The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions — until its divine protectors were killed. Now, Bulikov’s history has been censored and erased, its citizens subjugated. But the surreal landscape of the city itself, forever altered by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it, stands as a haunting reminder of its former supremacy.

Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country’s most accomplished spies, dispatched — along with her terrifying “secretary”, Sigrud — to solve a murder.

But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem, and that Bulikov’s cruel reign may not yet be over.

There are certain fantasy series (and maybe even sometimes authors) that sometimes feel intimidating to me. Not necessarily in terms of how many books there are (though that can be a factor), but just mostly needless worrying that it will all go over my head. Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities trilogy was kinda like that for me. I had seen them on Bookstagram here & there, and had at least one friend that was a huge fan. But it still felt weirdly out of reach for me.

Then I read Foundryside. And I loved it so fucking much. It was clear to me early on in that book that there’s nothing at all typical about the way Bennett approaches fantasy. So I became much more excited about getting into the Divine Cities books, and after a Bookstagram friend reached out asking if I might want to buddy read City of Stairs, I jumped at the chance (by which I mean procrastinated for like a month or two, but that’s a whole separate issue)

This book is fucking genius. I’m not even sure how to review it, but the thing I want to point out first is that…this one has a slow start/buildup. Which is something I actually love. But even during that slow buildup, it’s wonderfully written & deeply fascinating. The point I’m trying to make is, there comes a point in City of Stairs where things get absolutely batshit insane, and it is impossible to put down from that point on.

Ok.

There’s so much more going on in this book than I could ever capture in a review, but at its heart, it’s about two warring cities: Bulikov and Saypur. There’s a long history of conflict between them, the most recent of which (and not all that recent), ended with the gods of Bulikov killed, and much of the city decimated. On top of that, under Saypuri rule, the citizens of Bulikov are forbidden from worshipping the gods, or even attempting to study their history.

But meanwhile, a Saypuri scholar who was sent to Bulikov to uncover its secrets is murdered. Enter Shara Thivani. Shara is a Saypuri intelligence operative. She arrives in Bulikov, along with her hulking secretary, Sigrud, to investigate the murder.

Right away, I’ll say that Shara & Sigrud quickly became one of my favorite duos in all of the fantasy books I’ve ever read. Shara is rather diminutive in stature, fiercely intelligent, and incredibly determined. Sigrud is fearsome in appearance…gigantic, missing an eye, covered in scars, and capable of acts of shocking violence. He’s also very introspective & thoughtful.

The story that unfolds is complex, but never confusing. The narrative is basically linear throughout, and the book is told almost entirely from Shara’s POV. So as much as the world building in City of Stairs is vast & multi-layered, the story is pretty tightly focused on Shara & Sigrud (but of course there are many wonderful secondary characters).

Bennett is clearly an author that’s unafraid to take chances, and it comes through in so many unexpected ways. For sure, it’s a fantasy novel, but it’s also so much more. There’s a deep sense of mythology, there’s conspiracies & danger lurking in the shadows…hell, there’s one part in this book that is straight-up horror & it was fucking chilling. Dead gods, cults, weird magic, some of the most outrageous action sequences I’ve ever read…add in two incredibly memorable characters, and this book just soars. Hugely recommended & I can’t wait to carry on with The Divine Cities!