparkle. It's not that it's not good, because you're an amazing talent and writer, but it just feels forced upon you and tha page. That said, it's still better than most literature, so... thanks for it anyway.
I guess you have to let a bit of un-schrodingering get to you for the next one!

PS: hope the meaning of this rant is not total moot as I'm not a native-tongue American-English speaker, but that's my tackle on the book :)

PPS: really loved you brought HPL back home... So much of the fantastic literature we read stems from him (disgusting person he was, but awesome world creator and horror monger) and yet so little is acknowledged.