The Just City
Author | Jo Walton |
---|---|
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Series | Thessaly |
Genre | Fantasy |
Publisher | Tor |
Publication date | January 2015 |
Pages | 368 (Hardcover) |
ISBN | 978-0-7653-3266-0 |
Followed by | The 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 . The sequel The Philosopher Kings was published in June 2015, and the final volume, Necessity, in July 2016.
Synopsis[]
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[]
The characters include:
- Apollo, god of knowledge through intuition.
- Maia, Young woman from the Victorian era.
- Simmea, an Egyptian girl bought to the Just City as a child.
- Athene, goddess of knowledge through study.
- Adeimantus, Benjamin Jowett, British translator of Plato.
- Aristomache, Ellen Francis Mason, American translator of Plato.
- Atticus, Titus Pomponius Atticus, Roman friend of Cicero.
- Marsilio Ficino, Florentine Neoplatonist.
- Ikaros, Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher.
- Krito, Socrates' friend.
- Lukretia, Lucrezia Borgia, Italian aristocrat.
- Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, Roman philosopher.
- Plotinus, Roman philosopher.
- Sokrates, Athenian philosopher.
- Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman politician.
Reception[]
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[]
- ^ El-Mohtar, Amal (January 15, 2015). "The Consolations (And Controversies) Of Philosophy In 'The Just City'". NPR. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ Cart, Michael (December 1, 2014). "The Just City". Booklist. Retrieved March 5, 2015.
- ^ "The Just City". Publishers Weekly. October 13, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- ^ "The Just City by Jo Walton". Kirkus Reviews. September 16, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
- 2015 fantasy novels
- Classical mythology in popular culture
- Cultural depictions of Socrates
- Novels by Jo Walton
- Welsh fantasy novels
- Canadian fantasy novels
- 2015 British novels
- 2015 Canadian novels