Robert Jackson Bennett is a masterful storyteller. CITY OF STAIRS is a sprawling, epic tale of an ancient city with a divine heritage, its ethnic conflicts, religious beliefs, governmental structures, wars. It is a thorough immersion in a world so rich and vibrant with history. It is an in-depth examination of societies –one brought down low and another victorious— and their relationship with their nations, the gods and each other.
THE WORLD: Bulikov is a storied city. It is the capital of the Continent, the center of civilization – the Seat of the World – where the Divinities lived, roamed and interacted with the people. This city of stairs was built by the love of the gods for the people and thrived with the reciprocal love the people had for their gods. It is a city permeated with the blessings of the gods down to its very foundation, built on miracles– objects touched by the Divinities, resulting in a wondrous nature.
Saypur was a colony of the Continent until it rebelled, killed the Divinities and usurped power. Saypuris are a product of their own history and, upon ascension to power, they spurned Bulikov and its Divinities, and sought to eradicate all vestiges of the way of life of their previous slavers. The Continent and the illustrious city of Bulikov are now mere shadows of themselves, in a steady state of declination. The Continentals are also subdued and restricted, forbidden even to learn of their own history. All worship is strictly outlawed. Yet remnants of the Divinities still exist in Bulikov– miracles in the form of objects left by the Divinities, some surviving the deaths of their progenitors. People’s memories are long, especially of its gods, and the Continentals yearn for Bulikov’s return to its former glory.
THE CHARACTERS: Bennett is an adriot puppeteer, creating distinct characters, each one more than fascinating enough to build entire stories around. He painstakingly introduces the reader to each of the characters, delving deep into their backgrounds, thoughts, desires, weaknesses and failures. Such effort engenders in the reader a profound interest in, understanding of, and sympathy for the characters. All the characters are mature, sophisticated individuals in their own way, steeled by experience and fashioned by successes and failures alike. CITY OF STAIRS is no playground for amateurs, no coming-of-age indulgences permitted.
Shara Thivani, really Shara Komayd, is the orphan daughter of the Kaj– vanquisher of Divinities and conqueror of the Continent. Shara is now a seasoned intelligence officer with a love of history and learning. Clever and resourceful, she believes in public service and proceeds earnestly in the fulfillment of her assignments. She is driven by the entrenched need to live up to the memory of her distinguished parentage, sublimating her personal desires to this goal.
Sigrud is Shara’s Dreyling secretary. Dreylings or Northmen are deemed savages by the people of Bulikov. Sigrud reminds me of the Vikings of old. He is admirably and irritatingly objective, calm and efficient, and is seemingly unimpaired by moral considerations. He is unfazed by violence and nonchalantly faces deathly obstacles. But he is a man tormented by too many memories of his past, tormented most of all by his opinion of himself and the man he believes he has become. Sigrud is one of the most complex and sympathetic characters, intrinsic to what makes CITY OF STAIRS special.
While Shara is the central character of the story and Sigrud is my sentimental favorite, the diversity and uniqueness of the other characters cannot be ignored. The former soldier turned governor of Bulikov, Turyin Mulaghesh, has a soldier’s heart ill-suited for politics. She detests the unnecessary ceremony and wastefulness of bureaucracy and yearns for a simpler life. With Shara and Mulaghesh, CITY OF STAIRS is considerably propelled by mature women, not a common occurrence in fiction. Vohannes Votrov is a Bulikov nationalist from an affluent family. He attended university with Shara. The interaction between Votrov and Shara is strained with the tension of a shared history, rife with regrets and what-ifs, a history they may just have the opportunity to revisit.
RJB created entire mythologies around The Divinities – Jukov, Ahanas, Olvos, Kolkan, Voortya, Taalhavras – that encompasses every aspect of life in Bulikov. He has imbued each Divinity with a life of its own, with unique rituals, ceremonies, chants. The Divinities are powerful yet too often given to human frailties. While people often strive to be more like the gods, the gods seem to inexplicably mimic people.
THE CATALYST: The story begins with the murder of Efrem Pangyui, friend and mentor of Shara Thivani. He was a visiting professor who wanted to research Bulikov’s history. It is suspected that he was murdered by restorationist Continentals in protest of Saypur’s restrictions. Shara travels to Bulikov to bring Pangyui’s murderer/s to justice. Shara’s investigation inevitably leads her to reconstruct Pangyui’s research into Bulikov’s history, sifting through information to ferret out fact from legend. In doing so, Shara uncovers secrets of Bulikov’s past as well as her own and discovers that the past is not quite buried after all.
THEMES. Interwoven into the story and the lives of the characters in CITY OF STAIRS is an exploration of serious themes– the nature and extent of faith, government, sexuality, ethnicity, economics. Faith is one of the central themes in this book. It has a dual nature– it destroys as often as it builds, comforts and terrifies in equal measure, can create dependence when it does not strengthen. Bennett presents multiple sides to every theme and demonstrates how they affect a vast array of people and societies, directly and indirectly.
CONCLUSION: I was of two minds while reading this book. The first was wrapped in impatience and haste, wanting to read as fast as possible, eager to unlock the mystery quickly. The second was measured and deliberate, unavoidably reined in by so many phrases, lines, paragraphs that demanded admiration and reflection. Even the description of such a mundane, workaday activity as using a knife to prepare a meal gave me pause:
“What a pleasant thing it would be to be a knife, always eager to take the path of least resistance, always drawn to the weak points, falling through tendons and skin and rinds like a blade of grass swept downstream. The knife slips and slides, skids and curls, leaving piles of tiny scrolls of orange peels, lemon peels, melon rinds, like a mound of curling ticker tape. It saws slowly against flesh, parting vein and muscle, tendon and gristle, breaking the goat cutlet down until it no longer resembles any part of any living creature.”
It also bears noting that CITY OF STAIRS is permeated with the most dangerous thing gods have to offer: hope. Despite all tragedy in RJB’s created world and in the lives of its peoples, there exists a distinct tone of hope. Whether the hope is real, realizable, futile or imaginary is a matter for further discussion.
CITY OF STAIRS is a book that defies categorization. There is a mystery to be solved. It is set in a fantasy world where magical objects and wondrous creatures abound, with steampunk and flintlock elements. It even has science fiction components. Curiously, this book also seemingly blends the ancient and the contemporary– in language, in technology, in historical notions. In any event, the inability to make CITY OF STAIRS fit into any type of Procrustes genre bed cannot remove from the fact that Robert Jackson Bennett has written an amazing story.
Just as it touches many genres, CITY OF STAIRS is exceptional in many aspects of storytelling– comprehensive worldbuilding, varied, fascinating characters, intricate plot, breathtaking action, thought-provoking issues, suspenseful mystery. All of these culminate in a satisfying, plenary resolution. The ending is truly glorious— a triumph of will and self-determination, and an affirmation that no knowledge is wasted. A good book oftentimes succeeds in only one or some area of storytelling. This is how extraordinarily notable this book is. Truth be told, any reader of RJB should no longer be surprised for his other books are similarly elaborate, thoughtful, well-written tales. But CITY OF STAIRS is the best of his best which is truly saying much. But I expect him to best himself again next time. I cannot wait to visit Bulikov again.
- Goodreads rating – 4.08
- REVIEW – Mia