City Of Blades

2014's City of Stairs was a remarkable read and was widely regarded by many critics as one of the best, if not the best, novel of 2014. Robert Jackson Bennett is one of the most talented fantasy / horror authors out there – a magnificent story teller but also a very fine writer as well. He can tell you a complex story while also delighting you with how it's told. You won't find any clunky writing in Bennett's work.City of Blades is a loose sequel to City of Blades. You don't necessary have to read the first book to read the second, though it can help you better understand the nature of Bennett's creation.Now is the book any good? Yes, it is. I wasn't blown away like I was in the first, but this is probably due to just how damn good the first one was and how high my expectations where for the sequel. By all measures it's nearly the equal to the first book with a far more developed world, now that the heavy lifting in regards to the world building has been done by the first book already. This book serves to expand what was started in the first book. So far, City of Blades is one of the better books of 2016. It's also a different take on the epic fantasy genre and one of the best written books this year. Perhaps it's not as shockingly impressive as the first book, but with just how awesome City of Stairs was, it's impressive enough that Book 2 manages to maintain the high standards of the first book.