The Just City

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The Just City
The Just City - book cover.jpg
Hardcover edition
AuthorJo Walton
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThessaly
GenreFantasy
PublisherTor
Publication date
January 2015
Pages368 (Hardcover)
ISBN978-0-7653-3266-0
Followed byThe Philosopher Kings 

The Just City is a science fiction/fantasy novel by Jo Walton, published by Tor Books in January 2015. It is the first book of the Thessaly trilogy. The sequel The Philosopher Kings was published in June 2015, and the final volume, Necessity, in July 2016.

Synopsis[edit]

The Greek gods Athene and Apollo collect 10,000 human children from throughout history, and place them on the island of Thera prior to its volcanic destruction. There, a collection of adult supervisors (who are likewise from throughout history) will raise the children to achieve the ideal society as described in Plato's Republic – which becomes much more difficult when Socrates arrives.

Characters[edit]

The characters include:

Reception[edit]

At NPR, Amal El-Mohtar called City "(b)rilliant, compelling, and frankly unputdownable", comparing it to a Socratic dialogue,[1] while at Booklist, Michael Cart described it as a "remarkable novel of ideas", conceding that it may be somewhat "abstruse", but emphasizing that this does not detract from the quality of its plot and characterization.[2]

Publishers Weekly stated that City was "impressively ambitious", but criticized Walton for overuse of sexual violence and for a "reductive" portrayal of the Greek gods.[3] Similarly, Kirkus Reviews considered the protagonists to "have a certain appeal", but stated that the novel was "more thought experiment than plot".[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ El-Mohtar, Amal (January 15, 2015). "The Consolations (And Controversies) Of Philosophy In 'The Just City'". NPR. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Cart, Michael (December 1, 2014). "The Just City". Booklist. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
  3. ^ "The Just City". Publishers Weekly. October 13, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  4. ^ "The Just City by Jo Walton". Kirkus Reviews. September 16, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.