City of Stairs

The Divine Cities Book 1

By: Robert Jackson Bennett

Narrated by: Buffy Davis

You've got to be careful when you're chasing a murderer through Bulikov, for the world is not as it should be in that city. When the gods were destroyed and all worship of them banned by the Polis, reality folded; now stairs lead to nowhere, alleyways have become portals to the past, and criminals disappear into thin air.

The murder of Dr Efrem Pangyui, the Polis diplomat researching the Continent's past, has begun something and now whispers of an uprising flutter out from invisible corners. Only one woman may be willing to pursue the truth - but it is likely to cost her everything.

(P)2015 WF Howes Ltd©2014 Robert Jackson Bennett

Critic reviews

Robert Jackson Bennett deserves a huge audience. This is the book that will earn it for him. A story that draws you in, brilliant world building, and oh my God, Sigrud. You guys are going to love Sigrud

Smart and sardonic, with wry echoes from classic tales mixed up in an inventive, winning narrative. [Bennett is] a master of the genre

City of Stairs is brilliant

City of Stairs is a smooth novel of near perfection and the best Epic Fantasy novel I've read this year. I cannot recommend this novel highly enough

[Bennett's] clever selection of detail, the honesty and depth with which he describes his characters, and his ability to use so many disparate elements to transcend genre set him apart from the crowd. 9/10

A memorably surreal urbanscape. . . . Readers seeking a truly refreshing fantasy milieu should travel to Bulikov, and welcome its conquest

With nods to Neil Gaiman's slumbering deities, Ursula K. LeGuin's two-faced political schemers and China Miéville's labyrinthine worlds, City Of Stairs is a compulsively readable and thought-provoking tale that confirms the author as one of the genre's most exciting talents. 4/5

I'm honestly not sure I have anything to criticise, or even nitpick over. From start to finish, this is tightly written, expertly plotted, marvellously paced and just plain fun to read. 5/5

Complex, ever evocative, this is the novel as fireworks. Seductively addictive

City of Stairs definitely makes my list of favourite fantasy novels . . . Excellent and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. 9.5/10

With City of Stairs, Bennett has probably written the perfect blend of fantasy and crime fiction. Everything works . . . one of the best books of the year. A must read.

City of Stairs is deliciously unsettling

A delightful urban fantasy that travels through a city full of Escher-like staircases and alternate realities. . . . A diverse and entertaining cast of old gods fleshes out the ruins of this mysterious city, and Shara's hit-man secretary delivers nonstop action

Entertaining yet thought-provoking. . . . Entrancing characters, exciting descriptions and piercingly clear action keep the story moving swiftly and surely to a satisfying conclusion

[An] incredible journey through a wondrously weird and surprising world. . . . I found myself both delighted and fascinated as every layer was slowly unpacked. Just the right mix of awesome

Bennett is plainly a writer in love with the world he has built-and with good cause. It's a great world, original and unique, with a scent and a texture, a sense of deep, bloody history, and a naturally-blended magic living in the stones

An excellent spy story wrapped in a vivid imaginary world

Slow starter, big finish

I almost gave up on this book due to the slow start, but I'm glad I didn't.