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City of Stairs: Book One of the Divine Cities Trilogy

by Robert Jackson Bennett

A murder investigation among the ruins of divine rule

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AlbakiReads Editorial

A murder investigation among the ruins of divine rule

Bulikov’s physical landscape bears the marks of the miracles once worked there, making the city’s history part of the investigation’s setting. Shara Thivani arrives as a junior diplomat but is secretly a skilled spy, tasked with catching a murderer. Her inquiries connect the case to the city’s fallen gods and to the history of its former supremacy. The novel combines a murder mystery with epic fantasy elements, including political conquest, buried histories, and the possibility that Bulikov’s divine rulers are not entirely gone. It opens the Divine Cities trilogy.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers who enjoy epic fantasy with a distinctive, history-shaped setting.
  • Readers interested in spy protagonists and murder investigations.
  • Readers looking for a series opener involving gods, political conquest, and buried histories.

Themes

The legacy of divine ruleConquest and political powerBuried historiesSpying and murder investigation

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

HUGO AND LOCUS AWARD FINALIST - In the first book of an epic fantasy trilogy, master spy Shara Thivani investigates a murder in a mysterious city of dead gods, living assassins, and buried histories, from the nationally bestselling author of The Tainted Cup.

"Readers seeking a truly refreshing fantasy milieu should travel to Bulikov, and welcome its conquest."--N. K. Jemison, The New York Times

With the gods on its side, the city of Bulikov was once rich beyond measure, using the power of the heavens to reign over the Continent--until a desperate people rose up and did the impossible, killing its divine protectors. Now 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.

"A great world, original and unique, with a scent and a texture, a sense of deep, bloody history, and a naturally blended magic living in the stones."--NPR

Don't miss any of Robert Jackson Bennet's Divine Cities trilogy:
CITY OF STAIRS - CITY OF BLADES - CITY OF MIRACLES
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