What an unexpected sequel this is, unexpected in ways that turn out to be the right ones. City of Blades is darker, grittier, more cruel, more tragic, more personal than the first book. There are many deaths. There is a lot of heartbreak. It made me feel so much, so deeply.

Our main POV character this time is Mulaghesh. Tough, snarky, stubborn. She has PTSD after the Battle of Bulikov in the first book. She is so damaged, yet unbroken.

“You do what you feel is right not because it is satisfying, but because you find any other option to be intolerable.”

Mulaghesh has mysterious events to investigate and goes to Voortyashtan, a forbidding place that has worshiped war, death, grief, and destruction for hundreds of years. As the mystery unfolds and the stakes climb higher and higher (of course they do), we see the unfolding of Mulaghesh’s backstory, which is horrific.

I loved seeing Sigrud again. The dark spaces this book occupies needed things such as

“How the hells did you get in here?”
“I picked the lock?”

“I have booze hidden all over the place. Dead drop training has its uses beyond espionage.”

Sigrud’s character arc goes to a horrible place, too, though.

War is another main character. The idea of war as something perpetual, something inevitable, something progressive, something glorious (Mulaghesh comes to reject this so wholeheartedly.) War crimes that make everyone into a victim, both the victims and the perpetrators – this is hard for me to stomach, even as I acknowledge that it’s true.

“But a soldier, a true soldier, I think, does not take. A soldier gives.”
“Gives what?”
“Anything,” says Mulaghesh. “Everything, if asked of us. We’re servants, as I said. … A good soldier does everything they can so they do not have to kill.”

“Killing echoes inside you. It never goes away. Maybe some who have killed don’t know that they’ve lost something, but they have.”

Robert Jackson Bennett has put me through a grinder, he has taken me on a roller-coaster ride of darkness, adventure, tragedy, and badass action (go, Mulaghesh). The ending was riveting. ( )

I found this a truly original fantasy, esp in terms of setting. It's kinda neo-industrial, with "modern" technology: cars, rifles, etc. What really hooked me was some original and very likeable characters and a fast-moving plot. Also, the book was not a 1000 page fantasy novel! Less than half that.

I would have given it 5 starts except for the whole "the gods are dead but wait they're not really" angle. Probably just personal taste, but I find there's no way to introduce divinities in a fantasy to my satisfaction. It usually ends up sounding kind of lame or forced. But it was a fun read and I've already gotten the first one to read next. ( )

Five years after the events of City of Stairs, Shara Komayd pulls General Turyin Mulaghesh out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of a Ministry agent sent to assess the discovery of an amazing new metal. This time we are taken to Voortyashtan, the former Continental stronghold of the divinity Voortya—Empress of Graves, Maiden of Steel, Queen of Grief, She Who Clove the Earth in Twain, and war goddess of the terrifying Voortyashtani warriors.

A brilliant blend of high fantasy and espionage thriller. Fast-paced and thought-provoking. An excellent second novel in the world of The Divine Cities. ( )

Too much, in present tense... abandoning series. ( )

Astonishingly, as good as [b: City of Stairs|20174424|City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)|Robert Jackson Bennett|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1394545220s/20174424.jpg|28030792]. This is such a well-layered story that speaks deeply about humanity. All of the characters are so individual and portray so well how each of us are neither wholly good nor wholly bad, but a massive, messy mix.

Also, Voortya sounded beyond terrifying, but that I could also feel bad for her is a testament to RJB's skill as a writer. ( )