[filoeleven]

Cities are not all living entities, but given the right conditions they can be born. There are also however inter-dimensional predators that seek them out to consume while they are new and vulnerable, so the cities choose people who embody them to raise up as avatars and protect them.

At least, that’s the premise in N.K. Jemisin’s _The City We Became_, which I tore through quickly and am eagerly awaiting the rest of the trilogy.