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sanne6je's review against another edition
2.0
What a massive book for the start of a series with many pov’s, also in the same chapter. The writing was not bad, but the book didn’t need to be this massive
ivyhelena's review against another edition
I was getting a bit bored, the story took about 100 pages to really get going. I think I’ll give it a try again in the future, but possibly as an audiobook.
laelyn's review against another edition
2.0
So I know Tara Sim is a known author, but I honestly haven't read any of her books. I was drawn to "The City of Dusk" because the premise sounds so incredibly cool and unique and I was instantly intrigued. It's definitely not a bad book, on the contrary. I wanted to love it, but in the end there were just too many things I personally didn't enjoy.
The world Sim builds in this first book of her new series is a complex and fascinating one, with different realms and gods and heirs, lots of magic and a good dash of political intrigue. The world building is at times too convoluted, but in general it's well done. The potential of exploring these other realms is VERY intriguing so there's a lot of stuff to do in further novels set in the same world. The writing is good, too, and fits the story. And the characters, in theory, are so intriguing and different from each other, with so much potential for character development and interesting relationships.
Sadly, my biggest gripe with the novel is that I just could not connect to these characters at all. They could be great but in the end, they fell flat. I didn't feel anything for either of them and felt like they weren't as fleshed out as they needed to be. The relationships between them are... just not very interesting mostly? I do like that romance isn't much of a subject at all in this novel, and I also like the diversity of the cast, but that's pretty much all I like about them. Taesia really really wanted to be a new favorite character but she's just too On The Nose - still, I think she's easily the most memorable of the bunch.
The magic system is just... too much. There don't seem to be any fixed rules, and there's wings and necromancy and elemental magic and shadow magic and gods and what not, and at times it almost feels anime-esque in the way it's described. It's all over the place, just like a lot of the world building in general.
The pacing is really slow and the first half of the novel draaaaags. I admit I kind of skimmed through a few pages because nothing substantial was happening.
Still, this has potential, and the last about 20% of the book are action-.filled and really fun. It wasn't enough to change my mind on my reading experience, and I don't think I'll read the sequel, but I can still see this having a lot of fans.
2.5 stars.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
The world Sim builds in this first book of her new series is a complex and fascinating one, with different realms and gods and heirs, lots of magic and a good dash of political intrigue. The world building is at times too convoluted, but in general it's well done. The potential of exploring these other realms is VERY intriguing so there's a lot of stuff to do in further novels set in the same world. The writing is good, too, and fits the story. And the characters, in theory, are so intriguing and different from each other, with so much potential for character development and interesting relationships.
Sadly, my biggest gripe with the novel is that I just could not connect to these characters at all. They could be great but in the end, they fell flat. I didn't feel anything for either of them and felt like they weren't as fleshed out as they needed to be. The relationships between them are... just not very interesting mostly? I do like that romance isn't much of a subject at all in this novel, and I also like the diversity of the cast, but that's pretty much all I like about them. Taesia really really wanted to be a new favorite character but she's just too On The Nose - still, I think she's easily the most memorable of the bunch.
The magic system is just... too much. There don't seem to be any fixed rules, and there's wings and necromancy and elemental magic and shadow magic and gods and what not, and at times it almost feels anime-esque in the way it's described. It's all over the place, just like a lot of the world building in general.
The pacing is really slow and the first half of the novel draaaaags. I admit I kind of skimmed through a few pages because nothing substantial was happening.
Still, this has potential, and the last about 20% of the book are action-.filled and really fun. It wasn't enough to change my mind on my reading experience, and I don't think I'll read the sequel, but I can still see this having a lot of fans.
2.5 stars.
Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and Netgalley for the arc!
mycupoftealcsw's review against another edition
DNF after sample. It was hard to engage with any of the characters or their role in the world.
drakoulis's review against another edition
5.0
The City of Dusk is out now!
The City of Dusk is the fascinating first book in Tara Sim's new dark epic fantasy trilogy: The Dark Gods !
Four realms. Four gods. Four noble houses. The realms were once connected, but not anymore. The portals are closed and the gods have abandoned their people.
The story is set in the realm of Vitae - more specifically in Nexus, also known as the city of dusk, capital of the kingdom of Vaega, and follows the heirs of four noble houses, each gifted with a divine power descending from their god.
Dante and Taesia of House Lastrider, masters of the Shades, a visionary charmer and a rogue free spirit.
Nikolas of House Cyr, soldier of the Light, searching for his own light.
Angelica of House Mardova, power-hungry Elementalist eyeing the throne.
Risha of House Vakara, Necromancer, fighting to keep the dead away from the living.
And Julian Luca, Hunter, with a strange power nobody has heard of.
The Houses have a rocky history of antagonizing each other, but if they want to save their city, the heirs have to work together, overcoming their complex personal relationships. The characters are not black and white, but various shades of grey-and willing to go to extremes to accomplish their goals.
This book is quite big, and has multiple plotlines, which makes the pacing a bit slow in parts of it. But it's all part of the bigger picture, and it pays out for a dramatic, breathtaking final part!
The worldbuilding is very detailed, from the garments and the weapons to the societal groups and the different way each of our characters sees the world.
The romantic subplots are not as prominent as I expected, but since it's the first book of a trilogy, we can expect more of it in the next books!
The magic system is interesting, the gods are terrifying and some scenes are really dark.
If I had to pick my favourite character, that would be Dante, and then Nikolas-especially when he was letting his guard now with a certain minor (or is he?) character.
The City of Dusk is another Tara Sim masterpiece after the Timekeeper series !
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!
The City of Dusk is the fascinating first book in Tara Sim's new dark epic fantasy trilogy: The Dark Gods !
Four realms. Four gods. Four noble houses. The realms were once connected, but not anymore. The portals are closed and the gods have abandoned their people.
The story is set in the realm of Vitae - more specifically in Nexus, also known as the city of dusk, capital of the kingdom of Vaega, and follows the heirs of four noble houses, each gifted with a divine power descending from their god.
Dante and Taesia of House Lastrider, masters of the Shades, a visionary charmer and a rogue free spirit.
Nikolas of House Cyr, soldier of the Light, searching for his own light.
Angelica of House Mardova, power-hungry Elementalist eyeing the throne.
Risha of House Vakara, Necromancer, fighting to keep the dead away from the living.
And Julian Luca, Hunter, with a strange power nobody has heard of.
The Houses have a rocky history of antagonizing each other, but if they want to save their city, the heirs have to work together, overcoming their complex personal relationships. The characters are not black and white, but various shades of grey-and willing to go to extremes to accomplish their goals.
This book is quite big, and has multiple plotlines, which makes the pacing a bit slow in parts of it. But it's all part of the bigger picture, and it pays out for a dramatic, breathtaking final part!
The worldbuilding is very detailed, from the garments and the weapons to the societal groups and the different way each of our characters sees the world.
The romantic subplots are not as prominent as I expected, but since it's the first book of a trilogy, we can expect more of it in the next books!
The magic system is interesting, the gods are terrifying and some scenes are really dark.
If I had to pick my favourite character, that would be Dante, and then Nikolas-especially when he was letting his guard now with a certain minor (or is he?) character.
The City of Dusk is another Tara Sim masterpiece after the Timekeeper series !
Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!
saraanneb3's review against another edition
3.0
Cool setting, interesting characters, but then…wtf happened at the end of this book?
I’m only kind of curious what happens next and will definitely wait for reviews before I delve into the second one when if comes out.
Spoiler
We’re humming along and then…cannibalism. Then gods possessing people. A truly exhaustingly long battle scene where nobody is control of their power and also all these powerful gods wait their turn to fight and have almighty power but somehow require humans vessels?I’m only kind of curious what happens next and will definitely wait for reviews before I delve into the second one when if comes out.
alicejade's review against another edition
A very slow read - it took me twice as long to read the small section I finished than any other book. Do agree with other reviews that this is more YA than Adult as well. Overall, I don’t think I’m going to enjoy it even if I finish it.