Others: Overwhelmingly positive A thief in a city controlled by industrialized magic joins forces with a rare honest police officer to stop an ancient evil ritual that endangers thousands of lives.
Genres: fantasy
Lists: …
Robert Jackson Bennett
2020 · 400 pages · 6 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveAs a magical revolution remakes a city, an ancient evil is awakened in a brilliant new novel from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and the Divine Cities trilogy Having narrowly saved the metropolis of Tevanne from destruction, Sancia Grado and her allies have turned to their next task: sowing the seeds of a full-on magical-industrial revolution. If they succeed, the secrets behind scriving—the art of imbuing everyday objects with sentience—will be accessible to all of Tevanne’s citizens, much to the displeasure of the robber-barons who’ve hoarded this knowledge for themselves. But one of Sancia’s enemies has embarked on a desperate gambit, an attempt to resurrect a figure straight out of legend—an immortal being known as a heirophant. Long ago, the heirophant was an ordinary man, but he’s used scriving to transform himself into something closer to a god. Once awakened, he’ll stop at nothing to remake the world in his horrifying image. And if Sancia can’t stop this ancient power from returning? Well, the only way to fight a god…is with another god.
What made the match, strongest first
Josiah Bancroft
2013 · 393 pages · 21 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positive"The Tower of Babel is the greatest marvel of the Silk Age. Immense as a mountain, the ancient Tower holds unnumbered ringdoms, warring and peaceful, stacked one on the other like the layers of a cake. It is a world of geniuses and tyrants, of airships and steam engines, of incredible animals and mysterious machines. While honeymooning in the Tower of Babel, Thomas Senlin loses his wife. A mild-mannered headmaster of a village school, Thomas Senlin is drawn to the Tower by scientific curiosity and the grandiose promises of a guidebook. It seems the perfect destination for a honeymoon. But soon after arriving in the Tower bazar, Senlin loses Marya in the crowd. Before he can find Marya, Senlin must first discover himself. Senlin's search for Marya carries him through madhouses, ballrooms, and burlesque theaters. He must survive betrayal, assassination, and the long guns of a flying fortress. But if he hopes to find his wife, he must do more than survive. This quiet man of letters will have to become a man of action"--
What made the match, strongest first
Tessa Gratton
2018 · 487 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveTHREE DAUGHTERS. ONE CROWN. ALL-OUT WAR. Gaela. Ruthless commander. I am the rightful heir of Innis Lear. No more will I wait in the shadows and watch my mother's murderer bleed my island dry. The king's hold on the crown must end--willingly or at the edge of my sword. Regan. Master manipulator. To secure our place on the throne, I must produce an heir. Countless times I have fed the island's forests my blood. Yet, my ambition is cursed. No matter what or whom I must destroy, I will wield the magic of Innis Lear. Elia. Star-blessed priest. My sisters hide in the shadows like serpents, waiting to strike our ailing king. I must protect my father, even if it means marrying a stranger. We all have to make sacrifices. Love and freedom will be mine. An island at risk and an empire poised for ruin; the line of Lear will be soaked in blood. This description comes from the publisher.
What made the match, strongest first
T. Kingfisher
2017 · 224 pages · 2 reviews
Others: PositiveWhen Gerta's friend Kay is stolen away by the mysterious Snow Queen, it's up to Gerta to find him. Her journey will take her through a dangerous land of snow and witchcraft, accompanied only by a bandit and a talking raven. Can she win her friend's release, or will following her heart take her to unexpected places?
What made the match, strongest first
Jen Williams
2018 · 624 pages · 3 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positiveThe Ninth Rain has fallen. The Jure'lia are awake. Nothing can be the same again. Tormalin the Oathless and the fell-witch Noon have their work cut out rallying the first war-beasts to be born in Ebora for three centuries. But these are not the great winged warriors of old. Hatched too soon and with no memory of their past incarnations, these onetime defenders of Sarn can barely stop bickering, let alone face an ancient enemy who grow stronger each day. The key to uniting them, according to the scholar Vintage, may lie in a part of Sarn no one really believes exists - a distant island, mysteriously connected to the fate of two legendary Eborans who disappeared long ago. But finding it will mean a perilous journey in a time of war, while new monsters lie in wait for those left behind.
What made the match, strongest first
Julia Fine
2018 · 350 pages · 1 review
Others: NegativeCursed. Maisie Cothay has never known the feel of human flesh: born with the power to kill or resurrect at her slightest touch, she has spent her childhood sequestered in her family's manor at the edge of a mysterious forest. Maisie's father - an anthroplogist who sees her as more experiment than daughter - has warned her not to venture into the wood. Locals talk of men disappearing within, emerging with addled minds and strange stories. What he does not tell Maisie is that for millennia her female ancestors have also vanished into the wood, never to emerge - for she is descended from a long line of cursed women. But one day Maisie's father disappears, and she must venture beyond the walls of her carefully constructed life to find him. Away from her home and the wood for the very first time, Maisie encounters a strange world filled with wonder and deception. Yet the farther she strays, the more the wood calls her home. For only there can Maisie finally reckon with her power and come to understand the wildest parts of herself.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itHis Foundryside series had an excellent world for those of you that have read it. If you've read this and you haven't read that, they're not the same, but if you enjoy the way he does worlds and the way that they're just like incredibly unique, go and check that out.
Loved itA lot of people know him by Foundry Side, which I love that trilogy. It's just really fun.
Loved itit's so good Great Character work great camaraderie and a fascinating magic system that kind of works like magical coding
Loved itI liked it a lot. It's in the S's. Felt very similar to like a Brandon Sanderson book but not quite that quality.
Loved itwhat I love so much about this book was the originality the new magic system that Robert Jackson Bennett used and all of the humor in this story there's a lot of humor and as you guys know I love humor in my fantasy stories so this one was definitely going to make the list
