City of Stairs

Title : City of Stairs (The Divine Cities #1)

Author : Robert Jackson Bennett

Number of Page : 448

Publisher : Jo Fletcher Books

In the city of stairs, nothing is as it seems.

You've got to be careful when you're chasing a murderer through Bulikov, for the world is not as it should be in that city. When the gods were destroyed and all worship of them banned by the Polis, reality folded; now stairs lead to nowhere, alleyways have become portals to the past, and criminals disappear into thin air.

The murder of Dr Efrem Pangyui, the Polis diplomat researching the Continent's past, has begun something and now whispers of an uprising flutter out from invisible corners.

Review:

I always think that male authors could not write good female characters, especially in fantasy genre. Either unrealistic or does not feel like real females at all. But, I still can enjoy good stories despite of that. 

Until I read this book. The main character is a woman, Shara Thivani. It is a risk for male author to use a woman as his main narrative of the story. But, man... it is so good. I really like Shara. 

The main setting of this book is in Bulikov (Russian inspired I believe based on the name) where once gods lived and governed the people. Now the gods were dead, killed by Saypuri hero in the past (India inspired). Practically, Saypur conquered almost all parts of the world and people in Bulikov had to suffer discrimination and ridiculous law, such as never mentioning or having anything related to their gods.

One day, a Saypur diplomat who was in Bulikov studying culture and history was murdered. His name was Dr. Efrem Pangyui. Knowing her friend's sudden and mysterious death, Shara came to Bulikov to investigate it. Of course, there were secrets and dangers that she would find there. 

The premise was not so mind blowing. The plot was quite slow because it somehow focused on Shara's daily lives in Bulikov. Her past was sometimes mentioned, bits by bits, which was quite interesting since it added more to the character building. But, then the last chapter happened. It was like everything made sense and so tragic that I had goosebumps. 

The other important main characters are Sigrud (Shara's giant bodyguard) and Mulaghesh (veteran general with fiery temperament). I like both of them. Their personalities are very strong and memorable. 

This book touched religious and political themes in a form of clever discussions. I like how Shara was a scholar and also very intelligent. She was also so savage at the end. Hahaha... Yazzzz!!!

I cannot wait to read the next book.

5/5