CITY OF LIES
by Sam Hawke
Tor Books
Publication Date: July 3, 2018
From Goodreads:
“I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me…”
Outwardly, Jovan is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor’s charming, irresponsible Heir. Quiet. Forgettable. In secret, he’s a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor’s family from treachery. When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city, Jovan and his sister Kalina must protect the Heir and save their city-state.
But treachery lurks in every corner, and the ancient spirits of the land are rising…and angry.
I was provided with a digital copy of City of Lies by the good people at Tor Books and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I was really excited to read this book. Just that first line of the synopsis, “I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me.” WHAT?! Must. Know. More.
And as I started to read I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the lore of this fantasy world with a twist, the practices of Jovan as he attempts to detect and thwart poisoning attempts.
All the new information, and world building combined with the events early in the book set an incredible pace and I was IN. Then everything ground to a halt. If you’re in the mood for a slow burn, this is where the book gets even better.
For me, I found it too slow. Especially with the pace being so fast before that. My favourite character (who isn’t introduced until halfway through the book) actually comes and and says what everyone is thinking. She turns to the main characters of this book and says, “All you you two do is talk, talk, talk.” AND SHE’S RIGHT!
Action is discussed often and I would always think, Okay, here we go. Now it’s going to pick up. Then it would go back to talking. Again, it probably works extremely well for fans of the slow burn. I’m not totally against a slow burn, but for whatever reason I wasn’t into it with this book. Maybe I need my slow burns to be a little more consistent? Who knows.
City of Lies isn’t with out its redeeming qualities, though. As I mentioned before, it’s a fresh new angle for the Fantasy genre with a role I’ve never read before. The world, the lore, and the characters are all very well done. Despite some luke-warm feelings toward this first book, I’d definitely be interested in checking out sequels or even other stories written within this world.