City of Stairs (The Divine Cities)

Yeah, this was pretty great. I loved the worldbuilding, the characters, and pretty much had a great time reading it. Can't wait for the next book. ( )

This is a high 4-stars for me (like 4.3), due to its inventiveness, characters, pace, plotting, and some very good writing. (I got it from the library, and immediately whooshed out and bought it and the next one in paperback).

I don't think the back cover blurb does it justice--it doesn't convey how zesty this book is. It's filled with zest! It's not a dull dry action piece, it's more like A Suitable Boy meets The Lies of Locke Lamora with a bit of Thraxas thrown in. Smart, engaging, different. ( )

An interesting fantasy with a lot of commentary on the nature of the divine. It’s also more modern than the usual cod-medieval fantasy; I would describe it as more of a colonial-era setting, possibly as late as early 20th C technology. I liked it a lot; it starts as a murder mystery in an occupied city and morphs into an investigation into divinity.

The Continent was the home of 6 gods, who shared a capital city. They had various colonies, including the island of Shaypur, who did not share in the blessings of the gods. About 70 years ago, a revolt by Shaypur overthrew the Continentals, and taking the fight to the Continent, they assassinated 4 of the gods. Occupying the Continent, all mention of the Divine is forbidden and worship is banned. This includes Continental history. A Shaypuri academic has come to the capital to study Continental history and is murdered.

A Shaypuri diplomat investigates and finds herself considering the nature of the divine - especially as she is the granddaughter of the killer of the gods. It’s an interesting philosophical point - how much is human nature influenced by the divine - and vice versa?

Recommended.

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3056712.html

I thoroughly enjoyed it, a great bit of political and emotional world-building, with special ops and ancient magic mingling in a dark and uncontrollable combination. ( )

This book reminded me of Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence, particularly Ruin of Angels. It's a world of dead gods, colonialism and conquest, and cities caught between past and future. Those parts of the story are good and compelling.

Unfortunately the world doesn't have the nuance and depth that I found in the Craft Sequence. The cultures/locations are too directly modeled after real world ones. The portrayal of religion, especially Kolkan, feels like heavy-handed messaging about conservative religions. The characters vary considerably in detail/nuance, with some feeling like they're little more than tropes filling a role.

The story wraps up well for the first book in series, but unfortunately that combined with the other flaws doesn't leave me wanting to read the next one. ( )