A review by debchan
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
4.0
so fascinating.
take [b:There Will Come a Darkness|41823536|There Will Come a Darkness (The Age of Darkness, #1)|Katy Rose Pool|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552324202l/41823536._SX50_.jpg|65273490] but multiply the complexity by five. i got the ancient civilization, dead gods, guilds/sects vibe that i really like.
jovan: a master of poisons, best friend to the chancellor's son, tain, and human shield for him against attacks from the shadows. not only is that the coolest thing ever, but jovan was just such a cool character. driven by the society's view of honor and duty to one's family, jovan must risk his life every time he takes tain's food and drink. jovan is characterized as having obsessions, yet it wasn't considered a hindrance, since his suspicions and habits served to help him later on with the plots and schemes.
kalina: a diplomat trained to make everything think she is weaker than she is. kalina has chronic pain, causing her to be constantly overprotected by everyone (including jovan), EXCEPT tain, who knows her true powers of manipulation. her chapters were definitely less exciting that jovan's, but i still liked her subtle way of getting people to relax around her and then probing them for their secrets.
tain: for some reason, i thought i would dislike tain from the first couple of chapters, but i was WRONG. tain is literally the least problematic person in all of silasta. he's still just a kid (but not really) who sees the best in everyone and wants to be with his friends. the way he loved both jovan and kalina and was literally all they had!! their friendship was everything. probably my favorite character, and i wish he showed up more.
hadrea: i suppose i had to mention hadrea, but i did enjoy reading about her. i loved how her anger at the mistreatment of her people caused jovan to realize that he, too, was one of the aristocrats who had assumed the poor were content with richening the wealthy. her humor as well made me smile several times, and i wish her friendship with kalina could have had more time. but there was a point where i didn't like what the plot did with her and jovan...
but speaking of plot!
one of the main reasons i enjoyed this book so much. the worldbuilding was immaculate. i loved the descriptions of the different people groups, the foundation of the city, and the mythology. putting the reader right into the heart of the city, along with jovan and kalina, was an extremely smart idea, as it felt realistic to me how the politics played out in front of children forced into adulthood.
an approaching peasant army, the awakening of dead gods, a poisoning that a master poisoner could not cure, and betrayal from every sides: what's not to like? there really isn't much to say without major spoilers, but the plot is essentially a mystery. who is the mastermind, the cause of all of tain, jovan, and kalina's troubles?
alright, so the one thing that bugged me, that bumped my rating down to 4 stars was
can't wait for book 2!
take [b:There Will Come a Darkness|41823536|There Will Come a Darkness (The Age of Darkness, #1)|Katy Rose Pool|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552324202l/41823536._SX50_.jpg|65273490] but multiply the complexity by five. i got the ancient civilization, dead gods, guilds/sects vibe that i really like.
jovan: a master of poisons, best friend to the chancellor's son, tain, and human shield for him against attacks from the shadows. not only is that the coolest thing ever, but jovan was just such a cool character. driven by the society's view of honor and duty to one's family, jovan must risk his life every time he takes tain's food and drink. jovan is characterized as having obsessions, yet it wasn't considered a hindrance, since his suspicions and habits served to help him later on with the plots and schemes.
kalina: a diplomat trained to make everything think she is weaker than she is. kalina has chronic pain, causing her to be constantly overprotected by everyone (including jovan), EXCEPT tain, who knows her true powers of manipulation. her chapters were definitely less exciting that jovan's, but i still liked her subtle way of getting people to relax around her and then probing them for their secrets.
tain: for some reason, i thought i would dislike tain from the first couple of chapters, but i was WRONG. tain is literally the least problematic person in all of silasta. he's still just a kid (but not really) who sees the best in everyone and wants to be with his friends. the way he loved both jovan and kalina and was literally all they had!! their friendship was everything. probably my favorite character, and i wish he showed up more.
hadrea: i suppose i had to mention hadrea, but i did enjoy reading about her. i loved how her anger at the mistreatment of her people caused jovan to realize that he, too, was one of the aristocrats who had assumed the poor were content with richening the wealthy. her humor as well made me smile several times, and i wish her friendship with kalina could have had more time. but there was a point where i didn't like what the plot did with her and jovan...
but speaking of plot!
one of the main reasons i enjoyed this book so much. the worldbuilding was immaculate. i loved the descriptions of the different people groups, the foundation of the city, and the mythology. putting the reader right into the heart of the city, along with jovan and kalina, was an extremely smart idea, as it felt realistic to me how the politics played out in front of children forced into adulthood.
an approaching peasant army, the awakening of dead gods, a poisoning that a master poisoner could not cure, and betrayal from every sides: what's not to like? there really isn't much to say without major spoilers, but the plot is essentially a mystery. who is the mastermind, the cause of all of tain, jovan, and kalina's troubles?
alright, so the one thing that bugged me, that bumped my rating down to 4 stars was
Spoiler
the strange romance of jovan and hadrea. i'm not sure how i'm supposed to feel after years, pages, chapters of perfect chemistry between tain and jovan, for it all to boil down to jovan falling in love with hadrea. and even hadrea and jovan are extremely rocky, since jovan is still led by duty to tain. if book 2 explored this relationship better then i might have no qualms with it, but as is, it felt rushed, stuffed into the last pages. no plot would be removed if their relationship did not happen. but really, i'm not the biggest fan of even jovan and tain ending up in a relationship, because not every book needs a forced romance to make it interesting; it produces the opposite effect. and while jovan/tain would be tolerable, jovan/hadrea felt like a forced romance that won't go anywhere well.can't wait for book 2!