gladiolus17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.75
I read Robert Jackson Bennett’s City of Stairs series and LOVED it, but going through college and grad school, I don’t have the time to read anything more. Now I’m so glad to get back to his work. I feel like I’m coming back to an old friend.
Foundryside’s characters are SO lovable and distinct. I thought this before for the City of Stairs, but Bennett really has a gift for dialogue and worldbuilding. Everything is so carefully crafted and well-thought over. The magic system—so unique and interesting.
75% in Sancia’s thoughts about herself hit me like a gut punch. And when she overcomes herself—!!!!!!
My only complaint is a minor one, but I still wish it wasn’t there. Foundryside is diverse and progressive in many ways, such as having LGBTQ characters and POC characters, but the casual fatphobia is still in it. The fat characters and fatness in general were depicted as greedy and evil, a common trope. There is one instance of gaining weight as a positive, where Gregor’s body size is commented on and he thinks (paraphrasing) but that’s the only instance.
Foundryside’s characters are SO lovable and distinct. I thought this before for the City of Stairs, but Bennett really has a gift for dialogue and worldbuilding. Everything is so carefully crafted and well-thought over. The magic system—so unique and interesting.
75% in Sancia’s thoughts about herself hit me like a gut punch. And when she overcomes herself—!!!!!!
My only complaint is a minor one, but I still wish it wasn’t there. Foundryside is diverse and progressive in many ways, such as having LGBTQ characters and POC characters, but the casual fatphobia is still in it. The fat characters and fatness in general were depicted as greedy and evil, a common trope. There is one instance of gaining weight as a positive, where Gregor’s body size is commented on and he thinks (paraphrasing)
Spoiler
I gained weight because I was starving before in the war,
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: War and Fatphobia
laguerrelewis's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.75
I came across this book thanks to its mention in an essay about creative commentary through sci-fi/fantasy systems, in which it was lauded in the same breath as N.K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season. I am happy to report that it lives up to this comparison. The “magic” system of this book is incredibly unique and inspired, and Robert Jackson Bennett skillfully increases how complexly it is applied in a very rewarding way. His style is similar to Brandon Sanderson, with a nice balance of humor, despair, and optimism. And the best part is this book is basically a series of heists with ever increasing stakes and reality-warping magic! This would be a 5 star review if not for some politics regarding policing that feel outdated from a 2023 perspective and the handling of a certain characters’ trauma. I think that element could’ve been handled more tactfully. Ultimately, though, this book was quite the enjoyable read, and I’m excited to read the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Sexual harassment, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Alcohol, Slavery, Torture, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Violence, Vomit, War, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Medical content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cannibalism and Death of parent
amandabcook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, and Slavery
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/injury detail, and War
Minor: Sexual content, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Sexual violence
kell_xavi's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
2.5
There were a few things I liked about this book, but it’s a case where a combination of length and unpleasant tropes brought it down in my esteem the further along the plot went. There’s a kind of fantasy novel that is concerned with magic that is often mechanic, often acts on the human body, is often a curse of gothic body horror, and almost always has someone sadistic and mad with jealous power at its heart. I’ve read a few of these books, and I can feel the dread creep in as I figure out that they’re going in this direction.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Bennett’s basic world-building is kind of cool, though (and this may also be an element of the kind of book I’ve just described) perhaps not to the well-trained, in-depth fantasy reader. The idea that codes can train objects to act like other objects, essentially as though their reality is different and specific to another thing, is intriguing. The scrivers and fabricators, lexicons and Sancia’s powers are all fascinating. The problem is that a lot of the mythology is really complex, the advanced scrived designs get a bit out of hand, and Bennett ends up juggling a lot of stuff that, despite sometimes lengthy explanations, is often a mix of suspension of disbelief and deus ex machina. Which would be a good joke, considering how much of the story deals with gods, machines, advanced beings, magic cyborgs, and the like, except that the piling up of all these pieces sort of cracks the foundations that the story is built on. I was never sure, when the characters refer to god (as in, “god help me” etc.), which god they speak of, since there’s no religion mentioned and the distant past is legend. They also swear way too much, all said, so that it became a distraction and the characters blended together at times; and this alternate universe looks a lot like steampunk 19th century Italy.
Some of the reveals about the key, about Sancia, are moving, but there’s a way to write trauma without putting that trauma in the reader, and Bennett was not interested in doing so. There’s an abundance of scenes of torture, war, enslavement, of misogyny, of medical trials, of starvation and mutilation, a lot of which I didn’t feel served it’s purpose. It’s a terrible world that’s terrible to live in. Sancia is a scrappy thief with a weird curse, and one of the few people worth rooting for. Mostly, these circumstances made me less likely to read the rest of the trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Slavery, War, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Excrement, Misogyny, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Body horror, and Colonisation
Minor: Vomit, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
randiriel's review against another edition
Why, in a fictional world with fictional locations, is a slur etymologically based on a real world location used? He could have said travelers. He could have said nomads. He could have said anything. Instead he chose a slur. I would have DNFed and returned it at that point if it wasn't a library book. Instead, I pressed on, and found lazy and mediocre writing. Phrases are repeated within sentences, worldbuilding is dumped through clumsy character dialogue, the editing is poor, the characters are shallow and not consistent (one claims to be vehemently opposed to killing, but proceeds to have no problems with it minutes later), the worldbuilding and magic system are the only things worth reading this book for. Even the contrived swearing is lazy; swears roll off the tongue, these don't. Not the worst book I've read this year. Not remotely the best. Compared to the other titles I've read this year, I'd call this firmly below average.
I wrote that much partway through reading. I've come to amend. This has now passed into bad book territory. 75% through and I'm officially DNFing it. An extremely rare occurrence, which should say something.
I wrote that much partway through reading. I've come to amend.
Spoiler
If you can use anything but rape, DON'T USE RAPE.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma and Mental illness
Moderate: Slavery, Medical trauma, Trafficking, Suicide, Sexism, Murder, Mental illness, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, War, Death, Kidnapping, Cursing, and Classism
Minor: Cannibalism, Vomit, and Racial slurs
rossandhissandwich's review
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Vomit, Classism, and Car accident
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Sexual assault, and War
spacecurl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
I picked this book up because I loved the cover, it's stunningly beautiful. It has been a while since I read a fantasy book with a lot of world building so it took me a little bit to get into, but the magic system was really interesting and the highly flawed characters that learned to work with each other over the course of the book was really fun to read.
It was a bit gruesome in parts which took me by surprise, but it matches the overall story and atmosphere of the book so it was tolerable to my soft heart haha
All in all I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the other two in the series in the future.
It was a bit gruesome in parts which took me by surprise, but it matches the overall story and atmosphere of the book so it was tolerable to my soft heart haha
All in all I really enjoyed this book and will be reading the other two in the series in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Torture, Vomit, Violence, Slavery, and Body horror
Moderate: Death, Excrement, Gore, Murder, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Misogyny, and War
kassidyreads's review
adventurous
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, and Slavery
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cannibalism, Domestic abuse, War, Sexual assault, Confinement, and Torture
poetry_shaman's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Blood, Colonisation, Death, and Excrement
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: War
The G word is used to refer to a group of traveling people. While the occurrence of the word happens in dialogue and is not directed at a person or ethnic group, it does stand out and has aged poorly.jurizprudence's review
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-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
3.75
“Reality doesn’t matter. If you can change something’s mind enough, it’ll believe whatever reality you choose.”
so the merchant houses and their scrived tools' main thing is that they gaslight gatekeep girlboss their way into altering/manipulating objects and reality. that was interesting.
this book's biggest strengths lie on its magic system and world-building. if it were not for those two, i think i would've not continued reading, because i'm not the biggest fan of the characters (see, a character saying: "With his blood, the damned thing should open for her like a schoolgirl’s legs!" wth was that i seriously wanted to stop reading when i read that) and the writing style. also the middle took forever to read and i almost always found myself bored throughout the entire thing, which is weird, because i do love action and heists and this book has plenty of those—so maybe my problem is in the author's execution of plots and descriptions. i was also debating whether to pick up the next books or not because i really have complicated feelings about this one, but since i kinda liked the second to the last chapter and somehow i got attached to an actual key, i think i'll be continuing with this series. but not so soon, i guess. i might need a palate cleanser first.
i think if you liked six of crows, you might enjoy this, though that was not the case for me so i really don't know lol
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Slavery, Violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gore, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Torture, and Physical abuse
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Confinement, Genocide, Sexism, Sexual content, and War