A review by wintersorbit
The City of Dusk, by Tara Sim
4.0
The City of Dusk follow four noble Houses in the city of Nexus that can trace back their ancestry to four different gods. All four gods rule a different realm with its own unique magic system, but centuries before the events of the book take place, the realms were closed off from one another. When catastrophes caused by a banned form of magic start happening around Nexus, the heirs of the four Houses get tangled up in a complicated web of events surrounding this forbidden Conjuration magic, as well as their own family duty.
We follow a large cast of POV characters, all of whom have their own connection to the central plot around Conjuration. The main characters from House Lastrider, Taesia and Dante, were easily my favorite. Dante wants to abolish the monarchic rule their country, Vaega, is under and enlists the help of his sister to do so, even though their methods might not be entirely moral… They wield shadow magic and, honestly, I want their powers.
The heirs of the other noble Houses—Angelica, Nikolas and Risha—all wield magic related to life (the elements), light, and death, respectively, and have their own storylines related to family, duty, and power. Seeing all of them deal differently with these themes was one of my favorite parts of The City of Dusk. Angelica just wants to please her mother, who has always aimed for her to eventually take the Vaegan throne. Nikolas wants to live up to the legacy left behind by his deceased brother but isn’t able to meet his father’s expectations of him. Risha is generally an obedient eldest daughter but also realizes that her parents’ values and opinions don’t always align with her own and starts rebelling in her own way. Reading about all of their relationships with parents and siblings was the main thing that initially drew me into this book and also something that hit me emotionally throughout the story.
What I liked a little less in this book were the romantic subplots that were, frankly, underdeveloped. There was already so much of a focus on magical and political drama, as well as familial bonds, that I don’t feel there was enough room for four different romantic subplots to be developed, even though most of them are still in their beginning stages. There were scenes, especially towards the end of the book, of which the emotional impact was dependent on my emotional investment in the romantic subplots. It’s safe to say I wasn’t invested enough in most of the relationships for the scenes to truly hit home, which is one of the reasons I didn’t entirely love this book in the end.
Apart from the central characters and their relationships, I was fascinated with the world-building of this book. The idea of a Cosmic Scale with different realms that used to be connected with portals but aren’t anymore is fascinating and reminded me a bit of the four different Londons in V.E. Schwab’s [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252]. Throughout the story, we get glimpses at the cultures of the various realms because there are diaspora communities within Nexus of species native to some of the realms that are now inaccessible. Having these distinctive cultures and different types of magic is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of it in the next book in this series.
What I’d like to mention, finally, is the casual diversity in this book, which is something that shouldn’t be as rare as it is within the fantasy genre. Most of the central characters are people of color, and Risha specifically is coded as South Asian, which aligns with the author’s own heritage. Characters are also casually queer all over the place, which is something that always delights me. I’ve struggled with finding fantasy books that feel safe to me because many worlds either erase the existence of queer people or are unfriendly to people like me, but this book’s main cast largely consists of queer (bisexual, lesbian, and asexual) characters. Trans and neurodivergent characters just exist in the background of the story, which is something that is so meaningful to me as a trans neurodivergent reader. I almost cried when there was a casual mention of a side character making a fidget toy with their elemental magic. Why is that not something I’ve ever seen before in fantasy books?
In the end, I really liked this book and am so excited to see what else Tara Sim has in store for this series. If you like city-set epic fantasy with dark aesthetics, multiple POVs, diverse casts, and characters grappling with duty and power, this is definitely a book I’d recommend checking out. It’s also a book that features main characters in their early twenties, which I know people are often looking for when they’re trying to get into the adult fantasy genre.
Content warnings: blood, death, violence, detailed descriptions of dead bodies, grief, self-harm, parental abuse, murder, suicidal ideation, cannibalism, addiction, drinking
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free eARC through NetGalley by Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review. This has not influenced my opinions in any way.
We follow a large cast of POV characters, all of whom have their own connection to the central plot around Conjuration. The main characters from House Lastrider, Taesia and Dante, were easily my favorite. Dante wants to abolish the monarchic rule their country, Vaega, is under and enlists the help of his sister to do so, even though their methods might not be entirely moral… They wield shadow magic and, honestly, I want their powers.
The heirs of the other noble Houses—Angelica, Nikolas and Risha—all wield magic related to life (the elements), light, and death, respectively, and have their own storylines related to family, duty, and power. Seeing all of them deal differently with these themes was one of my favorite parts of The City of Dusk. Angelica just wants to please her mother, who has always aimed for her to eventually take the Vaegan throne. Nikolas wants to live up to the legacy left behind by his deceased brother but isn’t able to meet his father’s expectations of him. Risha is generally an obedient eldest daughter but also realizes that her parents’ values and opinions don’t always align with her own and starts rebelling in her own way. Reading about all of their relationships with parents and siblings was the main thing that initially drew me into this book and also something that hit me emotionally throughout the story.
What I liked a little less in this book were the romantic subplots that were, frankly, underdeveloped. There was already so much of a focus on magical and political drama, as well as familial bonds, that I don’t feel there was enough room for four different romantic subplots to be developed, even though most of them are still in their beginning stages. There were scenes, especially towards the end of the book, of which the emotional impact was dependent on my emotional investment in the romantic subplots. It’s safe to say I wasn’t invested enough in most of the relationships for the scenes to truly hit home, which is one of the reasons I didn’t entirely love this book in the end.
Apart from the central characters and their relationships, I was fascinated with the world-building of this book. The idea of a Cosmic Scale with different realms that used to be connected with portals but aren’t anymore is fascinating and reminded me a bit of the four different Londons in V.E. Schwab’s [b:A Darker Shade of Magic|22055262|A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1)|V.E. Schwab|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1400322851l/22055262._SY75_.jpg|40098252]. Throughout the story, we get glimpses at the cultures of the various realms because there are diaspora communities within Nexus of species native to some of the realms that are now inaccessible. Having these distinctive cultures and different types of magic is fascinating and I can’t wait to see more of it in the next book in this series.
What I’d like to mention, finally, is the casual diversity in this book, which is something that shouldn’t be as rare as it is within the fantasy genre. Most of the central characters are people of color, and Risha specifically is coded as South Asian, which aligns with the author’s own heritage. Characters are also casually queer all over the place, which is something that always delights me. I’ve struggled with finding fantasy books that feel safe to me because many worlds either erase the existence of queer people or are unfriendly to people like me, but this book’s main cast largely consists of queer (bisexual, lesbian, and asexual) characters. Trans and neurodivergent characters just exist in the background of the story, which is something that is so meaningful to me as a trans neurodivergent reader. I almost cried when there was a casual mention of a side character making a fidget toy with their elemental magic. Why is that not something I’ve ever seen before in fantasy books?
In the end, I really liked this book and am so excited to see what else Tara Sim has in store for this series. If you like city-set epic fantasy with dark aesthetics, multiple POVs, diverse casts, and characters grappling with duty and power, this is definitely a book I’d recommend checking out. It’s also a book that features main characters in their early twenties, which I know people are often looking for when they’re trying to get into the adult fantasy genre.
Content warnings: blood, death, violence, detailed descriptions of dead bodies, grief, self-harm, parental abuse, murder, suicidal ideation, cannibalism, addiction, drinking
Disclaimer: I was provided with a free eARC through NetGalley by Hodder & Stoughton in exchange for an honest review. This has not influenced my opinions in any way.