Robert Jackson Bennett

Shara Komayd, once Prime Minister of Saypur, has been assassinated. News travels fast and far, even to a remote logging town somewhere northwest of Bulikov, where the silent, shaven-headed Dreyling worker 'Bjorn' picks up the newspaper and walks out. He is shocked and grieved and furious; he's been waiting thirteen years for Shara, his closest friend, to reach out to him - to tell him to come home. He's always believed she was running a long operation, that there would be a role for him at the right time. Now he has no one else in his life, and nothing to live for - except to find the people who did this. Sigrud wasn't there for the death of his daughter Signe, and he wasn't there when Shara was murdered. Now Bjorn is dead and Sigrud is back. And he will find answers, for Shara, and for himself. He's made a promise ...

A Novel

City of Miracles

Sade A

Stay with me please. I'm about to launch into what might probably be a 'long winded, not much is being said, where exactly is the structure in this review' almost ever bookish person goes through when they have to talk about a book they love... can't be past tense because i am going to be forever in love with this series....with this book.

"Close your eyes, i'll be here in the Morning"
In City of Miracles, we finally circle back to beloved larger than life character Sigrud Harkvaldsson, except life has done a real number on him. Sigrud is even more human here, struggling with guilt, anger, regret a whole cocktail of them. If Sigrud lived in this age, he definitely would have been a candidate for serious theraphy just to unpack everything he was feeling. Seeing as feelings were never really his thing, Sigrud opts for what he does best: BLOWING SHIT UP. Really good too. But blowing shit up never really gives you answers. Worst part is, dead people can't talk....Well most of the time anyway.

Going to be honest, i did not expect The Divine Cities Series to pack a punch the way it did. The covers aren't particularly begging you to pick them up and to be honest, I read the title 'City of Stairs' and in my head i was like are these people going to be climbing stairs or what? Abeg. I don't have strength for this, and never looked at it again. Better late than never anyways. 

City of Miracles, like its predecessors says: hey, here's a relatively run off the mill fantasy book:
gods acting crazy ✔️
characters who believe they're acting for the greater good? ✔️

But my goodness, I don't know how this author did it, but hands to the book gods, all 3 books got me up in my feels.

Okay, so done rambling and all these to say: This series is fucking amazing. I DO NOT REGRET THE MONEY I SPENT ON IT.
A +++++

Livia

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 

City of Miracles is a stunning accomplishment; it is a marvelous ending to what I now consider my favorite trilogy, and a fast-paced, addictive story in its own right. 

“One should not seek ugliness in this world. There is no lack of it. You will find it soon enough, or it will find you.”

Sigrud je Harkvaldsson was one of my favorite side characters in both City of Stairs and City of Blades, and I was both incredibly excited and more than a little nervous to read his story. Sometimes when a side character becomes the focal point of the story, they seem to lose a bit of their appeal for some reason. That was definitely not the case here. Sigrud has a wealth of experiences under his belt, most of them not good ones. Those experiences have shaped him into the man he is today, for better or for worse. He feels that he really only excels at one thing: violence. Once again, he finds himself in a position calling for violent action, and he revels in it. Until he doesn’t. Sigrud grows so much throughout this book, and I loved seeing him learn from past mistakes and struggle with his past and who that past made him.

“But violence is a tool that, if you use it but once, it begs you to use it again and again. And soon you will find yourself using it against someone undeserving of it.”

While reading the first two books in this trilogy, I kept thinking that Sigrud reminded me of someone, though I could never put my finger on it. In City of Miracles we get to see into his mind, and I finally figured out who Sigrud is reminiscent of, at least in my opinion. He reminds me of Frankenstein’s Monster, the nameless noble savage who cannot seem to separate beauty from brutality. Because there is definitely nobility within Sigrud je Harkvaldsson, but that nobility has been hardened by a lifetime of violence. Sigrud’s tortured inner monologue also reminded me of the Monster, as both struggle within themselves to break free of the savage cycle in which they reside.

“To live with hatred,” says Sigrud, “is like grabbing hot embers to throw them at someone you think an enemy. Who gets burned the worst?”

Mourning has become a way of life for Sigrud. He has lost everything, both through the machinations of fate and the works of his own hands. But he suddenly finds himself in a role of leadership, and must help others deal with the same pain. How do you lose everyone you love and not let it turn you bitter? Or, if it does, how do you let go of that bitterness and move past it? How do you make that pain into a reminder to enjoy what you do have to the fullest, instead of letting it blind you to everything except what you’ve lost?

“What a tremendous sin impatience is, he thinks. It blinds us to the moment before us, and it is only when that moment has passed that we look back and see it was full of treasures.”

I don’t want to discuss plot here, except to say that the one within these pages was excellent. I was afraid going in that this installment would be lacking the mystery element that so drew me into the first two books, because of the spoiler in the synopsis. (If you haven’t read this series, don’t read the synopsis! Go in as blind as you can. Trust me.) And for the first third or so, it seemed that I was right. This book felt more straightforward than the others. But I needn’t have worried. There were definitely mysteries and surprises to be had. I love that these books were so unpredictable. 

“A better world comes not in a flood, but with a steady drip, drip, drip. Yet it feels at times that every drop is bought with sorrow and grief.”

This book also gave me one of the most satisfying endings to a book or trilogy I have ever had the pleasure of reading. It was powerful and moving and just exactly right. I read it through tears, which I think is one of the highest compliments I can pay a book. The only ending I remember ever moving me to this extent is that in one of my favorite books, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. 

“Death, as you know, had to die to understand death. War had to lose in order to understand victory.”

One of the things I love most about this trilogy is how well each book can stand on its own. I would of course strongly recommend reading all three books, and reading them in order. But if someone were to stumble upon the second or third installment and read that first, not realizing that it was part of a larger story, I feel that they could still appreciate it and enjoy it for what it is outside of its counterparts. 

“We are all of us but the sum of our moments, our deeds.”

I can’t recommend this series enough. It is a perfect blending of multiple genres. It is a vivid, potent, multifaceted story. It is comprised of rich, broken characters, who have the benefit of years instead of youth to make them more compelling. It is original and unique and moving. 
  It’s a story that will stay with you long after you read the final page.

Sarah Escorsa

Actual rating: 30 stars. At least.

This is one of the most amazing books I have ever read in the entirety of my entire life. I don't think I will ever recover from it. I cried. I bloody shrimping cried. This is outrageous. This is scandalous. This is disgraceful. Ergo, this is most absolutely, completely, overwhelmingly, beautifully scrumpalicious. 

Robert Jackson Bennett, thank thee kindly. You killed me dead several times over, and I loved every bloody shrimping second of it. Sort of.



Bye now. I shall return. Eventually. Some day. When my City of Miracles Rehab Program (CoMRP™) ends. Please say hi to your great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandchildren for me. AND TELL THEM TO READ THIS BLOODY SHRIMPING SERIES YESTERDAY.

P.S. Sigrud, will you marry me? It's not like you have a choice in the matter, but I thought I'd do the polite thing and ask anyway. You are very welcome, future husband.
P.P.S. Robert Jackson Bennett, will you marry me? Sorry, what? You're already married? And your point is?

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· Book 1: City of Stairs ★★★★★
· Book 2: City of Blades ★★★★★



[February 2016]

Do I want to read this? DO I WANT TO READ THIS? Are you freaking kidding me? I wanted to read this book before I was even born. Now hand it over before I get violent.

Sheila

Add this to the short pile of books that made me cry in public - what an emotional end to this series! The last few chapters really packed a punch, but the book's focus on Sigrud and his story really were what gave it serious emotional heft. Great end to a great trilogy!

Sahi K

“A better world comes not in a flood, but with a steady drip, drip, drip. Yet it feels at times that every drop is bought with sorrow and grief.”

What a series this has been. A series that looks like a blend of fantasy, mystery, adventure but one that on careful interpretation, shows us a reflection of the world that we live in. We can just enjoy this as a wonderful piece of writing or we can imbibe its lessons, learn from the characters and try to better ourselves. 

“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.”

After loving the first two books in the series, I just had to read the final one as soon as I could get my hands on it. But what a surprise it was, also especially dreadful, when I read the synopsis which said that Shara Komayd is dead. Now that’s usually not how books go. You don’t kill main characters at the beginning of the book. This made the book heartbreaking even before I began reading.

“What a crime it is that creatures of hope and justice fade from this world, he thinks, while those like me live on.”

If I felt that bad, imagine the horror that Sigrud feels when he learns the news of her assassination after 13 years of exile spent waiting for a word from her. He decides on his path immediately – revenge – not that we would expect anything less from him. But this path leads him to much more – Shara’s last operation, divine children trying to keep themselves alive, world unknowingly bracing for another battle of the divinities and the ultimate truth about Tatyana.

“But freedom and human happiness has a direct relationship to the number of people who have power over their own world, their own lives. Far too many people still have no say in how they live.”

This book describes Sigrud’s guilt, misery and heartache in such fashion that it’s difficult not to be moved by it. The lives of the divine children are so devastating to read about. There is a lot more miracles to learn about here, more magic, more divine power than we have seen before that time and reality seem warped. I also loved Shara’s presence in this book; her hopes, her dreams, her struggle to make a better world. I was so happy when the world gives her the honor she deserves. The ending is not all what I expected but it’s so apt that now I feel it couldn’t have been anything else. The ending doesn’t aim for perfection but then, the real world is never perfect; just full of possibilities and it’s the people who decide whether to use them in a positive or negative light. And the book left me with tears in my eyes. As I always say, I love books or movies that make me cry. What a fitting end to an amazing world of fantasy.

“Change is a slow flower to bloom. Most of us will not see its full radiance. We plant it not for ourselves, but for future generations.”

“Civilization progresses – one innovation at the right time, changing the very way the world changes. It just needs one big push to start the momentum.”

Nat Welch

Luke Kanies

A strong finish to a great series.

We now center on a character who’s been important throughout but never fully developed.

This one is the most thing on exactly what the heck is going on and why it all works, but what they miss there is made up for in action and characters.

This is more about people and their choices, family and loss, than empire and economics. Again I love the shift in character, rather than a lazy reliance on an already-developed star as the centerpiece.

Ben Nathan

Delightful wrap up to the trilogy. Really top notch story telling. I'm incredibly happy that this was nominated for the Hugo as a series, as it got me to read all three. Also, I wish that this book had also been nominated for best novel, as it definitely deserves that kind of recognition.

Matthew Xu

Excellent conclusion to an already great series. I think I genuinely enjoyed every dimension of this book - between character work, world building, pacing, and prose, Robert Jackson Bennett doesn't miss, even with the high bar set from the first two books. Though each book in the series is presented at face value as a mystery/thriller, the underlying themes of colonialism, inequality, and faith/religion elevate the series beyond "standard" fantasy fare. That's not to say that this book or the series is perfect - I think some of the world wrap-up could have been better - but at the end of the day it was a deeply enjoyable, engrossing, and satisfying close for some really great characters. 

Strengths:

Scope: I love the idea of making major time jumps within a series, and RJB executes this mechanic (and corresponding character growth) really well. With 7 years between the first two books and 13 years between two and three, both world and characters really get a chance to progress and change across the series. This broader time scope also lends a unique sense of consequence to character's actions - many books (and maybe writing in general) are concerned with immediate cause and effect, but seeing those sorts of chain reactions happen over decades and between countries is really cool. For a series that is concerned with literal gods, that immersion really helps create buy-in to the world.

Characters: Each of three main characters across the series is deeply likeable and highly competent - this borders on unrealistic at times, but it's hard to complain when it drives the story forward and makes the mysteries really satisfying to discover. The choice to center each book around a different character from the core group of three also does a lot to change up tone and perspective while still maintaining a sense of a living, breathing world. Despite the extremely macro, global politics context of each of the plots, I also loved that each book is independently driven by its corresponding main character, and that there's this parallel reflection of capital-W "World" stakes and lowercase-p "personal" motivations. 
Despite all the competence mentioned earlier, I also think RJB is very intentional about avoiding any "chosen one" tropes - each of the main characters experiences significant losses throughout the series, sometimes to brutal effect. That said, by the end of this book, I think the main promises and goals driving each of the core three are fulfilled in sometimes surprising, often emotional, but ultimately fair ways. It's a matter of preference, but I personally love the type of bittersweet ending that we get at the end.
 
Weaknesses:

Escalation: As great as the characters and core plots of the books are, I can't help but feel a little let down by the broader arc for the world of Saypur and the Continent across the whole series. City of Blades sets up this fascinating "post-god" world, and while books 2 and 3 start to get at the idea that in the absence of organized religion, capital and imperialism can play the same role as god, most of these meaty questions end up getting hand-waved or simplified. I'm empathetic to the broader challenge this poses in writing a fantasy series - it's hard to get that classic sense of rising stakes and villains when the "big bad" of the world has mostly been dispatched by the time the first book starts. That said, the middle ground that RJB found felt a little contrived to me too, with him returning to the Divinities as recurring antagonists through manufactured new reasons. This definitely lent to more excitement and mystery in each of the sequels, but I personally would have loved a stronger commitment to the idea that the Divinities were truly dead and gone, but that humans still found ways to perpetuate those types of inequality. 
I'll tie this into a broader gripe about the broader "world" impact of the series' ending as well. Without getting too deep into spoilers, I thought that RJB ended up taking a somewhat reductive and maybe too-optimistic solution for a world that has explicit levels of superiority between people. I can appreciate the difficulty of wrapping up a series and wanting to answer these big questions about Society and Equality, but these final choices didn't feel as consistent with the rest of the series. Again, because the books themselves felt much more about the characters than the "we live in a society" angle, this didn't bother me as much, but worth calling out.

Ultimately, I think the mystery, page-turner nature of these books really clicked with me. I'm not sure that type of pacing or lorebuilding is going to work for everyone, but I'm still leaving this series with a strong recommend.

City of Miracles A Novel

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