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A review by cortega55
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Sorry this is late but wow! What a refreshing and action packed book!
City of Lies is Sam Hawke’s debut novel and the first book in the Poison Wars series. I was particularly intrigued by this book because of its mention of poison and treachery, I am a sucker for possible assassin work and political machinations.
This book stands apart from other books in its genre most because of how contained it is and its minimal use of magic. The first thing that popped in my head when everything in this started coming to a boiling point was the siege of Constantinople in Now I Rise by Kiersten White. The claustrophobia of being contained in a besieged city adds immensely to the anxiety you feel for the characters and most of the time I was yelling at them to hurry up because they were running out of time. This was also refreshing for a fantasy book because so often fantasy stories focus on large quests spanning the world created by the author.
I am baffled also that this book is the perfect mix of action and political drama. I know that some people can get bored if the major plot points are all subtlety and lies, but I mean this is a war so there is plenty of battle scenes for people who need that. I loved all the characters in this book so I didn't mind the time between fighting when our characters were focused on figuring out the mystery of how this war started.
Sam Hawke did a beautiful job crafting the story of this city and all the lies it was built upon. Everything about its history is detailed. From the different people, to the religions, to the form of government everything is so interesting a layered. I bow to Hawke's skill and the time it must of taken to figure all this out.
What I look forward to in the next book, and what kind of lacked for me this book was the magic. The only hint of magic that we get in this book is from a select number of people and that is maybe used 5 times throughout the book's 560 pages. Now the book didn't suffer from this but I know that sometimes for me it did feel almost more like a Conqueror's Saga-esque historical fiction instead of Fantasy. The other thing that I desperately need in the next book is the revelation of the real mastermind behind this giant plot, because the answers given in this book were a little anticlimactic for me.
In conclusion this book is a twisted and fast paced book that never lags despite its length. With beautifully developed characters and a vibrantly created setting, City of Lies is a unique and unpredictable fantasy that will leave you breathless.
Sorry this is late but wow! What a refreshing and action packed book!
City of Lies is Sam Hawke’s debut novel and the first book in the Poison Wars series. I was particularly intrigued by this book because of its mention of poison and treachery, I am a sucker for possible assassin work and political machinations.
This book stands apart from other books in its genre most because of how contained it is and its minimal use of magic. The first thing that popped in my head when everything in this started coming to a boiling point was the siege of Constantinople in Now I Rise by Kiersten White. The claustrophobia of being contained in a besieged city adds immensely to the anxiety you feel for the characters and most of the time I was yelling at them to hurry up because they were running out of time. This was also refreshing for a fantasy book because so often fantasy stories focus on large quests spanning the world created by the author.
I am baffled also that this book is the perfect mix of action and political drama. I know that some people can get bored if the major plot points are all subtlety and lies, but I mean this is a war so there is plenty of battle scenes for people who need that. I loved all the characters in this book so I didn't mind the time between fighting when our characters were focused on figuring out the mystery of how this war started.
Sam Hawke did a beautiful job crafting the story of this city and all the lies it was built upon. Everything about its history is detailed. From the different people, to the religions, to the form of government everything is so interesting a layered. I bow to Hawke's skill and the time it must of taken to figure all this out.
What I look forward to in the next book, and what kind of lacked for me this book was the magic. The only hint of magic that we get in this book is from a select number of people and that is maybe used 5 times throughout the book's 560 pages. Now the book didn't suffer from this but I know that sometimes for me it did feel almost more like a Conqueror's Saga-esque historical fiction instead of Fantasy. The other thing that I desperately need in the next book is the revelation of the real mastermind behind this giant plot, because the answers given in this book were a little anticlimactic for me.
In conclusion this book is a twisted and fast paced book that never lags despite its length. With beautifully developed characters and a vibrantly created setting, City of Lies is a unique and unpredictable fantasy that will leave you breathless.