CITY OF STAIRS

Love, love, love it.

DNF (60%) When you read the book, it’s very evident, the amount of work was put into writing this novel. So much that, at first, I gave it three stars. Even though I had every reason to hate it (like the fact that it was a pain to read, I didn’t like the protagonist or any other character except Mulaghesh and I’m pretty sure it has gotten me into a reading slump), I didn’t think it would be fair to rate it badly. But then I decided that two stars is as fair as I can get for a book I couldn’t even finish. Now, the effort I was talking about. The world created by the author is very complex. There is so much history and so much to know that you could write a whole book just explaining different aspects of it. A lot of planning was done, obviously. But that’s also where things went wrong. Because the author did write a whole book explaining different aspects of the world. I swear to God, this book is an endless history lesson. There is so much information dumping that there’s hardly time for anything else. And while it’s interesting, it can get tiring too. The plot gets lost to the point when you have to wonder if there is one. And it makes the pace of the story slower than a snail’s. Not to mention, all the aspects are very derivative. I had trouble finding anything that wasn’t reminiscent of something else. A large part of the world built is, I’m sure, from the muslim religion and greek mythology. There are probably other religions and mythologies incorporated that I’m unfamiliar. It even reminded me of Harry Potter. So yeah, it lacks originality. Then there’s the protagonist. Shara is a very undecided character. She doesn’t have much of an opinion and so she doesn’t fight for anything. She’s like a stormtrooper, mindlessly following orders and not wondering whether she’s on the right side. Except she’s crap at that too. She’s a historian with the wrong job (I’m not sure what her job is. It got lost in the history lessons) and she is completely and utterly useless. Hasn’t done anything since the beginning of the book. And her narrative sounds like that of a 25-year-old, at best — which is a decade younger than it’s supposed to. There are also inconsistencies in the novel; moments of random swearing that are very out-of-place. Maybe it was an effort to make the book more adult or accessible, but it’s just awkward. One minute they’re talking like someone from 19th century England, and the next, someone’s dropping f-bombs. Overall, I didn’t like it and I don’t recommend it. It’s gotten a lot of praise though, so I wouldn’t ask you to dismiss it either. Read at your own risk. You might enjoy it, especially if you’re a history buff. I’m not.

I am a late arrival to “Robert Jackson Bennett’s celebration party” having only recently discovered him when I picked up a copy of his brilliantly imaginative murder mystery “The tainted cup”. So I decided to dip into his back catalogue and have just read this first book in one of his earlier trilogies “The Devine Cities” to see if he really is the great writer everyone has been talking about. And despite the very different subject matter and narrative structure of this book, I can honestly say he is! This first book in this epic trilogy has the daunting task of setting up a very complex world and introducing us to some deeply flawed and layered characters. He has to create an entire world that includes the existence of 6 Divinities, a tapestry of different religions and doctrines, a violent history that spans thousands of years, a political structure of the different nations and races, a lore where magic might exists in both an ancient and modern world setting, a class system at war with one another, a mythology that speaks of monsters and heroes, and a deeply rich academic structure that explores history, philosophy and idealism of this imaginary world. On top of all that he also had to create a world full of interesting characters and a plot that was as complex as it was exciting, with some of the most incredible action sequences that are guaranteed to leave you breathless. No small feat for an author, particularly so early on in his writing career. So it was completely understandable that it took until about 50% of the way through the book before things really started to get going. Now some authors might have chosen to intersperse the world building within the narrative progress of the plot, so as not to slow things down or risk losing the reader’s interest. But Robert Jackson Bennett brought most of his very complex world building to the first half of this book, making it quite a hard, factual read (although this is an approach I think he readdresses in some of his later works). But if you can stick with it, then this is a brilliant book which reaches for something way outside its grasp and, by some miracle, goes beyond it. And that is in no small part due to some of his fabulous character writing and his amazing sense of when to up the drama before bringing down the emotional hammer. Having read this book on my kindle I somehow wished I had read a print version that maybe included a glossary or map to help me keep tabs of all the different character and place names, historical events, different countries and nations, religious groups and factions. In some ways though, you can keep reading past all the questions that pop up in your head like “now who was that person again” or “who were they the God of…” and go with the flow of the book as the questions tend to sort themselves out if you stick with it. But it’s the drama and character growth that he has no problem nailing. And you don’t need a glossary for those. In fact the last half of the book is a real page turner, with a finale that contains a series of kick-ass action sequences and an emotional speech that gets you cheering and punching your fist in the air. Now if you are considering reading this book (and I would highly recommend you do) please savour the time you spend with Shara and other two main characters: Sigrud and Mulaghesh. In this first book all three of them are together. But in the next two books we get separate stories for Mulaghesh and Sigrud as the author explores their journeys in the next two books. They say you sometimes feel bereft when a book comes to an end because you don’t want to leave the world you have just read about. But I think that the reason you do really feel so bereft is because you don’t want to say goodbye to the people you have met along the way. And Robert Jackson Bennett writes characters in such a way that makes it very difficult to say goodbye to them when you turn that final page. And the City of Stairs is a perfect example of this. 4.5 Stars

Great book. Always good to find a new author.

Primo volume di una trilogia fantasy, dalle tematiche originali. Ambientato in una città dopo una guerra devastante sia dal punto di vista ambientale che culturale-religioso, è un mix di spy story e thriller politico con 2 personaggi principali che sono ben caratterizzati. Una piacevole novità.

Lo compre como recomendación de un amigo y al decir verdad, aunque no es del todo mi tipo de lectura, me encanto, me pareció sumamente entretenido e interesante, sin duda alguna lo recomiendo!

Ótima aventura fantasy\sci-fi fora do já batido cenário pseudo-medieval europeu, com ótimos personagens e uma trama que mistura espionagem, deuses, colonialismo e ação.