City of Blades
Taking place some five years after the events of 'City of Stairs', affairs on the continent have not improved, and Shara's tenure as Prime Minister has not been the success that she had hoped for.
General Mulaghesh is pulled from a self-imposed retirement to investigate the disappearance of an agent in the former home city of the Continental Goddess of War: Voortyashthan. Her death had been the first blow of freedom for Saypur and the beginning of the end of the dominance of the Continent. The Goddess is known to be dead, but something of her miracles have survived.
'City of Blades' was a more straight-forward book than 'Stairs', not having the exposition explaining the layout of the world. There is still much that could be explained, but readers are on more level footing. I had hoped for a broader adventure with known characters or a bigger picture of the world. Unfortunately, the new characters failed to reach me, even as tropes, and the returning characters, saving Mulaghesh, had little new to say.
The bright side is that they didn't have to say much that was new, the mystery plot was able to tick along at a nice pace and keep me guessing long enough for the book to be worthwhile.
Divine Cities
Next: 'City of Miracles'
Previous: 'City of Stairs'
