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A review by theamyleblanc
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
5.0
I received a free promotional copy of this book from Crown Publishing and Penguin Random House at BookCon2019.
As a general rule, I don't usually start a trilogy or a series that has not been completed. I prefer to be able to immerse myself in the world and read the whole story - however many books it is - and have it be done. That said, I clearly made an exception here. I received a copy of this book from the Book Wizard at NYC's BookCon2019 back in June. It has been sitting on my stack of books, whispering to me and pulling me in and about a week and 1/2 ago, I finally said "Okay, you win. Let's do this."
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
There are so many amazing elements: magic that is a weird/awesome hybrid of scientific theory and straight up magic, a strong, scrappy female lead, a whole cast of misfits and eccentric characters, mystical artificial intelligence, and an ancient mystery all set in a beautifully crafted world. Major props to Robert Jackson Bennett on his world-building! (Though some pieces stuck out in a bad way for me, like the concept of God - very specific when written this way - and the use of feet as a unit of measure. Those didn't seem to gel with the rest of the world but it's a minor complaint.)
The pieces of the story fit really well together, too. I never once felt like I had everything figured out but I also didn't feel lost or confused. I was right in that mostly-informed-but-can-still-be-surprised sweet spot the whole time. And while I'm dying to know more RIGHT NOW, the second book seems to be scheduled to come out Spring of 2020, so that's not too much of a wait.
I appreciate that the characters all have such rich backstories. Berenice, Orso and Clef are easily my favorites, but everyone is intriguing in their own way. I'm mostly drawn to the scriving and the magic and the reality-warping here. It's fascinating to think about and figure out the mechanics of it all.
Finally, I was so happy to see diversity in this story. There are gay characters, straight characters, characters of all skin colors, rich characters, poor characters, characters with all kinds of abilities. It was incredibly refreshing to realise and I may have enjoyed the book more for it.
I loved every moment of this and I cannot wait for the second book to come out!
I would recommend this to anyone who:
- is intrigued by magical theory and the different ways magic could manifest
- loves high fantasy
- wants to see more diversity in fiction
- doesn't mind waiting for a series to be completed
As a general rule, I don't usually start a trilogy or a series that has not been completed. I prefer to be able to immerse myself in the world and read the whole story - however many books it is - and have it be done. That said, I clearly made an exception here. I received a copy of this book from the Book Wizard at NYC's BookCon2019 back in June. It has been sitting on my stack of books, whispering to me and pulling me in and about a week and 1/2 ago, I finally said "Okay, you win. Let's do this."
I LOVE THIS BOOK!
There are so many amazing elements: magic that is a weird/awesome hybrid of scientific theory and straight up magic, a strong, scrappy female lead, a whole cast of misfits and eccentric characters, mystical artificial intelligence, and an ancient mystery all set in a beautifully crafted world. Major props to Robert Jackson Bennett on his world-building! (Though some pieces stuck out in a bad way for me, like the concept of God - very specific when written this way - and the use of feet as a unit of measure. Those didn't seem to gel with the rest of the world but it's a minor complaint.)
The pieces of the story fit really well together, too. I never once felt like I had everything figured out but I also didn't feel lost or confused. I was right in that mostly-informed-but-can-still-be-surprised sweet spot the whole time. And while I'm dying to know more RIGHT NOW, the second book seems to be scheduled to come out Spring of 2020, so that's not too much of a wait.
I appreciate that the characters all have such rich backstories. Berenice, Orso and Clef are easily my favorites, but everyone is intriguing in their own way. I'm mostly drawn to the scriving and the magic and the reality-warping here. It's fascinating to think about and figure out the mechanics of it all.
Finally, I was so happy to see diversity in this story. There are gay characters, straight characters, characters of all skin colors, rich characters, poor characters, characters with all kinds of abilities. It was incredibly refreshing to realise and I may have enjoyed the book more for it.
I loved every moment of this and I cannot wait for the second book to come out!
I would recommend this to anyone who:
- is intrigued by magical theory and the different ways magic could manifest
- loves high fantasy
- wants to see more diversity in fiction
- doesn't mind waiting for a series to be completed