Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - City of Stairs

Wow this book is interesting, the whole previously colonized group then taking over a colonizing the original colonizers is honestly brilliant. I enjoyed the pacing of learning more about the world and the Divines. Shara was an interesting main character because she was at times so reserved and then other times was so fervent in her feelings. Super interesting, I’m excited to read the rest of the series.

Fantasy, Colonization, Divine Beings

“Good can be done at anytime, anywhere, to anyone, by anyone. We live our lives thinking up so many rules.”

“Historians, I think, should be keepers of truth. We must tell things as they are—honestly, and without subversion. That is the greatest good one can do.“

“This is what I’ve always been, she’d think, much later. Someone who does not intervene in her own life, but only watches, and works behind the scenes.”

“One day you’ll know, her Auntie Vinya told her. And understand. You’ll figure yourself out. And things will be all right.”

“Because it is all I know.”

“I have known very few good people. But I think that you are one of them.”

Content Warnings

emilyplun's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

jordandotcom's review against another edition

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5.0

this series is one that devastates, haunts. it’s one that has a slow and delicious pace, and even when my reread seems to be a constant pick-up-put-down cycle, it still remains my favorite. it is a meditation on colonialism, race, history, war, violence, urban planning, gods. it’s a series that has serious staying power, and has not left my brain since the first time I read it nearly four years ago. it is a bittersweet tragedy to read, as there are few good endings not hard-fought and devastating. and this is especially embodied in vohannes, whose arc of tragedy ended in defiant liberation, even if in a way that makes me cry. and vohannes, mulaghesh, sigrud, and shara are easily some of my favorite fantasy characters of all time.

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