The Just City

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The Just City
Author Jo Walton
Country United States
Language English
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. The sequel The Philosopher Kings was published in June 2015.

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.

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

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