City of Blades (The Divine Cities)

Robert Jackson Bennett's latest novel is a sequel to his acclaimed City of Stairs, which I read for the first time only a few days before beginning City of Blades. That may have been a poor choice, as the new book is quite similar in structure to its predecessor. Again the protagonist is a representative of the now-dominant Saypuri government visiting an occupied, resentful Continental city to investigate the mysterious fate of someone associated with that government. Again the protagonist discovers that an old acquaintance with whom she has a difficult history is a powerful figure in local circles, one who may end up helping or hindering her investigation. And again what she discovers suggests that the gods of the Continent, murdered by her people generations ago, may not be as dead as they seem.

Of course I've structured this summary to emphasize the similarities (not all of which I've mentioned here) and downplay the differences. And of course playing with formula is part of the appeal of many ongoing series. But while Bennett's characters are as charmingly warped as ever, it takes a long time for City of Blades to feel truly distinctive, and there's a deeper level on which it can't help but lack the appeal of the first book. Part of the pleasure of City of Stairs was working out the history and metaphysics of the setting; the very nature of that universe was as much one of that novel's mysteries as what had happened to Efrem Pangyui. But this time, we already know all that. The only way City of Blades can innovate there is by giving its particular city and deity a unique and memorable identity. And while there are certainly some unforgettably unpleasant images and deliciously twisted concepts, they're thinner on the ground than they were in the first book. As a dark urban fantasy, this novel is undeniably weaker than City of Stairs. And yet in thematic terms, this may be the better book.

City of Stairs set up powerful ambiguities concerning oppressors and oppressed with the complex history of Saypur and the Continent, and by focusing more directly on military realities City of Blades really digs into their ugly nature. Bulikov was seething with tension, but the occupation of Voortyashtan is an even grittier affair, and Turyin Mulaghesh's dark past, while easy to predict and rather long in being confirmed, personalizes the novel's meditations on warfare and justice. At times Bennett's characters can behave like caricatures of anti-heroic toughness, but when it counts he doesn't shy away from the psychological consequences of their actions. Its horror imagery may be less vivid, but in the long run this is a darker book than City of Stairs, its moral ambiguities harder to resolve, its tragedies more emotionally punishing. Together, they represent a substantial achievement in contemporary dark fantasy, and I'm eager to see where Bennett takes the series in the next book, City of Miracles. Readers who like their weird fiction to be thoughtful and meaningful without sacrificing entertainment value should not miss these novels.

This was one impressive read! I read the first book in this series, City of Stairs, a few months ago and really enjoyed it so I was really excited to finally get around to reading the second book in the series, City of Blades. A lot of times the second book in a series doesn't quite live up to the first so I was a bit worried going into the book. There was no need for any worry because as good as the first book was, this one was even better. I had such a hard time putting this book down and when I was away from it, I couldn't get it out of my mind.

I had really expected this book to focus on the same group of characters and I was somewhat wrong. The main character in this book is Mulaghesh who did play an important role in the first book but was not the lead character. I liked Mulaghesh in the first book but I absolutely loved her in this installment. Getting to learn some of her back story really opened up her character. She is tough, smart, and somewhat haunted by her past. I love the an older woman who has seen and done a lot of things is the person at the center of this story.

This book takes place in Voortyashtan which was very different than the setting of the first book. This meant that while some of the world building did build on the what was established in the previous book, a lot of this world was entirely new. The City of Blades ended up being something I would have never imagined but as it was described it I almost felt as if I were there. I really feel like there is almost no boundaries with what this series can explore.

The story in this book was very exciting. I did think that some of the earlier parts of the book were a bit tedious as I tried to figure out what was really going on. When the story took off, it really didn't let up. There are so many different things to solve that are all interconnected. The story took quite a few twists that I didn't see coming. I was a bit nervous as I read because I had no idea how things would work out for Mulaghesh and everyone.

I would highly recommend this book to others. This is the second book in the series and I do think that this series really needs to be read in order. The stories are not a continuation but the events of the first book really impacted the characters and the world they live in. I can't wait to see what is going to happen in City of Miracles!

I received a review copy of this book from Random House Publishing Group - Broadway Books via Blogging for Books and NetGalley.

City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett is the sequel to City of Stairs. In many ways, it continues the original story of war, colonialism, repression, history, and not-quite-so-dead gods. But this time, Bennett dives deeper into the personal costs of war and how memories and scars of killing, victories, and defeat never truly heal, as well as how the drive for forgiveness and revenge can keep the cycle of violence continuing long after the ceasefire is signed. This is another fantastic book by Bennett in what is one of the more unique, layered, and surprising fantasy series going today.

When City of Blades begins, we find that the protagonist of City of Stairs, Shara Komayd, has become Prime Minister, but her time may be running short as the opposition party grows. So she guilt trips newly resigned, now former General Turyin Mulaghesh to visit a hotspot, Voortyashtan, to solve the mystery of a Saypuri who went missing. Like I said, there are details here that will remind you of the previous book. But don’t let that dissuade you from reading City of Blades. A new country, a new focus, and new dangers make for an engaging read. But the manner in which Bennett presents them, gives them an emotional resonance and eye-opening significance makes this book stand out.

No surprise having read City of Stairs, Bennett’s world building excels again here. Just as Bulikov, a city broken by the death of its gods, was a fully rendered, so too is Voortyashtan. It’s a complex, fractured island whose tribes were once devoted to a goddess of war, destruction, and death. Now the island’s inhabitants must deal not only with the consequences stemming from the death of that goddess, but also with a Saypuri fortress in their midst and the Dreylings building a port and establishing a facility that looks to linger long after the construction contracts are fulfilled.

Naturally, the locals aren’t happy, so they are launching attacks on the Saypuri fort and personnel. And while danger and violence threaten to boil over, Mulaghesh must also get to the bottom of a newly discovered substance that seems to show divine properties even if it doesn’t strictly register as divine when tested. But the Voortyashtani goddess is definitely dead. Everyone knows the story. So are the tests wrong? Or is this a new god? Or something new, something that survives a divine death? Mulaghesh will have to act quickly if she is going to answer these questions before war (or worse) breaks out.

As enjoyable a character as Mulaghesh was in City of Stairs, Bennett really elevates her in this book, showing how the General became the gruff, feared, respected person she is today. I won’t get into spoilers, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading Mulaghesh’s backstory. Which isn’t to say it’s light and funny. No. It’s marked by a horrific experience early in her career. One that she has forever tried to recover from, one that leaves her wondering if she has another fight left in her.

And I want to pause here to commend Bennett for creating an older woman as his protagonist. It’s a rare thing in fantasy (but check out A Crown for Cold Silver if you want another good, recent example). Oh, and Signe, the lead Dreyling engineer, also has to be highlighted as another one of Bennet’s wonderful characters. She’s young, ambitious, and hungry–and an excellent contrast to the older, more jaded Mulaghesh.

Although this book checks many of the boxes of epic fantasy–rival countries, wars, rebellion, a magical power that could destroy the world–City of Blades is a very personal story, spending a lot of time inside Mulaghesh’s head and focusing on memories, shame, regret, growth, forgiveness. About how the baggage of our past can weigh us down unless we find a way to deal with it. And so I think Bennett has done something wonderful with this book. It’s not an epic fantasy that you put down after reading it. It’s a book that forces you to confront deeper issues, uncomfortable issues, and really consider how you think about them.

Like I said earlier, this is a fantastic book. It’s a must-read.

City of Blades is one of those sequels that takes a peripheral character from the original novel and makes her into the central character. Normally this fails abysmally, as people want more of the main character(s) from the first novel. In this case, we get very little of Ashara. The book focuses on General Turyin Mulaghesh who was the Bulikov city governor in City of Stairs. Also, halfway through, we see the return of Sigrud, although he's no longer the focused killer that he was in Stairs. Despite this, I enjoyed it completely and was hard-pressed to put down the book.

Lots and lots of character development here. The basic theme is General Mulaghesh dealing with her inner demons from a military campaign she participated in when she was sixteen, but we also get Sigrud trying to mend his relationship with his daughter. Ashara Komayd, now the prime minister, manipulates Mulaghesh into investigating the disappearance of an operative in the continental city of Voortyashtan. An amazing substance has been discovered near that city, one that will revolutionize electrical power transmission, and the operative who disappeared was sent to investigate. Mulaghesh arrives under cover of a vacation and begins to unravel the mystery, finding a much larger problem. To complicate matters, the commanding general at Voortyashtan was also her commanding officer when she was sixteen, which helps propel her personal issues to the forefront.

Recommended.

Five years after the attack at Bulikov, general Mulaghesh retired from her position in the military. Enjoying her life by the sea or trying to before Shara Komayd drags her back into the line of fire. Now she has to go undercover to find out what happened to a fellow Sayour and to see if the item she was studying is divine.

I loved City of Stairs so of course I jumped at the chance to read the sequel. I liked this one but I liked the first one so much more, it took me a little longer to get into this story. I liked the characters, though those names are hard to get around. Mulaghesh was so blunt so it was very entertaining to read her parts. I do wish there would have been more Sigrid, he was my favorite in City of Stairs. I guess I should just appreciate that he was in it at all.

One of my favorite things about this series is how creative the world is. Bennett, does an incredible job describing the setting to the point that it felt like I was seeing everything for myself. The plot, the storyline, everything about this book is so unique and exciting that it was really difficult to put the book down.

If I had to complain about anything it would be the lack of Shara and Sigrid but since it is a different book it's hard to be mad at that. This series has become a favorite of mine and I can't wait to see what Bennett does next with this world. I recommend this book to everyone, I think everyone should read this series because it has something everyone can enjoy.

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."

City of Blades is the sequel to the phenomenal City of Stairs. While City of Blades references events from the first book and expands upon its world building, the plot of City of Blades is separate. Theoretically, you could read it without having read the first book.

After centuries of rule by the Continent and it’s gods, the nation of Saypur was able to kill the Divinities and gain freedom. Now, eighty years after Saypur killed Voortya, goddess of death and war, the retired General Turyin Mulaghesh is being sent to the city once under Voortya’s domain, Voortyashtan. She is to look for a Saypuri agent who went missing while investigating a mysterious ore with possibly miraculous properties. She soon begins to wonder what happened to the afterlife created by Voortya and the dead warriors supposedly inhabiting it…

While there are many things about City of Blades that may seem familiar from City of Stairs, it is the thematic differences that really distinguish this book from its predecessor. City of Blades is a book about war, death, and what it means to be a solider. As you might expect from the thematic material, it can be a dark read at times. These ideas echo across not only the plot and setting, but the life of the protagonist, General Turyin Mulaghesh.

“Out of the service and adrift in the civilized world, she couldn’t tolerate what she’d done. She tried to bait the world to kill her, to do the thing she had no courage for. But it wouldn’t. Life went on; it just kept happening.”

When she was sixteen years old, Mulaghesh lied about her age and joined the army to fight against an ongoing rebellion in the Continent. The things she saw and did during the Summer of Black Rivers changed her forever.

“She couldn’t erase the past, but maybe she could keep it from happening again.”

Mulaghesh is bitter and cynical and quite likely suffering from PTSD. She’s over sixty years old and has lost a hand during the Battle of Bulikov five years ago. She is tired of death and war, yet she will do what she has to to protect those who serve under her.

Characterization in City of Blades is phenomenal, particularly when it comes to Mulaghesh. She’s a protagonist I will remember for years to come. Not only is she superbly written, how often do sixty year old female general as a protagonist in a fantasy novel? Actually, City of Blades does a roundabout fantastic job when it comes to including interesting and prominent female characters.

The world Bennett has created is so vivid and imaginative. These two books have had some of the best world building I have ever seen. The city of Voortyashtan with its eerie remnants of the divine was wonderful.

The novel starts out somewhat slow, with Mulaghesh finding different pieces of the puzzle. The action ramps up at the half way mark, but even then the book never really reached the “I can’t put it down” quality for me. There was also a plot twist that I saw coming.

I would highly recommend City of Blades for anyone who’s read and loved City of Stairs or is looking for an inventive and well written fantasy novel.

I received a free ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. City of Blades comes out January 26th 2016.

Diving back into this epic, unique world where the old gods may not be so dead as many believe, and conspiracies are primed to explode. This time the story follows impressively feisty General Mulaghesh and takes us to a new, unique setting in this one of a kind world. The story is compelling and interesting, filled with mythology, past trauma, and memorable characters that are introduced and return. The visuals are wonderfully described which made for some terrifying moments in the story. I really loved the different aspects of the mystery and how the conspiracy unfolded. I absolutely loved the mythological aspect of the story, which made for some fantastic twists and a very intense ending. Mulaghesh was a great character to follow, since she took nothing from no one. I loved the flashbacks we were given in terms of her history, which was tragic and made her a rich, layered, and sympathetic character. These books are wonderfully written and definitely one of a kind, and you don't want to miss out on them!

Retired war hero General Turyin Mulaghesh is sent to the city of Voortyashtan on a sort of tour to count down the days until she earns her pension. That’s the official story, anyway – actually, she’s there to covertly investigate a new metal that just might be related to the supposedly dead gods of the Continent, and figure out why the last person sent to investigate the issue ended up missing. Voortyashtan is complicated, though, and there’s a lot more going on than meets the eye.

I enjoyed City of Stairs when I read it last year, but not as much as a lot of other people. Mulaghesh was one of my favourite characters in the book, though, so I was pretty thrilled that she was going to be the protagonist of City of Blades. She does not disappoint – she’s a curmudgeonly one-armed war hero that’s unabashedly competent and won’t take any nonsense from anybody. She starts off the book pretty tired and lost, but once she enters problem solving mode, there’s no one I’d rather have on the case. She’s got a unique perspective and it never gets tiring to look through it. I would read a whole series of books about Mulaghesh.

City of Blades starts off with a pretty similar premise to the first book – a Saypuri is sent to a hostile Continental city to investigate possible Divine intervention – but it quickly evolves into its own thing. It helps that it doesn’t have to do all the worldbuilding that City of Stairs had to; the world of these books is complicated, and it was good to be familiar with how it all worked. The world does get extended, but in a very natural way. The martial Voortya is a pretty interesting god to explore, and Mulaghesh is the perfect person to understand her.

The new characters introduced in this book are pretty cool, especially Sigrud’s engineer daughter Signe. Sigrud is back as well, and he seems much more like a real person, which was great. I was a little bit frustrated with the character arcs of the villains – I can’t say more without spoilers, but I wished that they were less stereotypical. It’s a minor flaw in an otherwise terrific book, though.

I’m looking forward to the third book, City of Miracles – I think that’s going to be the last book. Sigrud is going to be the protagonist, which I’m more excited about thanks to his development in City of Blades.

Next time you’re in one of those annoying arguments with someone displaying their ignorance of the genre by sniffing about it being “escapist fare” lacking in depth, substance or relation to our modern world, don’t bother talking. Just hand them Robert Jackson Bennett’s newest work, City of Blades, and walk away. No need for words because believe me, you just won. Because City of Blades is perhaps the most moving, most powerful exploration of war I’ve read since Tim O’Brien’s classic The Things They Carried. Bennett’s novel may not have the structural and stylistic brilliance of that work, but due to its evocation of war’s lingering impact on not just the individual soldier but also on the countries’ involved, its searing indictment of those who glorify battle or speak/act casually with regard to war, and its unblinking examination of all the horrible choices war places before individuals and nations, City of Blades is a lock for my Best Books of 2016 list. And no, I don’t mean Best Fantasy/Sci Fi Books. And yes, I realize it’s only January. I stand by that guarantee. It’s that good.

In returning to his DIVINE CITIES universe, Bennett chooses as his main POV character General Turyin Mulaghesh, whom we last saw in the first book, City of Stairs, albeit in a smaller if still significant role. Here, she is sent by Shara Komayd (one of the major characters in the first book) to Voortyashtan, a restless, “backward” part of Saypur’s empire. Like many of the Continent’s cities, Voortyashtan had its own divinity, this one being Voorya, the goddess of war, who invested her soldiers (“Sentinels”) with great power and sent them forth to wreak death and destruction in the world. As we saw in the first book, when Saypur rebelled and conquered the Continent, the divine beings were slain and their miracle creations mostly either disappeared or ceased to work. Since one of Voorya’s miracles was an afterlife to keep all of her Sentinels until they return in an apocalyptic bloodbath, that’s probably a good thing. But as we also learned in City of Stairs the deaths of all the gods and/or their works may have been greatly exaggerated.

So plot-wise, we have a possible existential threat to Saypur and the larger world. We have fears of the Divine working in the world again, with all its incumbent peril. We have a murder mystery — a young Saypuri woman who disappeared while working in Voortyashtan. And it’s all well paced and fascinating and ably told and plotted, even if I’d argue (in a minor, minor quibble) that the big question of “who” is pretty easy to spot. And if you want to read an excellent fantasy with great world-building, good plotting, a wonderfully rich premise, and fluid, precise prose, then City of Blades will more than meet your needs. But it goes so much further than this, provides so much more. And that is what makes this work rise from really good to must-read great.

And that greatness resides, as mentioned, in its examination of war and its impact. Because Turyin Mulaghesh was not always a general. Once, she was a sixteen-year-old soldier caught up in the horrors of war on ground level. What is revealed about that experience is one of the core elements of this novel and so I won’t address it in detail, but I will say it is absolutely heart-breaking not only in its real-time occurrence but in all of its echoes downward through time.

Nor does Mulaghesh stand alone as representative of war’s life-long impact. We see it as well through Sigurd (also a major character from book one) and Sigurd’s daughter. We see it through Mulaghesh’s fellow officer, General Biswal. We see it in old soldiers who have fought for decades and young soldiers who have never seen combat. We see it in war’s victims. All its victims. Not just the slain, but those who slay. Not just those who died, but those who survived. Not just the dead, but those left to grieve them. Not just the soldiers, but their families. Not just the generals, but the grunts on the ground. Not just the grunts, but those who order them into battle. Not just the killed, but the maimed. Not just the maimed, but those who minister to them. War, as portrayed by Bennett, is a never-ending rain of blood that falls on all, the living and the dead, and stains all it touches indelibly and eternally, a truth that Bennett brilliantly shows us, making use of fantasy’s ability to allow the metaphor to become literal.

That element of fantasy is used in fact multiple times. Swords, for instance, as symbols of war (but more than that, though again, I don’t want to spoil things). Or the way, as Faulkner once said, “the past is never dead, it’s not even past.” We see this for instance in how the entire old capital of Voortyashtan lies undersea, still a threat to shipping, and currently being hauled up to create a new harbor. “Dredging up the past” is a wonderfully literal metaphor in a world where the past haunts and stalks characters and entire nations.

I could say a lot more about City of Blades. I could discuss its in-depth look at the relation of a god to its worshipers. The complexity with which it explores the impact of colonialism and revolution. The way it broadens the definition of “soldiering” beyond war to “service.” And I could offer up quote after quote after quote that land like a kick to the gut. And whose impact you’ll carry along with you for days and weeks like bruises on your flesh. But I’ll just close here by saying this.

If you like fantasy, read City of Blades. If you never read fantasy, read City of Blades. If you read City of Stairs, read City of Blades. If you didn’t read City of Stairs, read it and then read City of Blades, or don’t read City of Stairs, but still read City of Blades. I don’t care if you get it by being a cog in the the store behemoth or by supporting your tie-dye wearing, tea-swilling Indie bookseller whose shop is furnished like your great-aunt’s house. Just get it and read it. Because it’s great.

originally appeared on fantasyliterature.com

City of Blades is the sequel to Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Stairs, and while I did not read the first book in this series, it did not keep me from enjoying this well-crafted novel.

The plot has a brisk pace and number of twists, whose groundwork is well-laid and yet still feels surprising. One of the best qualities of this book is the character development. In particular, Turyin is a fascinating general. Scarred by battle, she learns to accept her past while atoning for it by preventing an apocalypse. Also, Signe and Sigrud grow through struggle as their relationship is redeemed.

Like many fantasy novels, City of Blades has philosophical overtones. Notably, the novel deals with issues such as the nature of war and the afterlife. In some instances, I found the characters’ musings prosaic; other times I found them short-sighted and wished I could engage the characters in discussion. But this isn’t necessarily a flaw, more a compliment since I cared enough to want to do so.

My final thought is on the world-building in the novel. Mr. Bennett has built a world with hints of India and Hinduism while at the same time crafting a unique place. However, as interesting as Voortyashtan and the City of Blades are, I didn’t quite connect with them. However, in spite of this, I would give the novel four stars because even though I didn’t connect with the world, I had to keep reading and find out what happened to Turyin and Signe.

N.B. Because this novel deals with the evils of war and though it does so in a restrained manner, it is not a fantasy for children.

I received this book for Blogging for Book in exchange for a review.

Before I dive into this review, I need to mention that I absolutely loved the first book in the series City of Stairs, which I also reviewed. So I opened City of Blades with a certain amount of trepidation. Would it live up to the hype of the first book or would it leave me disappointed? Well, I'm happy to say that this book is everything I loved in book 1 and then some!

Imagine a world where gods are as real as the mortals who worship them. Where they actually listen and respond to their worshipers. Where miracles are part of the everyday life. Where divine intervention is as common as rain or wind. This is the Divine Empire who ruled the continent and its colonies with a firm and bloody hand for millennia…

Until Saypur, a small insular nation, invented a weapon that could kill the Divinities. Now the Empire crumbles as its gods lie dead and its great cities are in ruins, with entire chunks simply vanishing into oblivion when the miracles sustaining them stopped working. Saypur firmly believes in science and technological progress and everything remotely divine is outlawed, and worship is a crime deserving capital punishment.

The first book dealt with the aftermath of that great war that saw the death of all Divinities and changed the world in some spectacular ways. The second book asks another important question. Each God had created some kind of afterlife for their worshipers, so what happens to those afterlives and those countless souls when that Divinity dies? And what happens to the dead now that there is no afterlife waiting for them?

The protagonist of this book is someone we've already met in City of Stairs - General Turyin Mulaghesh, and I must say that she is just as kickass as she was in the first book, but now that we can actually look inside her head, she also because a lot more human and endearing.

Mulaghesh is a woman adrift - she quit her post as General and went into early retirement, but the problem is that she doesn't know how to be anything but a soldier. So all she can do is slowly drink herself to death and hope that alcohol will keep the nightmares at bay and let her sleep once in a while. When Shara offers her a chance to get back into action, he gripes and whines, but goes anyway.

I love Turyin. She is tired and disillusioned, and tormented by the past battles she fought and the people she killed. And then she lands in Voortyashtan, a city in ruins, a city whose god is dead, a city that is most hated by the Saypuri because Voortya was the goddess of war and death whose Sentinels terrorized their land for centuries. Only certain events let her believe that the goddess of death might not be as dead as she seems, and that the dead themselves don't want to stay quiet anymore.

I think City of Blades is a bit darker than City of Stairs, because it deals with darker topics, like the meaning of war and when our actions done during war time cross the line between necessity and into atrocity. It deals with death and loss and hope and redemption. Our protagonist is broken and the city in which she arrives is broken as well, but maybe both can glue some pieces together and find a semblance of peace by the end of the story…

I am in love with this world! I want to know more about it, I want around Bulikov and Voorthyashtan, I want to read the old stories and have a chat with Shara over a steaming cup of a spicy Saypuri drink. And it's all thanks to Mr. Bennett's wonderful imagination and amazing writing. My only complaint is that I'm done with book 2 and I have to wait a year for book 3. Write faster Mr. Bennett!! :)

I am a fervent advocate of this series and I will recommend it to everyone who wants an original world populated by interesting characters and who wants to read a gripping story that asks some thought-provoking questions.

And you don't need to have read City of Stairs to enjoy City of Blades, because it can be read as a standalone, but I would highly recommend reading both books.

PS. I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"City of Blades" is the second novel in Robert Jackson Bennett's imaginative Divine Cities series of urban fantasy. It's a worthy follow-up, although much of the excitement and intrigue of "City of Stairs" is missing since the unfolding and development of that world was revealed in excruciating (and fascinating) detail in the series' opening novel. And this book is structured in a very similar fashion with a heroine protagonist visiting a Continental (think oppressed) city under pretense and eventually realizing the so-called Gods are perhaps not as absent as she was lead to believe. One-armed General Turyin Mulaghesh makes a return appearance and plays the leading role. She's an engaging character with attitude and a vulgar vocabulary. Shara Komayd--heroine of the first novel--returns, now as prime minister of Saypuri (think oppressors) and Sigrid, the one-eyed enormous and engaging hero from the Bulikov battle in book one returns along with his daughter Signe.

It's not essential to read "City of Stairs" first, but it's helpful, as that novel does the lionshare of the lifting where the concept and city building behind the Divine Cities is done. Bennett's world is an interesting one and his concept of the Gods' involvement in creation, destruction, and active miracles in the cities and lives of inhabitants enables him to explore justice, oppression, and the afterlife in a new way. As with the first novel, character development and pacing are both good and the action is just enough to keep things as entertaining as they are fantastic. Another worthy entry in the series and a good bridge to the next novel in the series.

Was City of Stairs just a successful prototype? I only ask because this book blew its predecessor out of the water. Just like how I knew Seveneves was going to be my book of the year last year, I have the suspicion that this will be 2016's book of the year.

City of Blades stars Mulaghesh, who was my second favorite character of the first book, as she is strong-armed into searching for another missing person in the capital city of the god of war. This time around, the mystery is streamlined and makes plenty of sense after the reveal. Now, we do get a handful of other returning characters, including my favorite. However, these characters play a weak second to some of the newly introduced characters. The takeaway is that this is it's own book, it may be in the same world, but I hesitate to call it a direct sequel.

This book seems like it might be high fantasy, and I suppose it is, but being set in a more modern setting breathes so much fresh life into the genre that this book is something new entirely. Beyond this, Bennet has become more focused and created a tighter book than the first in the series. There wasn't a single moment of the book that I was bored. I was constantly given ideas and themes to think about when I had set the book down, and even better, none of my trigger points of rage were ever clicked. It just is a masterpiece.

I recommend this to anyone that even has a passing interest in fantasy novels. And even if you didn't like the first book much, if you were at all interested in the premise, I highly recommend this book.

A few years after the events in "City of Stairs," which is the first book in this interesting urban fantasy and thriller series, now General Turyin Mulaghesh reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement to go to Voortyashtan and take on a secret mission for the new but embattled Prime Minister.

Voortyashtan is the Continental city named after the ancient Divinity of War and Death, Voorty. Mulaghesh's task is to quietly find out what happened to a Saypuri agent operating in that mythical city and whether the agent's disappearance has any connection to a recent spate of ritualistic murders.

Mulaghesh's arrival is not exactly welcomed by the city's military personnel. In addition to having to work surreptitiously, therefore, she also has virtually no one in the military to turn to for help.

So compared to the more dynamic ensemble-driven and faster moving plot of the first book, the plot in this second book gets off to a slower moving start and the narrative has a "lonelier" feel to it.

Some of the story arcs also have a more somber theme to them, but the plot does steadily build up to a gripping conclusion that unleashes a torrent of emotions.

Character development felt a little bit weaker in this second than the first book. The Mulaghesh character is very well drawn, but there are a few rough patches in the fleshing out of the lesser characters. The world building continues to be strong.

Although this well written and imaginative novel can be read as a stand-alone, reading the first novel in the series before this one can contribute to a better overall reading experience.

I definitely enjoyed this copy better than City of Stairs. I’m not sure if it was because I was used to his writing style or if I ignored all of the little bits of information dumps at the beginning of each chapter. Either way this one was way more captivating than the last one.

This story follows General Turyin Mulaghesh (yup that’s a mouthful) after Shara sends her on a journey to find a missing agent. Of course this agent went missing in one of the most violent areas in the continents. There is more to her going missing than just this though. There may or may not be divinities at work here when there are not to be any more divinities. Turyin has to be secretive with all she does since she is supposed to be at this location just filling in time until her retirement. I really enjoyed Turyin’s character she is strong willed woman. She says what she means and she’s not afraid to take on anything. She doesn’t know who is an enemy and who is a friend. Then Sigurd arrives. Was this another pawn of Shara’s to enter the game or is he just there by luck. I loved seeing more of him and Turyin I definitely enjoyed their characters more. Here’s a little tidbit from the book itself that really struck a cord with me…

The characters in Bennett’s book are absolutely amazing. They have such depth, personality, and life to them! It’s easy to see how the characters change over time and how their past, position, and beliefs shape the world around them. The lengths people go to in order to get what they want–or what they believe should be–are examined in detail. There’s so much going on in this book and yet I never felt lost or confused.

The tech level in this world is interesting–telegraphs, simple guns, cannons, construction cranes, trucks. No digital age stuff. The choice worked for me; the world felt as though it made sense as a whole.

The pacing felt perfect. There are quiet times, roiling battles, last-moment saves, and too-late fixes. People die whether you’d consider them good or bad–this is a tale of shades of gray and slippery slopes. Some people won’t like the fact that the story is told in the present tense, but in this case it works–it adds to the immediacy of what’a happening.

I don’t want to get into much more because there’s so much worth finding out on your own. Suffice it to say that this story brought me to tears and hooked me from start to finish.

NOTE: Book provided free for review by publisher.

When I found out that Bennett had written a sequel to City of Stairs, I could hardly contain my excitement. My fingers had been firmly crossed since finishing the first book in August of 2014. And while the first book is certainly a complete and satisfying read, the level of detail and the solid foundation for this new world seemed begging for more tales set there. And so I certainly was thrilled to learn that my wish came true! I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one, though, at first. Truly, I wish that I had had the time to re-read City of Stairs to re-fresh my memory a bit more. Though it was only just over a year since reading it, I have such a terrible memory that I think I would have been more engaged from earlier on.

But once I was hooked into this one, I had a hard time doing anything other than read it. It is a much darker story than the first book, but no less intricately written. It is an impressive sequel and once again, I am left with my fingers crossed that this isn't the end of this unique world that Bennett has built.

First the disclosure - I won an advanced readers copy of this book. Boy I'm glad I did! It's actually the 2nd in a series & you don't have to read the first to enjoy this one. City of Blades is part science-fiction/fantasy, part dystopian & just plain good. Robert Jackson Bennett penned a lengthy novel about General Turyin Mulaghesh, her quest to uncover the truth & war. Lots of war. The author really makes you think about war & its consequences. Considering all the wars raging today in the 'real' world it's important to consider the long-term impact war has on soldiers.
It took me a little while to get into the story itself because Bennett uses unfamiliar words for names, races & cities. Once I got beyond the worry of pronunciation & became familiar with the characters, the story took off. The ending is satisfying yet leaves you to wonder about the next novel in the series. While I wait for that story to be written, I'll satisfy my curiosity by purchasing the first one of the series - City of Stairs - to see how it all began.

There are few sequels that stand up to the original novel but City of Blades is just as gripping as the novel that started it all, City of Stairs. You must read the first book before this, however, as it doesn't work as a stand-alone. For those who loved City of Blades, many characters are back here, especially....wait for it.....Sigrud who features prominently here (can I hear a collective hooray?). While our main protagonists shift in this book, the superior world-building and twisty plot remains. The themes were darker in this book, which seemed appropriate given the hard look at war, those who lead us into war (and why), and why people follow them into war and carnage. Frankly, it was these dark questions that made the novel more compelling for me than the first. Philosophically, it made me think while still keeping the plot moving along...it didn't get dry and boring with musings at any point.

Highly recommend both books....start with the first please!

Bennett’s second book in his “The Divine Cities” series is more than a good story, a legend to be told to the children, it is his characters that really drew me in and made this a great story. General Mulaghesh, salty, tired of political BS, tired of war, just wants to live in her ramshackle house by the sea where she can shoot her neighbors with compound bows when they cross into her property. Expecting to live on her pension, she is furious when she learns she is just a few months shy of full pension. She has been asked to go back, not to do desk duty like she would expect, but to the city that nearly broke her, the city with dirty memories.

Beautifully written with intelligent, intuitive dialogue, City of Swords is a good read that doesn’t truly need the reader to read the first book, City of Stairs. The world building is complete but the characters (most) are new.

Enjoy.

Imagine a world where the gods of Rome and Greece and the Vikings actually were real. Imagine that world where one little country managed to kill those gods. Imagine that some of the promises made by those gods still existed. Imagine being part of the country that killed the gods and changed everything, only to find parts of it trying to return. Imagine being tired and retired and yanked back into service to stop the return of you know not what. That will give you a grasp on this well written fantasy military epic.
This is the second volume in the Divine Cities series. I had not read the first book, and I found it wasn't necessary to understand and enjoy this book. I do plan to read the first book, but I don't need it. This story is complete in itself.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

City of Blades is a riveting novel. It features an original, well-thought-out setting and compelling protagonist. Mulagesh certainly isn't your typical heroine; she's rough around the edges and wracked with guilt over actions she committed as a child in a soul-crushing war. Such a flawed--but still likeable--main character is a welcome change from the books I usually read.

The decision to base the primary country on India is also a move I wasn't expecting and I like it. I would have liked to have gotten more information on Saypur and its involvement with the Continent where Voortyashtan is located, but perhaps that was given in the first book.

City of Blades, quite simply, grabs you and doesn't let go. I highly recommend it.

City of Blades is no doubt the most unique fantasy novel I've read in quite a while. I did not read City of Stairs, and managed with this sequel quite well. I do wish I had read these two books in their proper order as I'm sure it would have only deepened my enjoyment and understanding of this stellar saga.

The pacing was very well done, and the world building creates so many questions that I had little trouble keeping the pages turning. All of the characters are memorable and well defined in this complex work. I'm going to go find City of Stairs and settle in for a good long read. An enthusiastic recommend.

I had not read the previous volume in this series but it turns out that was not a problem. The book is definitely worth the read, however, it took me several days to complete it. I had difficulty maintaining the stamina needed to keep following the the story line and keeping the characters straight in my mind. There are several interesting and strong female leads. I have not seen that anyone noticed the Easter egg; the use of the famous Dorothy Parker quip, "What fresh hell is this?" My thanks to the author and the Penguin First to Read program for a complimentary copy.

This episode centers around an assignment the prime minister secretly gives to General Turyin Mulaghesh. She's to secretly investigate what's happening in Voortyashtan. What we find out is an in depth character study of Mulaghesh, her history, her regrets, triumphs and lengths she will go save humanity. She's a hardnosed gruff gal, with a mannerism that demands a chuckle now and then. Well worth the time to get to know, in this intriguing second installment.

I received this book as a Goodread.com giveaway

A number of characters from the previous book.

A Divine powder which shouldn't exist. A missing spy. Restless natives egged on by a huge ego.

How can Divine objects exist when the deity is know to be dead? New technology will be of little use if the warriors from the deity's isle of the dead return. Lots of action in between various story lines. Bring on the next book!

Oh. My. God!! Excellent. And it broke my heart. Such an apt commentary on war and its cost in these times.

Great world-building and I just loved the characters.

It should have *at least* become a Hugo finalist. Pretty sure it's the best 2016 book I've read.

On to book 3.

From the start, this book was... fine, i guess. I like that the main character was a bit of a bad-***, and it had the standard soldier-mistreated-by-the-bureaucracy vibe to it. Then she ships off to something that is basically Afghanistan-post-9/11 to solve a missing person case for a person who was investigating a thing and really it just kinda lost me.

Every time i put it down, i intended to give it a few days and try again. And i did, a few times. Then i couldn't find it one day, and i was ok with that.

Expertly plotted and powerfully written, City of Blades is a wonderful follow up to City of Stairs. Bennett continues to build his world in deep and interesting ways, this time tackling the horrors of war. The themes are darker and the symbolism is heavier as Mulaghesh fights her own internal battle. Honestly, I questioned if Mulaghesh, an excellent counter-point character to City of Stairs's protagonist, Shara, could carry a book of her own, but Bennett builds a raging undercurrent of regret that fuels her fierce attitude and strength. Mulaghesh proudly gave me the finger for doubting her as she cut her way through the City of Blades. I can't wait for the third book in this awesome series.

Side note: Yes, it is written in present tense, and yes, you won't care after page 1. Bennett pens some of the strongest prose put to paper by any author today. The tense choice quickly fades into the background and even helps give it an "other worldly" feel.

This is indeed an amazing and thrilling sequel. It's fast moving with a good share of twists, so hold on while reading it. There characters are decidedly living and breathing people with their complexities. This series so far actually lifts the genre up. Young adults will of course gobble this up, but more mature readers will also thrill to it. It's at the top of my list.

Can Robert Jackson Bennett write a bad page, because a bad book he certainly can't? City of Stairs was one of the best novels of 2014. With fantastic characters and an unique take on the conflict between religion and science, it will very hard for any other book to beat City of Blades as the best book of 2016.

A world of divinity or fantasy or both? Complex, ahh. . . . just a tad, no way it's more than that the history whether believable or not the magic is soaked into the tale. The characters were perfect, strong and definitely engaging.. I for one found General Turpin Mulaghesh, a powerful woman physically and mentally, though retired she is pushed into an investigation of 'let sleeping dogs lie.' The messy after affects of a hellish war, Mulaghesh managed to make it work. Action with off kilter gore only enhance the darkness of this story. P-E-R-F-E-C-T
Received a free book, Bloggingforbooks in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Darlene Cruz

** Trigger warning for attempted rape. **

“People often ask me what I see when I look at the world. My answer is simple, and true. Possibilities. I see possibilities. —letter from Vallaicha Thinadeshi, 1649”

“More boos and catcalls. Mulaghesh thins her eyes as she watches the tribal leaders. They are all skinny, haggard things, dressed in robes and furs, their necks brightly tattooed and covered with curious patterns. Some are women, she sees, which surprises her: Bulikov strictly forbade women from doing anything more than firing out children as quickly and efficiently as possible. But then, she thinks, Voortya probably wouldn’t have tolerated that bulls***.”

Five years have passed since the Battle of Bulikov, and its heroes are all scattered around the globe. Former ministry agent Shara Komayd now runs the whole damn thing – but her progressive, pro-Continent policies have proven unpopular in Saypur, and it’s unlikely that her stint as Prime Minister will endure long enough for Shara to see them through. Meanwhile, Shara’s muscle Sigrud has reconnected with his estranged family, helped to found the new democracy The United Dreyling States … and been nudged into political office by his wife, Hild. (“Chancellor” is a safer occupation than “pirate hunter” or “assassin” – or so one would think.)

As for General Turyin Mulaghesh, she’s done what Sigrud can only dream of: disavowed herself of politics altogether. After Bulikov, Mulaghesh was promoted to vice-chairman of the Saypuri Military Council: a promotion that did not sit well with this soldier. Haunted by her past and frustrated by a bureaucratic post that prevented her from actively atoning for her sins, Mulaghesh abruptly retired to the resort island of Javrat. Now she spends her days drinking, scrapping with the locals, and being an all-around curmudgeon.

Until the day PM Komayd pulls her back in, that is.

About a year ago, a strange ore was discovered near Fort Thinadeshi. Located in Voortyashtan – the province of the late Divinity Voortya, Goddess of War, Death, and Destruction – this area of the Continent is considered the most backward and savage of them all. The ore, named thinadeskite after the fort’s namesake, Vallaicha Thinadeshi, has remarkable properties: it’s an excellent conductor of electricity, and even seems to amplify it. This should be impossible: energy cannot be created from the ether, and the only ones able to bend natural laws – i.e., the Divinities – are all dead or disappeared. Voortya was the first to fall to under the Kaj, and her death is such a done deal that the fallout is considered a textbook example of the fate that awaits a Divinity’s miracles when said Divinity ceases to exist. (Poof!)

Concerned by the implications, Shara dispatched a Ministry agent, Sumitra Choudhry, to investigate. That was eight months ago. Shortly after arriving, Sumitra began to exhibit strange and erratic behavior: wandering the cliffs at night, talking to herself, drawing horrific doodles on her bedroom walls. Three months later, she vanished without a trace.

Now it’s up to Mulaghesh to find her – and uncover the true nature of the thinadeskite. All while navigating a volatile political landscape: as part of Shara’s initiative, the Southern Dreyling Company is hard at work building a port in Voortyashtan, which promises to bring wealth and (hopefully) peace and independence to the region. But not everyone is happy about the project, which involves dredging the sacred remains of old Voortyashtan from the Solda River and threatens to displace some tribes at the expense of others. Further complicating matters is the command at Fort Thinadeshi: General Lalith Biswal, under whom Mulaghesh served, dishonorably, decades before. “By all the hells,” as Mulaghesh would say.

I was lucky enough to read an advance copy of CITY OF STAIRS, and absolutely fell in love with it: the complex world building, the flawed yet courageous characters, the diverse cast. At the time, I assumed it was a standalone novel. I mean, it sure felt that way: self-contained, with a satisfying resolution. So I was surprised and not a little skeptical when the ARC of the sequel, CITY OF BLADES, made the rounds. I just couldn’t picture a path beyond Stairs. Then again, I’m not a writer.

Bennett laid all my doubts to rest with CITY OF BLADES – and within the first few pages, to boot. Though Shara only appears briefly, she sucks Mulaghesh – and by extension, us – back into her world: one rife with mystery, intrigue, and impossibilities. A common complaint with STAIRS was the exposition – pages upon pages of it. (Which, spoiler alert, was kind of my favorite part.) BLADES, on the other hand, is action-packed, filled with blood and gore and monstrosities that should not exist. Voortya makes for a terribly compelling Divinity; I especially love the story of how she courted Ahanas, the Goddess of Growth, to form an afterlife (that would be the titular City of Blades) for her warriors. Millions upon millions of them, who threaten to tear through the fabric of reality in search of their final, apocalyptic war.

It was also a pleasure to watch the old team get back together. We learn more about Mulaghesh and Sigrud’s backstory, adding to our understanding of them as people and not just warriors. I never quite understood why Sigrud emerged as a fan favorite in the first book – Shara and Mulaghesh stole the show, imho – but after the sequel, I’m a believer. We even get to meet Sigrud’s daughter Signe, now grown and head of the Southern Dreyling Company. (That’s right! A mini-Sigrud!)

As with STAIRS, BLADES is wonderfully diverse and progressive: there are many characters of color in the form of the Saypuris, not to mention the FF star-crossed romance that forms the origin story of the City of Blades – heaven, or rather the closest thing the Voortyashtanis have to it. (Heaven as the love child of two Goddesses? Imagine that!)

And then there’s the delicious little scene wherein Sigrud, spying on his sketchy-acting daughter, discovers Signe cavorting with a Saypuri soldier:

“Sigrud thinks about it. ‘I do not care.’ ‘You what?’ ‘I do not care about espionage, about decorum, about security. I worried my daughter had only work in her life, only success or miserable failure. To see her smile in such a manner makes my heart glad.’”

A father who’s totally down with his daughter’s sexuality? More please!
Additionally, Mulaghesh struggles with alcoholism and PTSD (war is hell, and Bennett doesn’t let us forget it) and is missing her left hand, which she lost in the battle of Bulikov. Like Peeta in THE HUNGER GAMES, Mulaghesh’s missing limb is portrayed as a handicap – but not an insurmountable one. She experiences phantom limb pain, has trouble performing certain tasks single-handed, and struggles with an inadequate prosthetic. Yet she still manages to save the whole damn world.

As in STAIRS, the protagonists here are all flawed and fallible. Human. In Mulaghesh and Biswal we see two conflicting versions of what a soldier can be: servant or conqueror. Someone who gives or takes. Savior or killer. While Mulaghesh’s ideals win out, however briefly, Shara’s own political troubles back home throw humanity’s future into question.

I really struggled with the rating for BLADES. My favorite part of Stairs was the joy of discovery: learning about this new world, its history and rules, rivalries and contradictions. Since the framework’s already been established, the sense of wonder I felt in Stairs is a little less present here. Even so, it’s an enjoyable novel, and a worthy successor to CITY OF STAIRS. The ending and author’s note both hint at more books to come, and this time I eagerly await the sequels. I can’t wait to see what Mulaghesh, Sigrud, and Shara get up to next.

4.5 stars, reluctantly rounded down to 4 where necessary. (It’s 2016, people! Half-stars, get with the program!)

** Full disclosure: I received a free electronic ARC for review through NetGalley. **

Really more like 4 1/2 stars, an excellent follow-up to City of Stairs. The action is well-paced, and balanced with cogent philosophical commentary on the nature of faith, loyalty and service. Really looking forward to City of Miracles.

The series continues to develop.
A continuation of the world found in City of Stairs, with main characters that you will care about, and really imaginative happenings.
Not the usual fantasy story, but a new, fully realized world/

I wish there were less backtracking in this novel. Some of it is understandable. This is the second novel in the series, following on City of Stairs, which won wide acclaim, including reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post. I haven’t read that novel but it’s apparent, from the many references to it in this installment, that the plot was complicated, and so is this one. Too complicated, in my opinion. It’s well written in parts, overblown and unnecessarily drawn out in others. Some times it’s just the nature of the genre –alt world fantasy almost-steampunk. It calls for a little hype. But other times, I think the book just needed a good editing. Most of it takes place in and around the city of Voortyashtan, formerly the center of worship for Voortya, the four-armed ever-silent goddess of war, whose supernatural sentinels served as an army of death for her. The gods were killed off in the previous novel –I never learned the details of it but when they died, so did magic, which disappeared in the moment in a phenomenon referred to as the Blink. But now something strange is happening in Voortyashtan. A government agent has disappeared without notice –she had been sent to the city to investigate the possibility of magical events recurring. The prime minister ropes in General Turyin Mulagesh, a military hero who left the service without explanation a while before, The reason, we learn in flashbacks many pages into the book, is her distress over the horrible things she had had to do in the great war against the gods: killing civilians, burning villages, all in the name of victory and the peace that was supposed to follow. Turyin is an attractive character: she lost one hand and forearm in battle and wears a prosthetic that limits what she can do --it’s an attractive trait in a story like this because it makes her more human, for all her energy and forcefulness, she’s not superwoman. A few of the other characters around her are fleshed out but most are not. It’s not that kind of a novel: most of the people met in its pages are placeholders, signs and signals of attitudes and actions. Turyin is a person but even she is … ‘over-determined’ is probably the word. A good deal of space is spent laying out her past traumas: there are flashbacks, visions…. Subtle, it’s not. The action parts are good. It’s just all so long. And muddled. The supernatural parts just don’t mesh smoothly with the natural parts. Bennett is a talented storyteller and some of his descriptions are quite good –this, for instance, describing a pile of human corpses that have been horribly butchered and strung up for viewers to see:

”It is, despite the viscera and stink, a curiously neat presentation, carefully and thoughtfully done, as if these corpses were vegetables to be washed and peeled for dinner. … Their faces, blue and distorted, have the dull, stupid look of the dead, as if they’d just been asked a difficult question.”

In short, this is a book I enjoyed in parts but not in others, by a writer of talent who, I feel, this time missed the mark.

There are some fantasy readers who just want swords and sorcery. And there are others who’ve read so much of that, and dwarves and elves and dragons and knights, that we appreciate attempts to do something new, to push the genre in different ways. Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities is good at this: deicide in an age of motorized vehicles, spies and military generals versus supernatural enemies, unmagical main characters, Kafka-esque bureaucracy and dry, modern humor all set his books apart from the run of the mill.

In City of Blades, the second of the series, he also tries to get us away from the hero’s journey trope we find so often in fantasy, telling what’s essential a political mystery story (think Hunt for Red October) in a fantasy setting—or post-fantasy, you might call this, as the gods are dead. Only they’re not, really, which would be a cool reveal—except we saw it in the last book, and the mystery in this book depends on kind of forgetting that.

Before we get into it, a few kudos: Bennett is a talented writer, and the prose and pacing draw you through the story regardless of whether the mystery really mystifies. He also has a knack for vibrant, unique characters, and for me they were the best part of the book.

They didn’t manage to overcome its main flaw, though, which is that the driving interest of the story is a whodunit (on a grand political and divine scale), but we’re fed too much information to ever be surprised by the revelations the characters make. Instead of Wash’s ‘sudden but inevitable betrayal' (search youtube: Firefly Clip: This Land), the reveals just feel inevitable, which doesn’t make for good mystery reading. Without the curiosity, the struggle to stay just one step ahead of the detective (in this case an unhappily-retired military general), the story loses its drive, and I ended up frustrated sometimes that the characters weren’t seeing what Bennett made so obvious.

Enjoying this review? Find more like it at topnewfantasy dot com! On the other end of Wash’s spectrum, there are some sudden but far from inevitable moments that felt, well, deus ex machina—unexplained visions, gods rising from the seas, etc.—that could have been great with a little foreshadowing, but instead feel highly coincidental in terms of the main character gaining needed clues to solve the mystery.

All this to say City of Blades is not for everyone. For long-time fantasy readers looking to break out of the tropes, or lovers of City of Stairs wanting to return to the world with not that many changes, the book will work well. It’s also some great prose—but if you’re looking to be pulled into a surprising plot, an intriguing mystery, or an action-packed page turner, you may want to stick to your guns—er, swords.

I really can't recommend this book series enough. As soon as I finished the first one, I had to go out and buy the next one and I was not disappointed. I love the characters and the writing. High recommend.

Great book, great series. The world imagined by the combination of elements the author uses (the divine, advancing technology, intrigue and espionage, etc) presents a fascinating vision that makes these books real page turners. He also does a nice job with character development in a plot driven work.

I've become a big Robert Jackson Bennett fan. His world-building is excellent and his characters are rich and full of depth. His protagonist, General Turyin Mulaghesh, is a strong experienced woman caught in intrigue. Although you could start with this book and not be too confused, I'd recommend that you begin with Bennett's first book in this series, The City of Stairs. In this world, gods still exist, or do they? If you're a fan of Felix Gilman's Thunderer series, you'll be right at home here.

Highly recommended.

This would have been more enjoyable if I had read the first book. The characters are interesting. The writer's style different. The action and tension well done. Read the first book and then pick this one up.

"City of Blades" addresses the issue of how a world copes after all their gods have been killed off. Pretty well, except for the left overs. Bennett's heroine has been recalled to military duty to assure her pension. It is just a simple inspection trip. Right. Actually, she is put in the middle of a situation that has no clear answers and no clear heroes.

Bennet's hero is well described. She may be older than the usual hero and feel a little put upon, but she does her duty throughout her adventures. She is.definitely someone you would want on your side.

"City of Blades" is the third book of a trilogy, but it is easy to keep up with what has gone before, so the book is like a stand alone novel. Either as part of a trilogy or as a stand alone, it is a great read,

Diving back into this epic, unique world where the old gods may not be so dead as many believe, and conspiracies are primed to explode. This time the story follows impressively feisty General Mulaghesh and takes us to a new, unique setting in this one of a kind world. The story is compelling and interesting, filled with mythology, past trauma, and memorable characters that are introduced and return. The visuals are wonderfully described which made for some terrifying moments in the story. I really loved the different aspects of the mystery and how the conspiracy unfolded. I absolutely loved the mythological aspect of the story, which made for some fantastic twists and a very intense ending. Mulaghesh was a great character to follow, since she took nothing from no one. I loved the flashbacks we were given in terms of her history, which was tragic and made her a rich, layered, and sympathetic character. These books are wonderfully written and definitely one of a kind, and you don't want to miss out on them!

Imagine a world where the gods of Rome and Greece and the Vikings actually were real. Imagine that world where one little country managed to kill those gods. Imagine that some of the promises made by those gods still existed. Imagine being part of the country that killed the gods and changed everything, only to find parts of it trying to return. Imagine being tired and retired and yanked back into service to stop the return of you know not what. That will give you a grasp on this well written fantasy military epic.
This is the second volume in the Divine Cities series. I had not read the first book, and I found it wasn't necessary to understand and enjoy this book. I do plan to read the first book, but I don't need it. This story is complete in itself.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.