Book 5 - I Will Hand Them This Goddamn Book

Title: The City of Blades (Divine Cities Trilogy # 2)

Author: Robert Jackson Bennett

Genre: mystery sci-fantasy

I am always absolutely relieved when a sequel or the next book in the series is just as good as the first installments - THANK YOU BENNETT, DONE DONE GOOD.

You know what else he done good at? Writing female characters - if anyone ever stipulates that men don't write good female characters (as can, unfortunately, be the case in alot of sci fi and fantasy), I WILL HAND THEM THIS GODDAMN BOOK.

I am, ahem, quite passionate about this issue.

Anyways - the book itself. WHAT a wild ride. The universe Bennett has created and continues to create in this installment of the trilogy is so so sooo interesting and unique, and the characters are vibrant and flawed and act in ways that resonate with themselves as people and not just to further the plot. The protag is woman with a visible disability, and she fucking takes on an army and more. SO BADASS.

Bennett manages to reconcile and enhance politics, sacred magic, humour, action, and MYSTERY into a fantastic story that leaves the reader (i.e. me) feeling sat-is-fied.

Rating: 🍓🍓🍓🍓🍓