Having worked in the book Biz for the past 27 years, I am skeptical of advanced reader copies. (They tend to be free for a reason.)

I cannot begin to tell you how AWESOME this book was.
It's a murder mystery with large slices of politics and religion.
Reminds me of China Meiville mixed with Agatha Christie. ( )

Read this.

I almost didn't, wary of the disappointment an over- hyped book can bring. But once I started, it was very hard to put down (sorry, fellow jurors, for ignoring your social overtures during our breaks). Picked as a monthly read, I started right before being called for federal jury trial. At first, I was glad of the opportunity to get in some reading time--nothing better than sitting around reading as the gears of bureaucracy grind away--but imagine my dismay when I was picked. Suddenly my reading time dissipated like smoke. Still, a lunch hour here, a judge's meeting there, and I was able to make serious progress, until I got far enough in the book (and the trial) that I sacrificed sleep for resolution.

A very quick synopsis, but don't let it fool you. The complexity of the story is built well and is by no means a dizzying array of foreign place names and concepts:

The city of Bulikov has been conquered by the Saypur people, its powerful divinities killed or missing, and the history of its religion erased. Much like Greek and Indian gods, the Divinities of Bulikov were very present in their followers' lives. Now, however, it has become taboo to worship, to even speak of the gods or to acknowledge the daily miracles they created for their followers. Shara is a covert operative who has come to Bulikov intending to discover why scholar Efrem Pangyui, who was researching various miracles and mysteries of the gods, has been murdered. In disguise as a new ambassador, she brings her faithful protector Sigrud with her. Shara's Aunt Vinya is the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and gives Shara one week to solve the murder before she needs to leave Bulikov for the next mission. As Shara investigates, not only does she have to confront the possibility that Restorationists in Bulikov are trying to overthrow the Saypur, she has to confront her own past.

Characterization is wonderful. The characters are complex, conflicted, with multiple motivations and loyalties. Even a brief interrogation of an elderly female maid had nuance. Questions are gradually built about Sigrud, at first a seemingly typical silent bodyguard character until the reader is as curious about his history as Shara's. It is also delightful to find an author who uses language well enough to imbue physical description with hints of the spirit. The first time we meet Ambassador Shara Thivani, the assistant sent to meet her notes:

"Pitry finds there is something off about her eyes... The giant's gaze was incredibly, lifelessly still, but this woman's eyes are the precise opposite: huge and soft and dark, like deep wells with many fish swimming in them.

The woman smiles. The smile is neither pleasant nor unpleasant: it is a smile like fine silver plate, used for one occasion and polished and put away once finished."

The setting is primarily focused on the city of Bulikov and receives equally lavish description:

"The house of Votrov is one of the most modern homes in all of Bulikov, but you could never tell by looking at it: it is a massive, bulky, squat affair of dark gray stone and fragile buttresses... To Shara, who grew up seeing the slender, simplistic wood structures of the Saypur, it is a primitive, savage thing, not resembling a domicile as much as a malformed, aquatic polyp."

Like life, such a serious tale of conquered and conqueror is leavened with humor. Much is cynical, based on Shara's sardonic nature and a friend's irreverent one:

"'She gives him a taut, bitter grin. 'And you're still so smugly, blithely ignorant.'
'Is it ignorance if you don't care to know it?'
'Yes. That is almost the definition of ignorance, actually.'"

What builds depth for me is Shara's curiosity about the divinities and their cultural effects, as well as my growing realization that no one here has the moral high ground. The Saypuri were the slaves of the Continentals until they rose up, and a hero killed one of the Continental gods. Now, the Saypuri keep the Continentals on a tight leash, hoping to prevent the return of their oppressors:

"While no Saypuri can go a day without thinking of how their ancestors lived in abysmal slavery, neither can they go an hour without wondering why. Why were they denied a god? What was the Continent blessed with protectors, with power, with tools and privileges that were never extended to Saypur? How could such a tremendous inequality be allowed? And while Saypuris may seem to the world to be a small, curious people of education and wealth, anyone who spends any time in Saypur soon comes to understand that in their hearts lives a cold rage that lends them a cruelty one would never expect. They call us godless, Saypuris occasionally say to one another, as if we had a choice."

Something about this reminds me of Guy Gavriel Kay in its finely balanced blend between personal and political, the past and present and love and family, all woven through with the miraculous and colored with lyrical language.

I'll be adding it to my library and looking for more from Bennett.

Update from 2024: Read with older eyes (literally) and a great group (waves at Alexandra, Jonathan and Nataliya!). Still fabulous, but I have more thoughts.
It isn't quite as subtle as I remember. The beginning is, certainly, but the developments with the gods is less ambiguous than I would have liked, given their relationship between their worshippers and themselves. Are the worshippers in fact, getting what they want? The extreme behavior of the godly rules (however many pages on dancing, for instance) mean that it is easy to come down on Shara's 'side' of the story. Anyway, these are minor quibbles. The plotting is interesting and the last third of the book intense/unstoppable. A fascinating cast of characters--I felt like I got to know the four --Shara, Sigrus, M. and V. quite well. Incidentally, I did add the hardcover and an ebook copy to my library. ( )

I only picked this up because I wasn't certain it was fantasy- it was. Good grief, what passes for entertainment! Writing is not bad, but not great. Fantasy is just not my interest I suppose... but I have enjoyed a few fantasy novels and this wasn't close. ( )

“City of Stairs” came highly recommended by many friends and I was so looking forward to a murder mystery, an espionage story, a post-war drama, a piece of fantasy, and alternative history. Yes, maybe the sheer breadth of this should have forewarned me but what can I say…

The story was… mediocre: A lot of divinity-this, divinity-that, people who want to bring back the “golden days”, profiteers, evil brothers, aunts, and other relatives. In short: lots of bullshit.

Also, the characters: Shara, the granddaughter of the Kaj, the saviour of his people, and the killer of gods, faultless master spy, genius, is our heroine and she’s… boring. Absolutely, breathtakingly boring. She keeps being lucky and only in the end do we see her dealing with her evil scheming aunty. In between, she mostly lurches from one disaster to the next.

Part of her luck is called Sigrud. An almost excessively inventive name for what amounts to a Viking. Huge, strong, pragmatic, silent, world-wise, a perfect companion and bodyguard who fights his way into and out of hell.

Also: Steampunk. I hate steampunk; steampunk's illogical and impractical approach to technology is so annoying: They have cars but the term “battle-axe” is still present. They have “common firearms” but shoot bolts from crossbows. They have gunpowder and combustion, they work many kinds of metal and into huge projects to boot but they use traditional sailing ships.

As so often, steampunk here, too, feels more like a superficial exercise in aesthetics than a thoughtful exploration of science fiction or social commentary. And yet there’s a lot of heavy-handed kitchen philosophy to be found in this.

Worst of all, though: This novel is so boring! Nobody is relatable and I didn’t give a rat’s ass about anybody. Despite featuring quite a few characters, most of them essentially “sound” and “feel” alike. For example, Shara and Mulaghesh sound exactly the same from what they say and do.

The writing is nothing special either: There are absolutely no highlights but no crimes against language either. In its mediocrity, it feels very fitting.

Since the ending was at least somewhat amusing, this garners it two stars instead of the one I originally intended.

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Ceterum censeo Putin esse delendam ( )

Refreshingly brilliant

My goodness, am I a happy reader or what? This book is complex, mature, heartbreaking. It is also quite a wild ride. The world-building starts off slowly, and then the speed just keeps increasing. By the end, it’s a landslide – an excellent way to plot your novel.

The world is impressive – and so are the themes the author tackles. We begin by seeing everything through the conqueror’s lens. Yet nothing is black and white. The oppressed (they have endured hundreds of years of slavery, hundreds of years of horrors) became the oppressors, and the once powerful people are now the oppressed. Look, see what is does to both. The new conquerors have ended gods. They have outlawed magic and brought… well, they have brought progress: plumbing, running water, science, gender equality, etc, etc. The conquerors have also erased history, robbed people of their heritage, their culture, their stories. So, which team are you cheering for, dear reader? You are on the side of progress, I suppose, but how much should progress cost?

“Historians, I think, should be keepers of truth. We must tell things as they are – honestly, an without subversion. That is the greatest good one can do.”

And if the “good guys”, aren’t really all that good, what shape will your journey of realization take, how will it begin?

“But you must know that if the corruption is powerful enough, it’s not corruption at all – it’s law.”

I also love what Robert Jackson Bennett does with organized religion, faith, and the relationship between people and their gods. It’s wise and it hits you hard.

But I did mention the landslide and a wild ride? Yes, there are also deadly spy games, assassins, ancient horrors come to life, crazy magic, and (last but not least) cool characters with great backstories.

I’m team Shara in many things – you’re awesome, Shara! – and this includes tea.

“Coffee refreshes the body,” says Shara. “Tea refreshes the soul.” (And then you’re all set for saving cities and whatnot.)

Sigrud is one of those characters that you’d love to have at your side when having an adventure. I would like to thank my buddy readers for pointing out that he is basically a Murderbot. There is lots of lovely Sigurd action. Everyone: OMG, monster, help, run, what do we do... Sigrud: “I can kill it.” And then he does.

The ending is a great setup for the next book, but not a cliffhanger to make you run after it. I like that, it gives this book time to settle in my mind, put down roots, make me think some more.

(Just a very minor thing: I didn’t quite understand what the deal was with the absolutely ridiculous pseudo-Russian names. Adding flavour to your world is fine, but may I recommend more than one Google search?) ( )