City of Stairs

Executive Summary: Looks like I'll be adding to all the hype. This is definitely one of the better books I've read this year. Only a few minor issues. 4.5 stars.Full ReviewThe two most hyped books this fall (at least among my circle of friends) was this book and [b:The Mirror Empire 20646731 The Mirror Empire (Worldbreaker Saga, #1) Kameron Hurley https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1399920947s/20646731.jpg 39939919]. After being a bit let down by Mirror Empire, I was wary of this one. I almost didn't read it. I'm glad that I did.Rob gets on the bandwagonI don't know where to start. This book is well written. Part mystery, part fantasy, with some pretty good humor. More “urban” fantasy than traditional fantasy, or maybe this could be considered “flintlock”. The subgenre doesn't really matter too much though. It's more important to get across that this book feels very fresh and pretty light on fantasy tropes.Mr. Bennett paints a rich and deep world, especially for a stand alone book of only 450 pages. The little bits of text from various fictional books really helped to flush things out in a short amount of text. And unlike Malazan these were cryptic entries that really only make sense to a rereader, but were at worst something to file away for later in the book, but usually for later in that chapter.And if world building doesn't do much for you, then there are the characters. The main character, Shara, is a 30 something intelligent women who uses his brains rather than a weapon to do most of her fighting. However when violence is called for her “secretary”, Sigrud is there to handle it. In many ways Sigrud almost steals the show, but that's really just because he like a few of the other supporting characters are so strong.And if characters and cool world building aren't enough, there is a pretty interesting “magic” system, that's tied in well with the aforementioned world building.The last thing I want these days is another series to read. This book is definitely stand alone, but I would totally read another book set in this world, and it sounds like I may get that. I had never heard of Mr. Bennett before this book, but I'll definitely be looking into some of his work. Highly recommended.