The Great Cities Duology
#4733.88 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 2020–2022 Reading commitment Low N.K. Jemisin Last reviewed 2026-08-15
Overview
New York City is about to be born, not metaphorically: every great city eventually wakes up, and when it does, it chooses human avatars for itself and each of its boroughs to fight off the thing that wants to strangle it in its crib. The City We Became and its sequel The World We Make follow that newborn city's five borough-avatars as they learn to work together against an ancient, Lovecraftian enemy that has already destroyed other great cities before they could finish being born. A contemporary urban fantasy and N.K. Jemisin's 4th admitted universe, wholly separate from The Broken Earth, The Inheritance Trilogy, and The Dreamblood Duology.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
The Great Cities N.K. Jemisin
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The City We Became | 2020 | 1 | core | 3.83 (80,651 ratings) |
 | The World We Make | 2022 | 2 | core | 4.08 (19,582 ratings) |
Complete 2-book duology; sfadb's own bibliography lists no further entries in this series.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Great Cities Duology? The Great Cities Duology's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for The Great Cities Duology? Publication order, starting with The City We Became. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Great Cities Duology finished? Complete (2020–2022).
- How much reading does The Great Cities Duology take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~794 pages).
- How is The Great Cities Duology ranked? #473 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 100,233 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #473?
Ranked #473 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 3.88 across 2 core books.
- Backed by 100k reader ratings.
- Less than 0.01 behind #472, Thomas the Rhymer (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 2 books · Complete · 100k ratings · Ranks #473 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment urban fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- The City We Became (2020)
- The World We Make (2022)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- BSFA Award (Best Novel), 2020: won: The City We Became
- Locus Award (Fantasy Novel), 2021: won: The City We Became
- Hugo Award (Best Novel), 2021: finalist: The City We Became
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2021: finalist: The City We Became
Related universes
- Same author The Broken Earth: Both by N.K. Jemisin; The Great Cities Duology (a living-New-York urban fantasy) is a 4th, independent universe with no shared characters, setting, or continuity.
- Same author The Inheritance Trilogy: Both by N.K. Jemisin; The Great Cities Duology (a living-New-York urban fantasy) is a 4th, independent universe with no shared characters, setting, or continuity.
- Same author The Dreamblood Duology: Both by N.K. Jemisin; The Great Cities Duology (a living-New-York urban fantasy) is a 4th, independent universe with no shared characters, setting, or continuity.
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Suggestions computed from what The Great Cities Duology and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- The Sixth World Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.02
- Tea with the Black Dragon Urban fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 3.92
- Ninth House (Alex Stern) Dark fantasy / Urban fantasy · Ongoing · Low commitment · 4.03
- The Nightside Urban fantasy / Dark fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.02
Official resources
- sfadb: N. K. Jemisin Titles
- The Hugo Awards: 2021 Hugo Awards
- The Nebula Awards: The City We Became
- BSFA: Past Winners
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.88 across 100,233 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: The Great Cities Duology admitted; Core = The City We Became, The World We Make accepted 2026-08-15
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Related universes: see the Related universes section above.
Last reviewed: 2026-08-15
Rule: Core Canon = the complete 2-book duology: The City We Became (2020) and The World We Make (2022); sfadb's own bibliography lists no further entries in this series.