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City of Stairs
- Narrated by: Alma Cuervo
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about City of Stairs
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Scott S.
- 10-17-14
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.
39 people found this helpful
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- Ryan
- 10-26-14
Fantasy spy thriller, some world-building issues
Lately, there's been a movement in fantasy away from the late medieval Western European milieu that predominates in the genre towards other kinds of settings. Why not a steampunk universe? Why not a Bronze Age universe, or a Russian-inspired one? Why not a universe where people travel in space and have "modern" sensibilities, as well as magic abilities? (See the popular "Saga" graphic novel series)
Robert Jackson Bennett is a young author who hops on that train in City of Stairs, and I took a chance on the book after it got a lot of praise online (I consider a plethora of gushy fans a cautionary sign). The novel reminds me a bit of China Mieville's The City & The City, in that the plot begins with a murder mystery and takes place in a city where there are two cultures with competing narratives, and a troubled, unspoken history behind everything.
But, where Mieville's novel was more metaphysical, this one leans more in the fantasy direction. As we learn, Shara, a foreign service agent from a country called Saypur, which has a roughly late-1800s level of technology, is one of the few people who knows much about the past history of Bulikov and the surrounding continent. This region used to be dominated by magic and a pantheon of gods, but Saypur invaded the Continent about seventy years prior, killed the gods and most of their creatures, locked up the magical artifacts, and suppressed all study of the divine. Except, of course, that being done by one prominent Saypuri scholar, whose murder begins the book. With the help of her secretary, Sigrud, a barbarian giant of few words, Shara begins a search for the culprit. And there are plenty to suspect of complicity, from an ultra-conservative Bulikov nationalist group, to an ex-boyfriend of Shara's, to her own government, to one of the gods (are they really all dead?). What was the murdered man looking for within a secret vault? And what of the legendary Saypuri leader who used a secret weapon of his own devising to slay the gods?
This was one of those novels that got off to a slow start, but gradually picked up steam towards the middle. I liked the characters, the smart but flawed Shara, the hard-headed female colonel, and the mysterious Sigrud, with his dark past. There are some great scenes involving battles with monsters, and some interesting ideas about the nature of the gods and their relationship to humanity.
The world-building, though, is a little muddled. Saypur feels like a vaguely Indian culture, but has some clearly modern and "western" attitudes. The Continent seems vaguely Russian, but is similar to "barbarian" societies we've seen in countless other fantasy and sci-fi novels. The technology and social attitudes are somewhat inconsistent -- on one hand, Saypur has cars and an advanced state of women's lib, but gunpowder and photography are relatively new inventions. And some of the magic gets a little silly, such as the final battle with the divinities. As a result, I had a hard time getting too engaged in the politics of the story -- the world never felt totally convincing.
Yet, in terms of plot, this is a pretty competent fantasy world spy/mystery thriller, and I think a lot of readers will enjoy it. The audiobook narration is good, and fits Shara well, but isn't spectacular. I had trouble distinguishing minor characters in places.
31 people found this helpful
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- Marcus O'Brien
- 07-13-15
Sloppy ending
The story moved rather well until the end. The idea is imaginative and writing style is fluid.
The performance was excellent.
My only disappointment was in the ending. But that is true in lots of books which should be multiple volumes but are crammed into single book.
9 people found this helpful
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- Frenkel
- 12-14-18
I guess this wasn’t for me
The narrator sometimes talked too fast so the different characters weren’t distinguishable from one and other. Other times she talked really slow.
The storyline was ok but I just couldn’t connect with any of them. By the end, I was just glad it was over.
It wasn’t a bad book, but it missed the mark for me.
3 people found this helpful
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- Dan
- 11-13-17
Solid world, lackluster end
It started out interesting. It builds a fascinating world, but then it devolves into some common tropes and overpowered main characters at the end. Not bad, but nothing I haven't read before.
3 people found this helpful
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- Brian
- 10-04-14
Wow! The Whole Package
This book is incredible. I thought it would be interesting and thought provoking and it was, but sometimes that means boring and it wasn't that. There are great characters, a unique world and a murder to be solved that keeps your attention while the world building unfolds.
I've never read another Robert Bennett book but this one is definitely in the fantasy genre. Lots of Gods and monsters and miracles. It's kind of hard to describe without experiencing it and I definitely recommend that.
The narrator fits the story very well, she differentiates between the characters very well and definitely does not distract you from the story.
It seems to be a stand alone novel but I definitely would not mind hearing another story take place in this world or with these characters.
11 people found this helpful
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- Bob
- 09-30-14
Engaging Fantasy
A wonderful fantasy novel. Typically fantasy requires a huge investment and the willingness to forgo instant engagement to allow the author the create a new world for you, but Bennett manages to both create a wonderful world while instantly engaging the reader. The narration was for the most part solid but there were noticeable breakdowns in rhythm and breathing issues, with a few moments where it felt like she was stumbling over complicated phrasing. Otherwise, she did an excellent job creating the atmosphere Bennett was trying to achieve.
7 people found this helpful
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- Dave
- 09-18-16
Everything You Didn't Know You Wanted in Fantasy
I don't know why it took me so long to listen to Robert Jackson Bennett's City of Stairs -- I've loved everything I've read or listened to by him -- particularly the Troupe and American Elsewhere. Whatever the case, I'm glad I got around to it at last. City of Stairs is everything I didn't realize I wanted from fantasy fiction -- espionage, magic, murder, dead gods (and maybe not-so-dead gods), sheer WTF-ery, and even a criticism of cultural appropriation (without losing sight of telling a rollicking a story).
The story unfolds when a diplomat is found murdered in his office in the occupied colonial city of Bullikov. A spy, an aging military general, and a bodyguard come together to investigate not only a murder, but a conspiracy that leads back to the city's brutal origins, when gods once ruled and enslaved humanity. Now, Bullikov is occupied by the forces that killed the gods, and has done their best to confiscate and destroy as much of the city's religious artifacts, books, and arts as they can. As you can imagine, not everyone's happy about the way things are going, and the author does an excellent job of weaving uneasiness and tension into every character's perspective.
One of the things I've always appreciated about Robert Jackson Bennett's books is that they stand alone -- and up until now, he hasn't dabbled in series and trilogies which have come to dominate fantasy and science fiction. This book marks the first in the Divine Cities Trilogy, and maybe that's part of what put me off some. I'm happy to report that while it's the first in a trilogy (or series), and I can imagine some places it might go -- it's a complete story on its own, and doesn't feel like a set-up for whatever is coming next. If this was the end of the story, I would be completely satisfied. As it is, I'm very curious to see where RJB goes next with City of Blades.
Alma Alexander's narration isn't too flashy, but it is perfection. She captures the different characters perfectly. Shara, the protagonist, is a very complex character and Alexander nails her hard edges as well as her vulnerability and since of longing. SIgurd, her bodyguard, is something of a monster, and it's a delight to see him unleashed. But my favorite character was the jaded, sarcastic military general Mulaghesh -- mainly because her dry tone reminds me of my podcasting friend M.K. Hobson.
If agents Mulder and Scully had become spies and were sent to different countries to investigate the deaths and possible resurrection of god, with Hellboy as their assistant and accidentally stumbled over warehouse containing the ark of the covenant -- well, we'd be lucky if it was as good as this book is. City of Stairs is one of the best fantasy books I've listened to in recent memory. Just writing this review makes me want to return to the mysterious streets and alleys of Bullikov on the next train ride.
12 people found this helpful
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- RMD
- 03-10-21
Amateurish performance
The narrator stumbles over her words. She pauses for no reason in the middle of a sentence. A couple times she mispronounces a word. Two or three times they had to splice in a sentence from a completely different narrator. This is the audio equivalent of a manuscript with a bunch of typos in it, and is unprofessional to sell it at full price.
2 people found this helpful
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- Judith
- 06-12-19
Loved it!
loved the world building! however, there was a lot of exposition that l imagine will be a drag to others.
2 people found this helpful