''The Just City'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

novel by

Jo Walton Jo Walton (born 1964) is a Welsh and Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She is best known for the fantasy novel ''Among Others'', which won the Hugo and Nebula Awards in 2012, and '' Tooth and Claw'', a Victorian era novel ...

, published by

Tor Books Tor Books is the primary imprint of Tor Publishing Group (previously Tom Doherty Associates), a publishing company based in New York City. It primarily publishes science fiction and fantasy titles, and is the largest publisher of Chinese sci ...

in January 2015. It is the first book of the '' Thessaly trilogy''. The sequel ''

The Philosopher Kings The Philosopher Kings are a Canadian band. The band was most commercially successful in the late 1990s and have been nominated for five Juno Awards, winning one in 1996 for "Best New Group". Most of the band members, current and former, have also ...

'' was published in June 2015, and the final volume, ''

Necessity Necessary or necessity may refer to: * Need ** An action somebody may feel they must do ** An important task or essential thing to do at a particular time or by a particular moment * Necessary and sufficient condition, in logic, something that i ...

'', in July 2016.

Synopsis

The

Greek gods The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house th ...

Athene and Apollo collect 10,000 human children from throughout history, and place them on the island of

Thera Santorini ( el, Σαντορίνη, ), officially Thira (Greek: Θήρα ) and classical Greek Thera (English pronunciation ), is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from the Greek mainland. It is the ...

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 Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

arrives.

Characters

The characters include: *

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

, god of knowledge through intuition. * Maia, Young woman from the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

. * Simmea, an Egyptian girl bought to the Just City as a child. *

Athene Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of va ...

, goddess of knowledge through study. * Adeimantus,

Benjamin Jowett Benjamin Jowett (, modern variant ; 15 April 1817 – 1 October 1893) was an English tutor and administrative reformer in the University of Oxford, a theologian, an Anglican cleric, and a translator of Plato and Thucydides. He was Master of B ...

, British translator of Plato. * Aristomache, Ellen Francis Mason, American translator of Plato. * Atticus,

Titus Pomponius Atticus Titus Pomponius Atticus (November 110 BC – 31 March 32 BC; later named Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus) was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman s ...

, Roman friend of Cicero. * Marsilio Ficino, Florentine Neoplatonist. * Ikaros,

Giovanni Pico della Mirandola Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (24 February 1463 – 17 November 1494) was an Italian Renaissance nobleman and philosopher. He is famed for the events of 1486, when, at the age of 23, he proposed to defend 900 theses on religion, philosophy, ...

, Italian philosopher. * Krito, Socrates' friend. * Lukretia, Lucrezia Borgia, Italian aristocrat. *

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tran ...

, Roman philosopher. *

Plotinus Plotinus (; grc-gre, Πλωτῖνος, ''Plōtînos''; – 270 CE) was a philosopher in the Hellenistic tradition, born and raised in Roman Egypt. Plotinus is regarded by modern scholarship as the founder of Neoplatonism. His teacher wa ...

, Roman philosopher. * Sokrates, Athenian philosopher. *

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, Roman politician.

Reception

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, Amal El-Mohtar called ''City'' "(b)rilliant, compelling, and frankly unputdownable", comparing it to a Socratic dialogue, while at ''

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

'', 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. ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' stated that ''City'' was "impressively ambitious", but criticized Walton for overuse of

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

and for a "reductive" portrayal of the Greek gods. Similarly, '' Kirkus Reviews'' considered the protagonists to "have a certain appeal", but stated that the novel was "more

thought experiment A thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in which a hypothesis, theory, or principle is laid out for the purpose of thinking through its consequences. History The ancient Greek ''deiknymi'' (), or thought experiment, "was the most anc ...

than plot". The Spanish-language translation, ''La ciudad justa'', was a finalist for the 2022

Premio Ignotus Premios Ignotus are annual Spanish literary awards that were created in 1991 by the Asociación Española de Fantasía, Ciencia Ficción y Terror (AEFCFT, translation: Spanish Association of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror). The awards, which ar ...

.2022 Ignotus Winners
at ''

Locus Online ''Locus: The Magazine of The Science Fiction & Fantasy Field'', founded in 1968, is an American magazine published monthly in Oakland, California. It is the news organ and trade journal for the English-language science fiction and fantasy fields ...

''; published October 10, 2022; retrieved December 5, 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Just City, The 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 Tor Books books