Book Confession: City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

Name: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Number of Pages: 464 in Paperback
Published: September 9th 2014
by Broadway Books
Genre: Fantasy, Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery

“Years ago, the city of Bulikov wielded the powers of the Gods to conquer the world. But after its divine protectors were mysteriously killed, the conqueror has become the conquered; the city’s proud history has been erased and censored, progress has left it behind, and it is just another colonial outpost of the world’s new geopolitical power. Into this musty, backward city steps Shara Divani. Officially, the quiet mousy woman is just another lowly diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, Shara is one of her country’s most accomplished spymasters-dispatched to investigate the brutal murder of a seemingly harmless historian. As Shara pursues the mystery through the ever-shifting physical and political geography of the city, she begins to suspect that the beings who once protected Bulikov may not be as dead as they seem-and that her own abilities might be touched by the divine as well.”

This is not a book review if you’re thinking it is. Book Confession. Yeah. Sort of. I just made it up for the sole purpose of explaining why I’ll have a new book to read. I’ve been reading for God knows when and this is the first time. First. Time. That I haven’t finished a book and not wanting to continue reading it. I must admit that I set aside Shatter Me after reading a couple of chapters, but I’m really finding time to pick it up again, but this? I tried, but failed. This. Is. Not. For. Me. I felt the need to explain why though since a lot of readers loved this. I feel like a villain, but still, I don’t want to go back reading this. I don’t normally read Adult books, but this book pulled me right into it because of the good reviews, book cover and the blurb. Yeah. The book cover is gorgeous. The reviews were promising. To be honest, I’ve mistakenly assumed the blurb for something else and yeah, that’s my fault.

Book Beginning│Currently Reading : City of Stairs by Robert Jackson Bennett

Currently Reading #30

Name: City of Stairs
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Number of Pages: 464 in Paperback
Published: September 9th 2014
by Broadway Books
Genre: Fantasy, Adult, Science Fiction, Mystery,

“Years ago, the city of Bulikov wielded the powers of the Gods to conquer the world. But after its divine protectors were mysteriously killed, the conqueror has become the conquered; the city’s proud history has been erased and censored, progress has left it behind, and it is just another colonial outpost of the world’s new geopolitical power. Into this musty, backward city steps Shara Divani. Officially, the quiet mousy woman is just another lowly diplomat sent by Bulikov’s oppressors. Unofficially, Shara is one of her country’s most accomplished spymasters-dispatched to investigate the brutal murder of a seemingly harmless historian. As Shara pursues the mystery through the ever-shifting physical and political geography of the city, she begins to suspect that the beings who once protected Bulikov may not be as dead as they seem-and that her own abilities might be touched by the divine as well.”

I’m not really certain if this falls under Young Adult so I’ve researched and found out that this inclines more to the Adult genre. A bit hesitant in reading this since I don’t really enjoy adult books (I don’t want to feel an adult really. I want to stay young. LOL), but then again when I’ve read its blurb it triggered my curiosity to get the book. I’ve also checked reviews:

There is a lot of fantasy fiction out there and unfortunately, much of it is just a rehashing of the tired old tropes of wizards and elves and swords and onwards. City of Stairs was like nothing I have ever read before. I could praise Robert Jackson Bennett on his world building alone. I could read a history about the lands and cultures he created in this book and be incredibly entertained. And yet, despite all these new foreign locations and strange sounding character names, the whole fantastical story felt incredibly grounded in real human characters. They were tortured and lovable and funny. Overall, the book definitely lived up to the hype.
— Amanda Steinhoff, author of Lily and the Golden Lute