Review of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett. City of Stairs a fantasy spy thriller about magic, history and colonialism. Surprisingly funny and entertaining with great worldbuilding and wonderful characters.
My review of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
City of Stairs is very much a spy thriller but one with tons of meat on. It is a story about religion, freedom, loyalty, duty and oppression. Somehow it still manages to be funny and fast paced. The worldbuilding is great and so are the characters. If you want to see a well developed female character who break a lot of the current tropes for strong female characters when this is a read for you. Oh and the book got a good romantic subplot.
My review from 2014 of City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett
Title: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Series: The Divine Cities
Genre: Fantasy, city fantasy, metropolitan fantasy
Opening sentence:
I believe the question, then,” says Vasily Yaroslav, “is one of intent.
I have not read anything by Bennett before, but I don’t think this will be the last book by him I read. It is the setting and tone more than the story that sets this book apart. City of Stairs is really well written, the characters especially the protagonist is just wonderful.
The protagonist: Shara – very much not James Bond
Shara is very competent (and a tea lover), but is dropped into a situation that is spinning out of control and fast. She is a secret government agent, but not of the James Bond verity – rather the type of spy that is actually effective by working behind the scenes.
Shara is a spy and a government agent working in the colonies, not the British colonies mind you, but rather the country that her country rebelled against a few generations ago. It is quite an unusual situation the oppressed country is now the oppressors of the former oppressors.
Towards the end I was more invested in the plot than the characters which I think was the only fault really.
Spy thriller
This is very much a spy thriller but one with tons of meat on. It is a story about religion, freedom, loyalty, duty and oppression. Somehow it still manages to be funny and fast paced. The world building is great and so are the characters. It is well written all around and I would be very surprised if it is not on next years award nomination lists. If you want to see a well developed female character who break a lot of the current tropes for strong female characters when this is a read for you. Oh and the book got a good romantic subplot.
History
The story also deals with a big theme of history and what history or the lack thereof means to a nation. Can taking the history of a nation aways from them be justified? What does it do to that nation? How does that relate to extremism? The book also play a lot with the concepts of gods and religion and the role of both. This makes it sound really meaty and dull – it is really meaty, but it is not dull. It got some dry spots, but it was a very enjoyable read.
Overall review
Not only is the worldbuilding is great but so are the characters. If you want to see a well-developed female character who break a lot of the current tropes for strong female characters when this is a read for you. Oh and the book got a good romantic subplot, but it is very much not a romance. The book is funny, entertaining and makes you think.
The stats: City of Stairs
Published: 2014 by Broadway Books
Length: 452 pages
Read: October 29 to November 09, 2014
Author: Male, white, USA
The protagonist: female, heterosexual, middle-aged, short, spy, able-bodied.
This review was originally posted: December 31, 2014. Updated and edited June 26, 2023
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