City of Miracles

Pros: emotional punch, multi-layered plot, great characters

Cons:

It’s been thirteen years since Sigrud last saw Shara Komayd, but the news of her assassination still hits him hard. When he goes looking for those who killed her, he stumbles into a series of plots started years past. He also has to locate and protect her adopted daughter, Tatyana, from Shara’s enemies.

This is the third book in the Divine Cities trilogy. While it was possible to read book two of this series as a standalone, the personal connections and plot twists of book three require having read at least the first book, though I’d recommend reading both before starting this one. Knowing the close connection between Sigrud and Shara is what propels the first half of show more this book, with Mulaghesh making an appearance and Signe’s name showing up several times. But it’s Shara’s presence that infuses the story, and Sigrud’s regrets regarding his treatment of the women in his life that completes it.

In many ways this book takes the plot of City of Stairs and brings it full circle, explaining some of the mysteries that book left open as well as some of the mysteries surrounding Sigrud himself.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Sigrud as the main point of view character considering how straightforward he is. But he’s quite fascinating once you get into his mind. And while he isn’t the planner that Shara was, he’s quite intelligent and figures things out pretty fast.

It would have been nice to get to know Tatyana better, but I loved Ivanya. It’s strange seeing the future of a fantasy world, and seeing how people affected by the great events in one book pick up the pieces of their lives - or transform themselves completely - because of them. Ivanya is cool under pressure, having prepared for years for what’s coming.

The plot has several layers to it, some of them get pulled back quickly, while others take a while to be revealed.

This is a brilliant end to a brilliant series, and I’m not ashamed to say that it had me in tears several times. show less

City of Miracles is an excellent conclusion, the last piece of the puzzle that fits just so. It starts off as a hard-boiled revenge story – there are several chapters that are perfect action blockbusters and should be enjoyed as such – but develops into something deeper, darker and much more interesting.

We’re used to Sigrud being badass by now, right? “Just once,” he thinks, “I would like to think of a solution that does not involve me nearly blowing myself up.” It’s there still, but the book dives deeper into the nature of trauma, the cycles of violence, the corruption that any kind of power brings.

“You have made a weapon of your sorrow.”

“He was afraid to try to be decent, because he felt sure that he would show more fail.”

This is not only about Sigrud, of course. There are several characters that believe that their pain and anger has made them righteous, given them the moral authority to make fateful, horrible decisions and take revenge. The villain of the book believes this – he is creepily, brilliantly written. (No, I am not writing his name, because if you say the name, he will come to you, and you really really really don’t want that. Ew.)

Another theme is letting go of your power or choosing not too wield it. You may not like all the choices the characters make, but it doesn’t mean that all of the choices are wrong. No one has the moral high ground in City of Miracles.

I think it’s a good idea not to wait too long between the books of the trilogy. Then the emotional impact of certain conversations and reunions between characters will be so much stronger, all the layers of meaning visible. I really liked the scene where Mulaghesh and Sigrud meet again, people of many losses that they are.

(As an aside, I was glad to see Mulaghesh doing so well, and doing so well by the end of the book, too. If there was a new novel about her just doing politics, I would read it with pleasure:
“I am cursed,” says Mulaghesh, “with an abundance of things I wish to say, as we are well aware, Prime Minister.”)

One of my favourite parts was the interplay and the relationship between Sigrud and Taty, with him becoming an unexpected father figure. They end up rescuing each other in tragic and beautiful ways. The last chapter was perfect, I thought. show less

City of Miracles stops circling and cuts to the heart of the The Divine City trilogy, the nature of the gods, and the nature of justice. It opens explosively, literally, as an assassin uses a bomb to kill ex-prime minister (and protagonist from the first novel) Shara. Sigurd, who has been living underground as a wandering manual laborer, now has one last mission: REVENGE.

Of course, it isn't that simple. The job against Shara was more than politics, it relates to that fate of the Divine on the continent, and the children of the dead gods. Most are wandering orphans trapped in perennial childhood, but one, Nokov, god of the night, was found and turned into a weapon by the Saypuri military decades ago. Now, he seeks to ascend to his full show more power, and Sigurd and few desperate refugees are all that stands in his way. Sigurd has to make sense of a career of desperate violence, his strange history with the divine, and the nature of power, as he tracks down the ultimate conspiracy. show less

In 2014, I picked up City of Stairs with no idea what to expect but just hoping for a good story. What I ended up getting was more than a good story. It was a fantastic one that covered a multitude of topics and even multiple genres through superb writing and outstanding world-building. I was hooked on this weirdly familiar and yet totally strange world of Continentals and Saypuris, gods and politicians, haves and have-nots. The second novel, City of Blades was just as compelling for it used the passage of time on the original heroes to further that first story while the use of a new main character and location provided enough differences to make it unique. The final book in the Divine Cities series, City of Miracles, also uses time to show more its advantage, but it also does something the second novel did not. By occurring in Bulikov again and through following Sigrud on his revenge mission, Robert Jackson Bennett brings readers full circle, showing readers how far society has come since that first otherworldly battle while providing satisfying closure on an amazing series.

I thoroughly enjoyed the chance to get to know more about the silent weapon that is Sigrud. He has always been a formidable figure, happier in the shadows where he can do what is necessary with no fanfare and more importantly no police. While he still does his work in the shadows, this time we still get to see what he is thinking as he does these rather gruesome deeds. We see his regret and loneliness, his resignation and his devotion to his lost friend. This greatly humanizes him. Moreover, it changes your impression of him from a weapon for hire to someone with less enthusiasm for the role assigned to him than originally thought. Sigrud becomes less a menacing figure and more someone worthy of your sympathy at the unfortunate twists his life has taken. In turn, this changes your opinions of all of those who have utilized his lethal skills to great advantage in the previous novels, making them a bit more mercenary than previously thought. By the simple act of shifting the narrative to someone who was nothing more than a silent weapon, Mr. Bennett added more depth and nuance to an already complex story.

Suffice it to say, if you are reading City of Miracles, it is because you have read the previous books and are already a fan. For those readers, City of Miracles provides a welcome conclusion to this impressive story. It is not a rehashing of the previous novels but rather a continuation of them, touching on many of the same themes but allowing them to mature and evolve as naturally occurs over time. Mr. Bennett’s writing remains stellar; his ability to create humor and pathos while providing a light bulb moment all in the same sentence continues to amaze and delight me. In short, it is everything we have come to love about the Divine Cities series with the added bonus of closure on key characters and story lines. show less

Some authors always manage to surprise me. Bennett is one of them, with each book I've read a very different flavor from the other. Characterized by complex characters, his stories tend to have vivid world-building and plots that explore the relationship between mundane and divine. City of Miracles is the third book set in the Divine Cities, and although one could read and enjoy it perfectly well as a stand-alone, part of the richness in the story comes from the history of both the world-building and the individual characters, particularly the relationship between Sigrud and Shara.

City begins bloodily, shockingly, a definite departure from the ex-Prime Minister Shara's quiet study in [b:City of Stairs|20174424|City of Stairs (The Divine show more Cities, #1)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394545220l/20174424._SY75_.jpg|28030792], or Mulaghesh's slovenly cottage in [b:City of Blades|23909755|City of Blades (The Divine Cities, #2)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426255519l/23909755._SY75_.jpg|43516764]. It begins with a back-alley killing and then a vicious attack. Sigurd, Shara's bodyguard and comrade in City of Stairs, hears of Shara's assassination while working a logging job in the middle of nowhere. He swears revenge, rapidly makes his way to the city where Shara disappeared, and sets to tracking those responsible.

Stop me if you heard this before.

It's true; Bennett started with classic revenge fantasy plot, giving it, of course, his own lovely spin on the emotion and the world. Shara is "a woman so esteemed and so notorious and so influential that everyone seems to be waiting on history to get around to judging her so they can figure out how to feel about her tenure as prime minister. A person made of the stuff of legends." The story is very much colored by Shara and her legacy, a point that probably will have the most impact for those who have read the series.

Even more than her political legacy, she was the only person remaining that connected Sigrud to humanity. "He looks down at his hands. Scarred, worn, ugly things-the left, especially, its palm brutally mutilated using a Divine torture method long, long ago. I was only ever meant for one thing, he thinks. He slowly makes fists. The knuckles pop and creak unpleasantly. Meant to practice one art. How just it feels that now I shall do so." It remains brutal while Sigrud seeks his revenge, and only folds into more gentle emotion as he discovers a remaining connection to Shara and the project she was working on.

I'm often hooked by the dual plot technique, the immediate mystery with a larger background and unanswered questions. The assassin is soon unmasked, but that only leads to questions about what Shara was working on and who the mastermind is. Is Shara still alive? Like Sigrud, the reader can't quite believe that she is dead. This is the world of miracles, after all, although the age of the Divine seems to be mostly over. When Sigrud decides to (light spoiler) protect Shara's adopted daughter, it leads to more questions. It felt unusually plot/event driven to me, more so because I associate Bennett's writing with detailed character memories, seemingly non-conflict focused events and general world-building. City of Miracles is very exciting and very hard to put down.

A lovely bit of writing that describes the antagonist:

"The first night that humanity experienced. Before light, before civilization, before your kind named the stars. That's what he is, that's how he works. He is darkness, he is shadows, he is the primeval manifestation of what's outside your windows, what's beyond the fence gate, what lives under the light of the cold, distant moon..."


Narrative is largely third-person, focusing on Sigrud, but there are a few character viewpoints shared throughout the story, giving insight into the conflict and the character of the antagonist. Although this technique often annoys me because of its lazy application to escalate tension, in this case Bennett uses it to bring both emotional depth and tragedy to the antagonist. It's one of the fascinating things about Bennett's writing that seems to flavor all his works, that exploration of damage, of choice and of evil. The ending, while non-unexpected, is sob-worthy. Good stuff.

"Some things even a miracle can't suppress, I guess. Sometimes I wonder if we're little more than walking patchworks of traumas, all stitched together." They sit in silence for a moment, watching the waves churn and roil under the overcast skies.


*Quotes taken from an ARC and may change in the published copy.

And for my friend, Cillian:



In 2024, many thanks to the Blinkovski group who elevated my re-read: Alexandra, Jonathan and Nataliya. A pleasure reading with you all! show less

Shara Komayd has been assassinated and, although it has been thirteen years since he last saw her, Sigrud de Harvaldson vows to hunt her killer down and exact revenge. But he soon discovers that since he left Shara, she was involved in actions and events that he couldn’t possibly have guessed or anticipated and he now finds himself way over his head – he had thought his biggest problem would be finding the villain but that, it turns out, is only the beginning of his story.

City of Miracles by author Robert Jackson Bennett is the third and final installment in The Divine Cities series and oh what an ending it is. Bennett expands on the world he first created in City if Stairs and added to in City of Blades, a huge and complex world show more in which he seamlessly blends the modern and the mundane with the fantastical, full of gods and demi-gods, amazing cities and architecture, and fully-realized and mostly sympathetic characters who made it easy to care about their fates. This final book is action-packed and engrossing and kept me glued to the page from beginning to end. It answers many of the questions raised in the first two books about the gods and their children and who Sigrud really is. This is, yes, a story full of violence, loss, and heartbreak but there is also quiet moments, redemption, and even a little humour.

Although City of Miracles could be read as a standalone, much of the story is tied to events from the previous books and the story wouldn’t have the same impact. Besides, this a great series, each book expanding on the world and its inhabitants, and it would be a shame to miss it all. That aside though, this is a very satisfying end to the series and I can’t recommend it highly enough for fans of really really well-written and engrossing fantasy.

Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

City of Miracles is the closing volume in Bennett's Divine Cities trilogy, this time focusing on Dreyling prince turned criminal and spy Sigrud je Harkvaldsson. Following events at the end City of Blades, Sigrud has spent years living in exile, drifting through odd jobs and waiting for his friend Shara Komayd to bring him back into the espionage fold. But instead, news reaches him that Shara has been assassinated, and Sigrud takes up a quest both to avenge her death and to protect her adopted daughter Tatyana from mysterious enemies. It turns out that Shara was not quite retired from her research in (and conflict with) Divine influences.

As with the previous two books, the world building remains a major strength, although this book isn't show more limited to a single city as a setting. The nature of the Divine beings and their miracles is expanded, and the climax is just as bombastic as in the first two installments.

I think this was my least favorite of the trilogy, if only because I found Shara and Turyin Mulaghesh to be more compelling protagonists than Sigrud, who is a bit one-note. (Both play small roles in this book; posthumously, in Shara's case, though of course she didn't go down without setting backup plans into motion.) That said, it is nice to get a more nuanced look at Sigrud's character: He's in no way stupid, and his single-minded, brutal killer shtick becomes important to the story as he develops beyond it. In fact, several common revenge story tropes get twisted or undercut to good effect here. Still, this story didn't feel like it flowed as naturally from the second book as that one did from the first. Overall, though, this was an enjoyable finish to a great fantasy series. show less