reasonpassion's review against another edition
5.0
An ending as grand as the whole story
I’m always wary of how an author will end a fabulous story. The greater the telling the more there is to live up to. As tears well up I can honestly say I was not prepared for the sheer beauty of this ending. To bring pain and sorrow around to recognize the futility of their own power, that is a quest few individuals can accomplish and yet it is done with an entire book and through many characters. I realize that may not make a whole lot of sense but it will if you have followed the story this far and finish it. Which you should.
I’m always wary of how an author will end a fabulous story. The greater the telling the more there is to live up to. As tears well up I can honestly say I was not prepared for the sheer beauty of this ending. To bring pain and sorrow around to recognize the futility of their own power, that is a quest few individuals can accomplish and yet it is done with an entire book and through many characters. I realize that may not make a whole lot of sense but it will if you have followed the story this far and finish it. Which you should.
jordandotcom's review against another edition
5.0
this trilogy was so beautiful and im so in love
the ending made me cry again, and has done so every time I have read it, but it’s FINE I love this series so much
the ending made me cry again, and has done so every time I have read it, but it’s FINE I love this series so much
lovelycass's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
antonism's review against another edition
4.0
4 / 5
City of Miracles is the final book of the Divine Cities series, by Robert Jackson Bennett. While not strictly a sequential series, it pays a lot to have read and remember the previous two books as the experience becomes much richer and rewarding. I was debating if I should give this book a 4.5 but I will stick to 4 for now.
The premise is the following. As the book starts, Shara Komayd is killed by a top assassin, whose employer is a big mystery (not only to us readers, but even to the assassin himself). Sigrud, who has been hiding in "shelf-exile" for more than a dozen years, learns about this and decides that he must find answers, and maybe get revenge, even if that's the last thing he does. So starts a big adventure where facts, reasons and people are revealed gradually before a big and grand finale at the end.
Characterization is amazing as has been expected from Bennett. His characters are real, ordinary and very mortal and at the same time they are awesome, unique and inspiring. Each one has a distinct voice. Sigrud is the main character and he's constantly likeable and enjoyable, even considering his character's shortcomings. The rest of the cast is very interesting and unique but not as exciting as Sigrud or Sigrud's antagonist.
The plot is tense and very well presented. The story starts as a detective / special ops mystery where the main character knows even less than the reader and tries to find his way and his answers through various ways. Little by little, Sigrud pieces together what he suspects is happening while events happen which affect him and the world greatly.
Pacing was great. This was neither a slow nor a boring book. Things kept being revealed and happening all the time. Bennett's writing is also very enjoyable and efficient. His prose is easy to read and understand. His dialogues are also well crafted.
On the whole, I greatly enjoyed reading City of Miracles, but still, I have two minor complaints. One is the constant repetition of "What...what..." whenever any character learned something he was not expecting. At the beginning it was not such a problem due to the limited number of interactions between characters, but as the novel progressed and people got together and started talking and revealing things to each other, the "what...what" count increased fast and started annoying me. Bennett is an experienced author with rich prose and I expect something better from him than just that.
The second is the general plot resolution during the final 50 pages or so. I just didn't like it much. I'm not sure what I expected and I think I could see it coming but I was not very satisfied with the way things happened in the final 3 chapters. This comes down to personal preference; I suppose many people will have the exact opposite opinion on this but well, I personally feel it could have been something even better.
Having said all that and in summary, I think this third and final book of the Divine Cities series is the strongest and best book of the three. It's an amazing conclusion that manages to connect all the world-building and stories from the previous books and augment and enhance them. It is a worthy ending to a greatly enjoyable series. Highly recommended!
4 / 5
City of Miracles is the final book of the Divine Cities series, by Robert Jackson Bennett. While not strictly a sequential series, it pays a lot to have read and remember the previous two books as the experience becomes much richer and rewarding. I was debating if I should give this book a 4.5 but I will stick to 4 for now.
The premise is the following. As the book starts, Shara Komayd is killed by a top assassin, whose employer is a big mystery (not only to us readers, but even to the assassin himself). Sigrud, who has been hiding in "shelf-exile" for more than a dozen years, learns about this and decides that he must find answers, and maybe get revenge, even if that's the last thing he does. So starts a big adventure where facts, reasons and people are revealed gradually before a big and grand finale at the end.
Characterization is amazing as has been expected from Bennett. His characters are real, ordinary and very mortal and at the same time they are awesome, unique and inspiring. Each one has a distinct voice. Sigrud is the main character and he's constantly likeable and enjoyable, even considering his character's shortcomings. The rest of the cast is very interesting and unique but not as exciting as Sigrud or Sigrud's antagonist.
The plot is tense and very well presented. The story starts as a detective / special ops mystery where the main character knows even less than the reader and tries to find his way and his answers through various ways. Little by little, Sigrud pieces together what he suspects is happening while events happen which affect him and the world greatly.
Pacing was great. This was neither a slow nor a boring book. Things kept being revealed and happening all the time. Bennett's writing is also very enjoyable and efficient. His prose is easy to read and understand. His dialogues are also well crafted.
On the whole, I greatly enjoyed reading City of Miracles, but still, I have two minor complaints. One is the constant repetition of "What...what..." whenever any character learned something he was not expecting. At the beginning it was not such a problem due to the limited number of interactions between characters, but as the novel progressed and people got together and started talking and revealing things to each other, the "what...what" count increased fast and started annoying me. Bennett is an experienced author with rich prose and I expect something better from him than just that.
The second is the general plot resolution during the final 50 pages or so. I just didn't like it much. I'm not sure what I expected and I think I could see it coming but I was not very satisfied with the way things happened in the final 3 chapters. This comes down to personal preference; I suppose many people will have the exact opposite opinion on this but well, I personally feel it could have been something even better.
Having said all that and in summary, I think this third and final book of the Divine Cities series is the strongest and best book of the three. It's an amazing conclusion that manages to connect all the world-building and stories from the previous books and augment and enhance them. It is a worthy ending to a greatly enjoyable series. Highly recommended!
4 / 5
shellc2013's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
palindromereads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
bretzingerb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ian_9's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0