City Of Stairs
Robert Jackson
Bennett
Broadway Books, Sep 9 2014, $15.00
ISBN: 9780804137171
Bulikov the Divine City was once the central sacred seat of power
as a brutal military abetted by violent deities conquered and viciously
oppressed millions. However that is the
past; in the present its former colony Saypur replaced Bulikov as the superpower
and adding insult to how far the change in fortunes have occurred, the once
oppressed nation relies on the miracle of technology governing its past
conquerors.
Ashara’s great-grandfather, as the Kaj of Saypur, led a successful
revolt against the ironfisted Bulikov tyrants.
When he killed the Divinities that made Bulikov the greatest nation, the
Kaj freed his people and those of other lands.
However, an unintended consequence left power vacuums throughout the
lands leading to open conflict within and without as the tyrannical control of
Bulikov had kept everyone in line. Currently
Shara the espionage agent investigates the assassination of Saypuri professor
Dr. Pangyui apparently for studying the once Divine City’s inglorious past, a
tabooed topic. Instead with help from
her assistant and her ex-lover, Shara begins to find the unthinkable evidence
that some of the Divinities survived the onslaught and live in hiding waiting
for the moment to regain their version of paradise lost.
City of Stairs is an exciting fantasy noir in
which readers will feel transported to Bulikov.
The storyline starts slow as the Bennett world comes into complex focus,
but once Shara's inquiry takes shape by ironically spinning out of control into
a wider thriller, the storyline also accelerates. With a deep philosophical look at unintended
consequences and second order effects of moral causes (think of Iraq and
Yugoslavia), Mr. Bennett’s opening epic is an insightful complex (and
convoluted) tale.
Harriet Klausner
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