City of Blades

The Divine Cities

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by: Alma Cuervo

The city of Voortyashtan was once the home of the goddess of death, war, and destruction, but now it's little more than a ruin. General Turyin Mulaghesh is called out of retirement and sent to this hellish place to find a Saypuri secret agent who's gone AWOL in the middle of a mission. But the ghosts of past wars have followed her there, and soon she begins to wonder what happened to the souls in the afterlife when the gods were defeated by her people, the Polis. Do the dead sleep soundly in the land of death? Or do they have plans of their own?

©2016 Robert Jackson Bennett (P)2016 Recorded Books

Good Read

it was not as good as city of stairs, but is a really good follow up book. a first in any series has the benefit of new, of introducing characters. the pacing of this one is different, but a great perspective shift following the general around.

Stay the Course

I recently listened to City of Blades written by Robert Jackson Bennett and narrated by Alan Cuervo.

In the City of Blades General Mulaghesh is called, reluctantly, out of retirement. Shara sends her by a roundabout route to the city of Voortyashtan. It seems there is a material there which does some things that are almost...divine. Many want to certify it as safe, but her predecessor disappeared and she is tasked with not only investigating the missing scientist, but also verifying the nature of this revolutionary substance, while under the pretense of just being a retired general that has been forced to tour bases to show off to the troops.

Narration: Alma Cuervo did a fairly solid job with the narration. Since the main point of view was that of General Mulaghesh, she embodied the general’s sarcastic and weathered, if extremely quick wit. Her voice had that since of age of an older woman, that tone that has edge and wit combined in it. Her diction was clear and she was a delight to listen to.

Conclusion: The City of Blades is a bit of a slow starter. Initially it’s a bit of a mystery novel that seems to have fairly low stakes. Once in the city of Voortyashan, however, the cold case heats up and the city's legacy of their dead goddess rears its head in the form of bloody sacrifice. If you can stay the patient course of the faithful, you will find this a book that imminently rewards patience.

Not as good as the first, but still pretty good

In the sequel here we get a time jump of 5 years and we don’t follow Shara anymore. Instead we follow a side character from the first book, who I liked originally, but liked even less here. We get to meet some interesting characters and see another new and different city. The setting isn’t my favorite, the city here just didn’t feel as interesting as in the first book.

If you liked the first one, I say check this one out. Although I wouldn’t say it’s as good, it continues a lot of plots I was very interested in seeing after the first book. I do hope we get more from Shara again in the final book.

More depressing than the first one

Different characters and a different tone than the first one, but still pretty good. Not really a sequel in the traditional sense.

Fantastic fantasy

I love City of Stairs when I first read it and this book only improves upon a book I already love.

Good but not nearly as good as the first book

I enjoyed it, however knowing how much better the first was, this leaves much to be desired.

A Sequel Refined into Magnificence

Any additional comments?

Was City of Stairs just a successful prototype? I only ask because this book blew its predecessor out of the water. Just like how I knew Seveneves was going to be my book of the year last year, I have the suspicion that this will be 2016's book of the year.

City of Blades stars Mulaghesh, who was my second favorite character of the first book, as she is strong-armed into searching for another missing person in the capital city of the god of war. This time around, the mystery is streamlined and makes plenty of sense after the reveal. Now, we do get a handful of other returning characters, including my favorite. However, these characters play a weak second to some of the newly introduced characters. The takeaway is that this is it's own book, it may be in the same world, but I hesitate to call it a direct sequel.

This book seems like it might be high fantasy, and I suppose it is, but being set in a more modern setting breathes so much fresh life into the genre that this book is something new entirely. Beyond this, Bennet has become more focused and created a tighter book than the first in the series. There wasn't a single moment of the book that I was bored. I was constantly given ideas and themes to think about when I had set the book down, and even better, none of my trigger points of rage were ever clicked. It just is a masterpiece.

I recommend this to anyone that even has a passing interest in fantasy novels. And even if you didn't like the first book much, if you were at all interested in the premise, I highly recommend this book.

Amazing book

Who was your favorite character and why?

Mulaghesh. She's everything I like in a character. Funny and tragic in equal measure.

Which scene was your favorite?

I honestly don't know if I could pick one scene as a favorite. This book(Series, really) is full of great moments.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Oh yes. This book explores some heavy themes, and there are a few moments that got to me. I won't discuss them, because, you know, spoilers.

Any additional comments?

It's a great sequel that I enjoyed even more than the first. Amazing story, amazing narration. Excited for the next one.

Another good one by RJB!

Second installment in the Divine Cities series, and a real page turner. Definitely worth a read for fans of fantasy and SciFi. Robert Jackson Bennet's world has definite potential to expand outward exponentially, and I hope it does.

Alma is one of the best!

Book was great! The voice acting by Alma Cuervo is just the best I've heard! I hope there are more books soon.