Robert Jackson Bennett

Sent to a backwater colony that was once a god-supported conquering power, spymaster Shara Divani investigates the brutal murder of a historian and uncovers evidence that the city's divine protectors may still be alive. Original. 25,000 first printing.

A Novel

City of Stairs

Apiecalypse Jen

met a person who possessed a privilege who did not exercise that privilege to the fullest extent that they possibly could. Say what you like of a belief...of a party...of a finance system..of a power. All I see is privilege and its consequences. States are not in my opinion composed of structures supporting privilege but of structures denying it...in other words deciding who is not invited to the table.

This was a very nice book. At times, it was confusing but overall, I loved the characters and the plot. Sigrud was a miracle through all of this. The beginning was okay but what made me really like the book was the end. I will definitely read the other books in the series.

Colleen

4 Stars

My 400th review on Goodreads!!
 

I have mixed feelings about City of Stairs. It has some wonderfully unique ideas. It’s genre spanning. Its symbolism is deep and allegorical. It has so many strong elements. But on the other hand, it was missing that special spark, that extra something humming beneath the words to make me truly connect with the story.
 
The story is set a in a fictional world that used to be ruled by fierce gods. But the gods are dead or long missing. Magic has mostly faded from the world and an industrial revolution has taken hold. The Russian-inspired city of Bulikov ruled prime when they had the power of gods behind them, but when their godly benefactor died, their previously enslaved nation of Saypur rose against them and conquered them. Now Saypur rules over Bulikov, keeping it repressed both economically and culturally. Because of the violence committed by Bulikov in the name of religion, Saypur enacts harsh laws forbidding the people from practicing any religion and from even studying their own history. At the start of City of Stairs, Bulikov is a pot ready to boil over. When a Saypuri scholar is murdered, they sit on the edge of an international incident that could well lead to another war.
 

   “The Divine may have created many hells,” he says, “but I think they pale beside what men create for themselves.” 

The story itself is a strange mix of Fantasy and Mystery and political Suspense with a sprinkle of Steampunk on top. I can definitely say that the combination was done in a unique way. I greatly enjoyed the combination of Fantasy and Mystery. In fact, the story focuses more on the murder mystery initially. It opens with an actual courtroom scene which is the first time I can recall reading an actual courtroom legal battle in a Fantasy book. The genre has plenty of rulers passing judgements, but legalese and formal law? That’s uncommon with Fantasy. But it sets the stage both for the worldbuilding as well as introducing the political intrigue of the story.
 

   “Nations have no morals,” says Shara, quoting her aunt from memory. “Only interests.” 

While the concepts certainly grabbed my attention right away, it took me a while to get used to the writing. Bennett has a strange writing style that was not always supple. The bulk of the story is written in present tense – which I admittedly am prejudiced against. But the writing would switch tenses sometimes. Mostly it switched to past tense during the flashback scenes, but it would also randomly happen throughout the rest of the book. And when it would suddenly switch tenses, it would completely dislodge me from the story. I found it too distracting. There were also too many flashbacks. Flashbacks should be used sparingly. But in City of Stairs, they were the main source of information so there had to be a lot of them. I wanted to get on with the main story but was frequently dragged back to random pieces of the past necessary to make the present plot line even remotely coherent. That didn’t help the plot or the character development. I don’t like character development that hinges on past information. Because that isn’t really character development. Your present-day character is the same throughout; it’s the audience’s view that changes as they are handed the missing puzzle pieces at a frustratingly slow pace.
 
Speaking of the characters, that was another facet that I had mixed feelings about. As with the worldbuilding, some of the character ideas were stronger than the execution. The main character is Shara Thivani – a diplomat who is really a spy trying to solve the murder. She is erudite but lacking in physical capabilities. She is also largely lacking in personality. The basic sketch of Shara sounds awesome: she is this super-smart spy with a mysterious past using brains over brawn. She sounds like a character I should love. But damn was she lacking in charisma. And some of that does tie into her backstory. She tries to embrace cold logic over emotion. But I think she was the main reason the story lacked spark. I just didn’t care about her. The side characters were far more interesting. In particular, Governor Turyin Mulaghesh – a career officer who eats lead and spits bullets and is probably best described as “a tough ole bird.” She had a lot of great snarky remarks and despite her tough shell was easy to like. And then there was Shara’s “secretary” Sigrud, a badass warrior with a mysterious past much more interesting than Shara’s mysterious past. I loved Sigrud. If he had been the main character, City of Stairs would probably be a five star book!
 
The story has a sluggish start. About the first quarter of the book is drawn-out setup. If the concepts had not been so intriguing, the first quarter of the book would have been extremely tedious. The worldbuilding took a while. Since it is so different, it had to start from scratch. Perhaps different enough to be out of some people’s comfort zones. It isn’t a mainstream or high-concept story. I liked the end result but not the road to get there. The elements were incongruous that at first the story seemed to lack any cohesion. So while the mashup of many ideas and genres is a selling point of the book, it is also a drawback. It is perhaps a little too sprawling and trying to be too many things at once. I absolutely appreciate that the author colored outside the lines so to speak and created something genre-bending. But the overall story would have greatly benefitted from more focus.
 
The action scenes were good but so sparse. There are only like two and half of them. The rest is mostly dialogue. And as I mentioned, it takes quite a while for the plot to gain momentum.
 

   “Humans are strange… They value punishment because they think it means their actions are important—that they are important. You don’t get punished for doing something unimportant after all.” 
 
Now, I know I’ve talked more about the faults in the story than its strengths, so it probably sounds like I didn’t enjoy it much. But I mostly did. It is a unique cross-genre. The magic versus machine mentality in an industrial revolution age gave it a slight flavor of steampunk. The book explores a lot of heavy topics. And despite being set in a made-up world, much of it was relevant to our world. It had some compelling food for thought particularly about how mankind manipulates history and religion for their own purposes. There was a lot of symbolism and allegory. It did meander close to the boarder of being too allegorical (alla Pilgrim’s Progress). The opinions are explained clearly and loudly, so what started out subtle quickly edged close soapbox territory. But I appreciated the sentiments.
 

  “But you must know that if corruption is powerful enough, it’s not corruption at all—it’s law. Unspoken, unwritten, but law.”
 
City of Stairs has a lot of interesting ideas but it lacked that extra oomph to make it five stars. I will definitely read the next book, but I hope it takes the good elements and strengthens them while whittling down the rougher areas.


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 4 Stars 
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 4 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 4 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

An atmospheric and intrigue-filled novel of dead gods, buried histories, and a mysterious, protean city--from one of America's most acclaimed young fantasy writers. The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy. Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov's oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country's most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov's cruel reign may not yet be over.

Sade A

🖤
Where does one even begin with this review?


  
    "The city knows. It remembers. Its past is written in its bones, though now the past speaks in silences"
  


City of Stairs is one of those rare fantasy books that has everything.
gods✔
Mystery✔
Comedy✔
Engaging Characters ✔
Plot?💯
Heart? You've got that in spades.

The City of Bullikov has lost its history because someone somewhere has said its history is dangerous. But as we come to learn in this book, history always has a way of reminding us what we need to know.


  
    "History will not let us forget: It wears disguises, reintroduces itself to us, claims it is someone new and wonderful...But it will not let us forget"
- Efrem Pangyui
  


There's this recurring theme in some fantasy books that loss of history is the bedrock, the foundation for conflict. Books like that in my opinion, always come out glowing. City of Stairs is one of those books. 

🖤🖤
Beyond the plot, the main stars of this book are the characters. There's something about when fantasy authors give you characters that are independent of them. Characters that are fallible and oh so human, characters that can fail or win, be happy or sad. Characters that feel real. They make the story their own and as a reader, when you get such 3 dimensional characters it is always such a delight because they feel like real people, people you can in one way or the other, probably relate with. As i said an absolute delight.

🖤
The plot itself is also pure heaven. What starts out as an investigation into the murder of a Saypur citizen, unearths history better left buried. Within the murder mystery in this fantasy world, Bennett brilliantly includes sub themes that were it absent, would leave this book feeling unfinished. We touch on the harm religion can cause people who are deemed different, the relationship between gods and their followers -It should be noted that the author is never heavy handed where religious themes come up. This is of course the pay off from having good 3 dimensional characters the thoughts always seem like they are the characters-, the scars people carry from loss, love and friendship, acceptance of self, weighing morality against the interest of nations.
The book really packs a punch.

🖤🖤🖤
All in all, I am so fucking thrilled I finally got around to reading this book.

Livia

Shara is one ruthless, intelligent, woman who takes no bullshit from anyone and isn't ashamed of who she is in the end, so if you don't stan her, there's something wrong with you.

If you read the first chapter and you're already wanting to dnf this book, honestly same, but please just ignore the first chapter and get those juices

Celeste Richardson

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions. 
 “Time renders all people and all things silent. And gods, it seems, are no exception.” 
I have a confession to make. I purchased this trilogy in February of 2017, even preordered the final installment though I hadn’t read the first two. I just knew that it was a trilogy that I would love based off of the synopsis. There is nothing in the realm of fiction that I love more than unique religions and overt philosophizing. While setting and characterization and plot and prose are what make a book function, the books that make me happiest are those in which religion and philosophy play a vital part. However, even though I was almost positive that I would love Bennett’s trilogy, I kept putting it off for some reason. Petrik finally convinced me to give in and read it, and I’m so thankful that he did. It was everything I hoped it would be and more.
 “[She] had never realized until that moment what books meant, the possibility they presented: you could protect them forever, store them up like engineers store water, endless resources of time and knowledge snared in ink, tied down to paper, layered on shelves… Moments made physical, untouchable, perfect, like preserving a dead hornet in crystal, one drop of venom forever hanging from its stinger.” 
The above quote perfectly expresses how I felt about this story. It had lived on my shelf for a long while, simply biding its time until I pulled it from the embrace of its companions, opened to the first page, and allowed it to blow my mind. The book was so much more potent that I could have hoped, and I’ve thought of little else both while I was reading and after I closed the cover for the last time. 

 (Before I really dive in to the review, please be aware that there will be some light spoilers, but nothing specific. These will be descriptions of the world built by Bennett that can be found in the synopsis or within the few couple of chapters of the book. Also, this is a much longer review than I generally write; I had too much to say to keep it short. Consider yourself warned!) 
 “The Divine may have created many hells, but I think they pale beside what men create for themselves.” 
Once upon a time, gods walked the earth, performing miracles and leading their followers in the ways they desired to go. The Divinities that revealed themselves were: Olvos, the light-bearer; Kolkan, the judge; Voortya, the warrior; Ahanas, the seed-sower; Jukov, the trickster, the starling shepherd; and Taalhavras, the builder. Between them, these Divine beings led the people of the Continent and build for them a land of wonders. But the Continent wasn’t the only land in this world, and the people from other lands were treated as slaves and worse by the Continentals, and had no Divinity of their own to protect them.
 “If we were only meant for labor, why give us minds, why give us desires? Why can we not be as cattle in the field, or chickens in their coops? … If we are but a possession of the children of the gods, why do the gods allow us to grieve? The gods are cruel not because they make us work. They are cruel because they allow us to hope.” 
But one day, the Saypuris, as one such slave race were called, rose up against their tyrant masters across the seas. The Kaj, their leader, created a weapon that could not only wound but actually kill a Divinity. And so Saypur cleansed the Continent of their protectors, and the slaves became the masters. Not that they viewed their conquest as enslavement, mind you. No, they were merely stepping in to care for the people of the Continent as they adjusted to their harsh new world. For you see, without the Divine, the miracles that they had known their entire lives had no ties to the earth. As each Divinity breathed their last, every miracle they had ever created blinked out of existence.
 “Whole countries disappeared. Streets turned to chasms. Temples turned to ash. Stars vanished… In short, a whole way of life—and the history and knowledge of it—died in the blink of an eye.” 
Saypur has outlawed any mention of the Divine on the Continent, while they themselves are free to study the forbidden history of the people they conquered. But in spite of all the Regulations Saypur has put in place, the memory of the Divine still hangs over the entire world like a storm cloud. No amount of fines or regulations can erase what the people hold in their minds and hearts. And nowhere is this more pronounced than in Bulikov, the capital of the the Continent. City of Walls. City of Stairs. Most Holy Mount. Seat of the World. Bulikov was and is all of these things, and one has but to look at the miraculous wall encircling the city or the thousands of sets of stairs leading up to nowhere to be reminded.
 “The city knows. It remembers. Its past is written in its bones, though the past now speaks in silences.” 
 “In Bulikov, every piece of history feels lined with razors, and the closer I try and look at it, the more I wound myself.” 
Bulikov is one of the most fascinating settings I’ve come across in fiction. It’s a place of secrets and depth and confounding plurality. I loved this description of the skyline:  “Columns pierce the gray sky again and again, stabbing it, slashing it. It bleeds soft rain that makes the crumbling building faces glisten and sweat.”  Isn’t that one of the most atmospheric descriptions you’ve ever read? 

One of the first things that struck me was how technologically advanced the setting was compared to the majority of epic fantasy. (And yes, I do think this fits the epic fantasy mold. I think N.K. Jemisin definite the genre beautifully here, should you care to read more.) I’ve never come across epic fantasy that felt like urban fantasy as well, but that’s exactly what this was. Here we have modern conveniences like automobiles and indoor plumbing brought into the city by the Saypuris, while many of the Continentals continue to live in relative squalor, refusing to accept technological replacements for the miracles they’ve lost. But Saypur honestly cares little for advancing the Continentals, despite their public stance on outreach. More than anything, they occupy their former enemy to prevent said advancement. They want to keep the Continent in their shadow, instead of ever allowing their roles to be reversed again.
 “Your job is to make sure that the past never happens again, that we never see such poverty and powerlessness again. Corruption and inequality are useful things: if they benefit us, we must own them fully.” 
Our main character is Shara, a political spy for Saypur’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But Shara is conflicted about her job, even though she’s amazing at it. She’s come to Bulikov without permission to solve the murder of a close friend. Shara is incredibly intelligent and easily overlooked. She uses both of these qualities to her advantage, sniffing out clues that others would never catch. I loved her as a main character. There was no whininess here; just quick wits and determination and subterfuge. Her physical appearance is utterly unremarkable, which serves to make her even more dangerous. Shara has experienced pain and grief and betrayal, which made her a richer character. She’s a treasure, and her mind was a joy to experience.
 “Scars are windows to bitterness—it is best to leave them untouched.” 
Of our secondary characters, the three most important are Governor Mulaghesh, a war hero who is counting down the day until her retirement; Vohannes, a wealthy Continental City Father who was involved with Shara in the past; and Sigrud, the brawn to Shara’s brain. Sigrud was hands down my favorite supporting character. He’s such an unapologetic badass. I loved his friendship with Shara, and his willingness to get things done. There’s one particular scene involving him that was perhaps the most epic scene involving a single character I’ve come across in any book, ever.
 “The world is a coward… It does not change before your face; it waits until your back is turned, and pounces…” 
While I loved the setting and the characters and the mystery of the story, again I have to say that my favorite aspect of the book was the religious/philosophical element. There were so many questions raised here. Within the confines of this series, did the Divinities create their followers, or did man create the Divine? If the gods of this world were truly Divine, then how could they die? If man created the gods in their own image, then were all of their decisions, no matter how brutal, products of man’s unspoken desires?
 “Look at them! They’re praying to pain, to punishment! They think that hate is holy, that every part of being human is wrong.” 
“Humans are strange. They value punishment because they think it means their actions are important—that they are important. You don’t get punished for doing something unimportant, after all.”
We as humans are as varied as snowflakes. What works for one often does not work for everyone. When opinions can be manifested as edicts, were does that leave those who don’t fit the mold? It leaves them cast out. It leaves them punished for being themselves, for viewing the world differently than their neighbors. 
 “Namely, I am ashamed that I was asked to be ashamed, that it was expected of me… I am sorrowful that I happened to be born into a world where being disgusted with yourself was what you were supposed to be. I am sorrowful that my fellow countrymen fell that being human is something to repress, something ugly, something nasty.” 
I’m a Christian. I believe in one God, a God who created us to be unique and free-willed. I believe that He was here before the dawn of time, and that He is bigger than we could ever imagine. I believe that He is unfathomable, and yet He is an open book who loves us and allows us to make our own decisions, even if they harm us. I believe that man has used God and His manmade counterparts throughout the centuries as excuses to wage war on his fellow man, and to excuse his hate and small-mindedness. Bennett’s book opens with one of the best explanations of religious persecution and hatred I’ve ever read:
 “You blessed us as Your people, and we rejoiced, and were happy. But we found those who were not Your people, and they would not become Your people, and they were willful and ignorant of You. They would not open their ears to Your songs, or lay Your words upon their tongues. So we dashed them upon the rocks and threw down their houses and shed their blood and scattered them to the winds, and we were right to do so. For we are Your people. We carry Your blessings. We are Yours, and so we are right. Is this not what You said?” 
While I might not agree with Bennett’s worldview on all points, I have immense respect for his depth. The story he wove here is mindblowingly good. It gave me an incredible amount of food for thought. I’m already discussing it with my family and trying to convince them to read it. 

On a final note, can I just say that Bennett’s prose is superb? I don’t usually include this many quotes in a review; in fact, I often forget to include any at all. But I have around 40 highlighted passages in my Kindle copy of this book, and they were just too good not to share. Not only am I excited to finish this trilogy, but I can’t wait to track down everything else that Bennett has written. I love how he crafts a story. I’m pretty sure that I’ve discovered a new favorite author, and am already trying to decide what books I’ll be moving from my special shelf to make room for this trilogy. 
 “Life is full of beautiful dangers, dangerous beauties… The wound us in ways we cannot see: an injury ripples out, like a stone dropped into water, touching moments years into the future. 
I recommend this series to anyone who appreciates depth in their fiction. If you want a story that will not only enthrall you but will make you think and grow and question, this is the series for you. City of Stairs was so genre-defying that I feel it can be recommended to anyone. It’s a mystery, chock full of suspense and shocking revelations. It’s an epic fantasy, with a creative magic system and a lush mythology. It’s an urban fantasy, with action lurking in every alley. It’s a horror novel, with creatures that will haunt your nightmares. It’s a philosophical treatise, a religious dissertation, an anti-colonialism critique. It’s without a doubt a book worth reading, and I can’t praise it enough.

I buddy read this with the ever-lovely TS. Thanks for making an amazing experience even more wonderful, love!

Naomi J.

How do you kill a god? And what happens next if you do? This spell-binding story hides a philosophical exploration of secularism and history and culture, and plays with ideas of the nature of divine beings and human ones. Alongside some political intrigue, a murder mystery, and all kinds of multi-generational karmic and prophetic consequences. I could have given this 4.5 stars, as it just occasionally found me ahead of the curve in guessing what would happen next, and some of the writing wasn't *quite* perfect. But I've leant towards five stars, because this is a simply captivating story. Amazing world-building, rounded characters and believable theology are thrown into the mix for free. I've pre-ordered the next one already.

Alost

Alice Hyman

The premise of this book is bizzare to the extreme and I love it. For some reason (even though the characterm technology, magic system and world the vibe reminded me of the first Mistborn novel. The plot is really driven by political intrigue which surrounds an awesome political system itself. We follow Shara, who is like James Bond and Sigurd who is like a BUILT Moneypenny. No seriously Sigurd needs to be protected at ALL COSTS. 

I love it the religous systems have utterly morally grey or just evil Gods. It may come from my love or Norse/Greek/Roman Mythology but things are so much more entertaining when the gods are having the celestial version of sibling rivalry and mostly have forgotten about human existence. 

“The Divine may have created many hells, But I think they pale besides what men create for themselve”

Sarah Escorsa

Previous rating: 20 stars. 

  New rating
: 22 stars. Because why the shrimp not.

➽ 
  And the moral of this rereread is
: this book. This Bloody Fishing Book (BFB™). It is Slightly Extremely Good (SEG™) and stuff.



➽ 
  And the other moral of this rereread is
: Colonel Turyin Mulaghesh, I want to be you when I grow up. Now let's dance and stuff.



P.S. Sigrud = YUM, just so you know. 

· Book 2: City of Blades ★★★★★
· Book 3: City of Miracles ★★★★★



[March 2017]

· Aww Yeah We Are So Doing this Again Buddy Reread (AYWASDtABR™) with some People of Stupendelicious Good Taste (PoSGT™) over at BB&B ·

Previous rating: 8-10 stars. I obviously read the book VERY wrong the first time around.

  New rating
: 20 stars. Now that's more like it.

➽ 
  And the moralsssssss of this reread are
:

① This book is so Bloody Shrimping Scrumptious (BSS™) I might die. Or worse, I might cry *shudders* 

② Bloody shrimping hell, I feel like I've been sucker punched. Which is slightly orgasmic.

③ This book features some of the bloody shrimping mostest awesomest final chapters in the history of bloody shrimping mostest awesomest final chapters. QED and stuff.

④ Anyone who hasn't yet read this bloody shrimping book should die a slow, painful, somewhat excruciating death be kicked out of Goodreads. And then fed to the crustaceans.



P.S. Shara + Mulaghesh + Sigrud = poof! Gone! Harem! = MINE MINE MINE.



[Original review: January 2016]

● Mostest Interestingest and Thought Provoking Buddy Read Ever (MIaTPBRE™) with my dear wives Choko and Maria ●

★ Actual rating: 8-10 stars. I kid you not ★

» Okay. I was going to write an ever-rambling, fangirl-unleashing review for this book. But I can't. Because it's so bloody brilliant (not the unborn review, the book, you silly! *eyeroll*) that speechless is me. Well, more or less. As speechless as I can get, anyway. Which is not very speechless. But hey, you never know, you might get lucky one of these days. Don't abandon hope all ye who blah blah blah! But I digress.

» So City of Stairs has been sitting on my Kindle for two years. What does that tell you about me? That I'm a complete, total, utter idiot, that's what. Then again, the blurb being what it is, it's nothing short of a miracle that I ever considered picking this book up. The thing screams "pretentious, overly descriptive contents inside." But I am not afraid and always up for a challenge, so I told my little self: "be bold! Be brave! You survived Dukes, and Mermen and babies, oh my! You can definitely survive a silly fantasy book about Gods and geopolitics! Besides, you managed to finish The Eye of the World and therefore became invincible! You can do this, Sarah! Nefarious is you!" ← self pep talk ends here.



Which loosely translates to: bring on the Murderous Crustaceans, I can totally do this!

I know, I know, I said that this book had left me speechless. Guess what? I lied. Moving on.

» Now tell me something: how often do you come across a truly original, unique world? A world that is complex but so well-crafted that even Crappy Historical Romance readers (view spoiler)[I love you too! (hide spoiler)] would understand what's going on? Anyone? No? That's what I thought. Not often, that's how often. And the more books you read, the more you feel like you're reading the same one over and over again. Not with City of Stairs, you don't. Because this book is nothing short of amazing. Flabbergasting. Astonishing. Astounding. Mind-boggling. And that's about enough of that, because if you read the book and end up thinking it's pure crap, I'm pretty sure you will (choose all that apply): 1-never let me hear the end of it 2-rehash it until the end of days 3-kick my (view spoiler)[lovely (hide spoiler)] ass 3-make me read YA Paranormal Romance until my dying day. So let's put a leash on the fangirl. Let's take the Murderous Crustaceans to a relaxing yoga class. Let's be calm and reasonable. Yes, calm and reasonable is definitely me. So, why did I like City of Stairs? Because it is a very good book. See? I've got this restrained, dispassionate, subdued thing totally under control (view spoiler)[
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

 (hide spoiler)] I'm getting so delightfully undemonstrative in my old age. It's positively heart warming, isn't it?

Yes, yes, I know I know I know, time for me to get back on track. Again. I'm doing my best here, okay? Sheesh, people, calm and reasonable might be me but patience is definitely not you.

☢ Warning: this is where I cut the crap and actually start talking about the book. You're welcome ☢

» The Continent, a country ruled by six Gods. Saypur, a country enslaved by The Continent. But that was before. Now the tables have turned. The slaves have become the masters. The Gods are dead. Persecution has changed sides. A deceptively unimportant historian is found dead on Continent soil. Shara Thivani, a seemingly inoffensive Saypuri diplomat, is sent to investigate the murder. And so it begins. Doesn't sound like much, does it? That's exactly what I thought when I started reading this book. Look at me now.



I promise this is the very last calm, reasonable and mature gif I will post in this review. Cross my heart, hope to die and all that crap.

» This book was a disaster waiting to happen. A world so rich and complex, with so many underlying themes, could and should have been a pompous, confusing mess. But it wasn't. Because of Bennett's masterful storytelling. This is a book about politics, religious fanaticism, history, slavery, persecution, ambition, government, patriotism, cultural hegemony, betraying virtue for the greater good, discrimination, resilience, resistance, oppression, revenge, ethnic cleansing…and more. You would think a book approaching such subjects would be overwhelming. Grandiloquent. Difficult. Depressing. Boring. Well it is everything but that. Bennett never lectures, his style is straightforward but not simplistic. He keeps the reader engaged and highly entertained from start to finish, and at the same time gives him/her a lot to think about. And when I say "a lot," I mean "A LOT." The book resonates not only with past historical events, but also with what is going on in the world today. It's captivating. It's amazing. It's pretty mind-blowing. And seriously impressive.



Yes, I wear my seriously cool yellow outfit, strike a seriously awesome pose and blow up some seriously dramatic fireworks whenever I'm seriously impressed. Low-key is me.

» Time for you to ask me a question. (view spoiler)[
   What question? Why do I ALWAYS have to tell you everything?! Sigh. You really are going to be the death of me someday. Sigh again. Just ask me why the book is so impressive. Come on, do it, it's not like I'm going to unleash my vengeful wrath on you if you don't. Well not today anyway, I'm way too tired for that. I might do it tomorrow, though
 (hide spoiler)] Oh look, someone wants to ask a question! This is so cool! So much interaction today! I'm listening! "Why is this book so impressive," you ask? Because, despite the very thought-provoking questions Bennett raises, the book is fun to read. As in FUN to read. It's fast-paced and intriguing. It's absorbing from start to finish: murder mystery, great banter, fantastic fights, bloodshed, humour, cool creatures, miracles, friendship, deviousness and trickery, unexpected twists and revelations...this book has it all, I tell you! 



Yes, I tend to play the piano on my cat whenever I get overexcited.

» The characters are an awesome bunch: Shara (aka the little battle axe), the seemingly unassuming diplomat/spymaster (I want to be her when I grow up). Sigrud, the giant bloodshed-loving secretary/pirate. Mulaghesh, the cigarillo-smoking, ever-cursing, kick-ass army vet/governor (I'm in love with that woman). And Vo. Oh, Vo. And [spoiler spoiler spoiler], you, you, you @%$*@!!! And Urav, you delightful little pet. And the Gods. Oh, the Gods...Kolkan, you twisted bastard. And [spoiler spoiler spoiler], you hot [spoiler spoiler spoiler]. Damn, the characters in this book are so cool, even the lowly bureaucrats are fun to read about! But you know what is really great about these characters? They are all flawed. They are not wholly bad or good. They screw up. Their motives are sometimes dubious. And that makes them feel real. Add to that fantastic character dynamics, and you get the aforementioned awesome bunch. Simple as that. Ha.



Yes, this is me expressing my excitement in a very subdued, mature way.

►► And the moral of this calm, cool and collected review is: this book is entertaining, thought-provoking, intelligent and captivating. With a rich, masterful, atmospheric, unique world-building. And fantastic characterization. And an exciting plot that keeps you guessing until the very last page. And I liked it a little. Mind you, it's not that I LOVED it or anything. Oh no. I just thought it was almost tolerable. Almost. Need I say more? Didn't think so. Bye now.

priya

1.5 stars

TW: gore, violence, battle, misogyny, racism

“Thus it was quickly decided that Pitry—being young, cheerful, and not in the room at the time—would be the best man for the job.”

“Professionalism and the incompetence of the local authorities are very different things.”

“Knowing how to kill a god would help you sleep better?”
A flippant shrug. “Such are the burdens of power,” says Vinya.”

“With no small amount of disbelief, she begins to wonder if her aunt has somehow been compromised. Could someone possibly gather enough material to own and control the heir apparent to the prime minister’s seat? A corrupt politician, thinks Shara sardonically. What a wildly unconventional idea.”

“The more you are at sea,” Sigrud explains, “the more you learn. And the more you learn, the more help and assistance is a troublesome bother. Dealing death, after all, is a solitary affair.”

“The Divine may have created many hells,” he says, “but I think they pale beside what men create for themselves.”

“Shara slowly closes the window shutters. Her hands are trembling with rage. Never has she felt so utterly and completely victimized: it’s as if she watched her own character assassination take place right before her eyes, helpless to stop it.”

Sheila

"And Olvos said to them: “Why have you done this, my children? Why is the sky wreathed with smoke? Why have you made war in far places, and shed blood in strange lands?”
And they said to Her: “You blessed us as Your people, and we rejoiced, and were happy. But we found those who were not Your people, and they would not become Your people, and they were willful and ignorant of You. They would not open their ears to Your songs, or lay Your words upon their tongues. So we dashed them upon the rocks and threw down their houses and shed their blood and scattered them to the winds, and we were right to do so. For we are Your people. We carry Your blessings. We are Yours, and so we are right. Is this not what You said?”
And Olvos was silent.
—BOOK OF THE RED LOTUS, PART IV, 13.51–13.59"


A great read! I felt a lot of influence from Max Gladstone's Craft Sequence in this book, especially concerning divinity and godliness as a construct of humanity's collective desires and will. A little mystery wrapped in an enthralling fantasy! 

Shara is a compelling protagonist whose thirst for truth and discovery I enjoyed. Her companion Sigrud was equal parts amazing and unintentionally hilarious. Even the supporting characters were fascinating! Can't wait to read the rest of this series.

Sahi K

“The gods are cruel not because they make us work. They are cruel because they let us hope.”

– Anonymous Saypuri quote
City of Stairs is the definition of an amazing, fantastic, awesome, must read book. I can’t believe that I had never heard of it until a week ago. What you have here is fantasy at its best – very original, high concept, superb world building involving lots of history and some extremely fascinating characters who will be remembered for a long time.

The world here is composed of two main regions – Continent and Saypur. Continent ruled and oppressed Saypur for centuries with the help of six Divinities ( Yes!!!! Actual Gods 😱) until seventy five years ago, Saypur rose up in rebellion, killed the Gods and became the new oppressor. Bulikov, the capital of the Continent was left almost ruined with poor and destitute people who are now forbidden from even acknowledging their Divine history. But as everyone knows, just because you don’t want history to be remembered doesn’t mean people have forgotten. Into this city simmering with discontent comes Shara Thivani aka Komayd – best spy of Saypur masquerading as a junior diplomat trying to solve the murder case of her friend/mentor. What starts off as a murder mystery transforms into so much more – an epic fantasy worth the genre.

This book has it all – geopolitics, faith, religious fanaticism, oppression, persecution, slavery, racism, patriotism turned cynicism but also ultimately hope. Shara starts off as a spy trying to find a murderer but stumbles into a much larger conspiracy. She struggles with the realization that most of the history she has studied may be based on lies.

“History, after all, is a story, one that is sometimes wonderful. But one must remember it in full – as things really were – and avoid selective amnesia.”
But what she does next defines her as a good person, compassionate, able to place the greater good of the people above her personal well being. Her giant of a man secretary cum security Sigrud seems like a nonstop killing machine until his transformation towards the end. Knowing his history in the meantime makes it all the more heartening. Mulagesh, the polis governor of Bulikov is an amazingly kick ass military colonel who is fed up with the disastrous policies she is forced to implement and just wants to retire to an island but ultimately makes a choice in the best interest of the people. The remaining characters though appear infrequently are still very important to the narrative and are developed so. On the whole, this is a brilliantly written book that has all the elements I could have asked for. The best part about it though is that in spite of being rich in world building and history, it’s also a fast paced entertaining read which will fascinate and thrill any lover of books. All I need to do next is finish the series.

“Humans are strange. The value punishment because they think it means their actions are important – that they are important. You don’t get punished for doing something unimportant, after all. They think the whole world was set up to shame and humiliate and punish and tempt them…. It’s all about them, them, them, them! The world is full of bad things, hurtful things, but it’s still all about them.”

Nat Welch

This book was a fun mix of religion, fantasy and spy-craft.

Rina

This is so good! It was a bit slow-going at first for me but I once I got a grip on the world, the politics and all, it was so interesting. The major nations - Bulikov and Saypur - have very distinct cultures and beliefs and it was obvious that their relations were bad. Equal parts action and political maneuvering, this may start out like a murder mystery as Shara acts to solve the murder of her former mentor, but as the story progresses it becomes so much more than that. City of Stairs was a fun and quite thought-provoking read with fantastic characters. I’m eager to continue this series.

Luke Kanies

I ripped through this book. The world creation was fantastic, the characters were strong, and I loved the treatment of the up and downsides of empire, the bitterness of revenge, and the easy ways in which we accidentally do evil when trying to do good.

Nickie Mohler

I received a copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads. This book started off slow for me, but I am so glad I stuck with it! It was a great book. Shara Thivani is sent to Bulikov to investigate the death of her friend and colleague. She finds so much more than the reason behind his death. The world-building is amazing. After I got used to the different names and started to get into the story, I couldn't put it down. Shara and Mulaghesh are great characters, but I have to say that Sigrud is my favorite! I would recommend this book to everyone. I hope their is more to come.

Chantale

When I read the description of this I wasn't sure it would be a book I would like but I gave it a shot. I am so glad I did because boy was it good. Well more than good...It was fantastic. Very well written and I have to say I couldn't put it down. 

I highly recommend City of Stairs

Ben Nathan

Fantastic (in every sense of the word) world building happening here. Everything makes sense in how it works, even when it doesn't seem like it should. Great flow to the story and some really cool characters too.

Anna Pinto

O ritmo é meio lento, mas o worldbuilding é original e os personagens são interessantes.

City of Stairs A Novel

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