City of Stairs

De: Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrado por: Alma Cuervo

An atmospheric and intrigue-filled novel of dead gods, buried histories, and a mysterious, protean city- - from one of America's most acclaimed young fantasy writers. 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 has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself - first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it - stands as a constant, 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 to catch a murderer. 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.

©2014 Robert Jackson Bennett (P)2014 Recorded Books

Complicated and mesmerizing

This book turned me into a Robert Jackson Bennett fan. It's a great story, well translated into an audiobook - Alma Cuervo's voice captures the Shara Thivani so perfectly. I won't try to explain the plot; suffice to say that City of Stairs is a complicated story of politics, inequality, subjugation, religion, gods and goddesses, love and death and sex; with beautifully rendered, unpredictable characters. I might listen to it again if only to fall in love with Shara Thivani all over again. Can't wait for the next installment!

Really enyoayable

Took some getting used to some of the narrators pauses, but by the end I count her reading as one of my favorites.

Occupation after de-divination

Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Stairs is a fantasy tale that begins as a murder investigation and evolves to an insurrection that is intent on bringing back vanquished divinities. The intelligence / diplomat who is sent to investigate the murder of an historian (whose actual job was to rewrite the region’s history) stumbles upon a plot to resurrect presumed dead divinities to exact revenge on their conquerors. She must do battle not only with the insurrectionists, but supposedly allies as well as her own superiors.

Bennett weaves a fully fleshed out world and in detail accurately portrayed the relationship between conquerors and the conquest. At the same time, there are a number of interpersonal relationships that create tension and drive the plot forward. The divinities do tend toward vanity and narcissism.

The narration is good with reasonable character distinction. Pacing is smooth and aligned with the plot.

A fantasy that in so many ways merges two world

Industrialization of a world that was until-recently built and ruled by Gods and their miracles. When the Saypuri colonies rebelled and killed the Continent's Gods, much of the capital's buildings -- created by the Gods -- vanished and the inhabitants lost much of their infrastructure. As they adjust to concepts of engineering, rather than being gifted all their needs by the Gods, people are torn between embracing the new or wanting to restore the old ways (how it was under the Gods). Tensions are high as Saypur outlaws any mention or recognition of the Gods, and restricts all knowledge of the Continent's history.

When a Saypuri professor sent to study the Divinities and the Continental history is murdered, a Saypuri spy named Shara arrives to the City of Stairs to investigate. Shara soon uncovers many mysteries and plots that go far beyond Dr. Pangyui's murder.

This is a world where magic carpets and cars coexist, and while the magic of the Gods' miracles fades, it still exists, hidden. The world is incredibly interesting, but this book also has some great characters (esp. the main three), and hits some very well-disguised cultural and political themes.

Narration is weird at times -- the narrator gave a character a Bostonian accent for one scene in the final act, but nowhere else -- but overall it is pretty good. The inconsistencies stand out, but are not frequent enough to distract from the story.

A mystery until it takes a crazy right turn

A mystery until it takes a crazy right turn and it only gets better and better. Strong female lead along with fully filled out characters, robust and full of life! Love it! The reader Alma is great too. One of the best female narrators I've heard.

The author loves language, the reader just as much

Would you consider the audio edition of City of Stairs to be better than the print version?

Absolutely! This fabulous reader loves reading this writer. Totally deserves the "performance" characterization

What other book might you compare City of Stairs to and why?

Shadow Country's writing/reading combo is also splendid. Both are unmatched, furst class experiences.

Which character – as performed by Alma Cuervo – was your favorite?

Just one? and I can't spell the names anyway. Shara?

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

Sigred and monster Oola's valiant struggle to the death

Unique take on fantasy

A great murder mystery that unfolds in layers. While it has a slow start it evolves into something wonderful. Great characters. Slight editing mishaps, otherwise the performance is wonderful. Highly recommend for anyone who enjoys fantasy and mystery.

Great book. Excited for more.

The world and story in this book was great, but where it really shined was the characters. All of them were expertly written.

Excellent!! Original, well told story.

An exciting plot with some mind being twists. I really enjoyed the prose and narration. The characters were very likeable and kept me interested in the conclusion of this volume

Something Different

Wanting a break from my usual listening fare, I decided to give City of Stairs a listen. The book is described as a fantasy, but it is definitely not your typical story of Kings and Knights set in a world of Elves and Ogres. City of Stairs is set in a world with magic and wonders, but also some modern conveniences.

This book would seem to have all you need for a fantastic journey, starting with a very good performance by Alma Cuervo as the narrator, who's voice seemed perfect for the main character Sharra. The premise of the story is good as well. In a city built by gods, Sharra is a secret agent who has come to investigate the murder of a top government employee by the long suppressed people of the city. The gods have been killed by a long since dead relative of Sharra herself, and their country has been occupied ever since.

I liked the premise of this story right from the beginning, however quickly found out that there are some issues with this book as well. To start, the first half of the book starts to bog down as there is nothing really happening other than long sequences of info dumps. Characters seem to sit around and tell the story of how the city came into being rather than the story naturally laying out what had happened as the story progresses. In one example, Sharra is confronted by a city leader over her questioning of a citizen of the city. She reluctantly lets the citizen leave, and then is so angry that she invites everyone around her to the kitchen where she cooks a meal for them and proceeds to tell the entire history of every god, including what their beliefs are, their relationship with the other gods, and how they died. All interesting stuff, but the scenario made no sense, and the telling drug out miserably.

Other issues were the setting itself. I was intrigued by the setting initially as fantasy type books usually don't include such things as cars, trains, and guns. The odd thing though is that even though Sharra arrives and departs on a train, then rides in a car to the embassy, and speaks about the use of guns hundreds of years before, none of these things are featured much in the story. Cars are available, but everyone walks everywhere. Guns are available, yet everyone uses swords, knives, and cross bolts. Trains and cars have been invented, but modern conveniences like lights, plumbing, or phones have not. It's a little confusing.

Overall, despite the slow start, once the story gets going and the action picks up, I did find myself enjoying this book. The characters were mostly likable, and that carries a story with some holes in it.