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thecaptainsquarters 's review for:
Foundryside
by Robert Jackson Bennett
Ahoy there me mateys! I received this fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .
So what Peter Newman did with a goat in his novel the vagrant, this book does with a key. Seriously read this for the key. In any case, I be a sucker for a heist story. Especially a heist gone wrong. This is the story about thief-extraordinaire, Sancia Grado and the consequences of her latest conquest. Sadly for her, it involves everyone wanting her dead. I adored Sancia. From the first page, I was rooting for her. She is snarky, smart, moody, and wonderful. She is the heart and soul of the story.
The world building in this one is lovely as well. The major city is called Tevanni. It is run by four competing merchant Houses, called campos, that remind me of medieval guilds. These campos work with magical writing called scrivings. These are formed by writing sigils onto inanimate objects to change the reality within the object. Wheels that roll themselves, floating lamps, doors that require specific commands to open, etc. The science behind these scrivings are highly controlled by the houses and competition is fierce.
For people outside of the campos, like Sancia, there is only the struggle to survive. Scrivings are for the rich Houses. The poor live in shanty towns, called Commons, with no laws, no clean drinking water, and very little food. Trust is scarce and death is a careless moment away.
Of course Sancia is a fighter and watching her take on the campos is where the fun is. The plot does get to be a bit melodramatic and unrealistic but I didn't care. I loved learning about the scrivings. I reveled in the schemes of Sancia. I adored the magic system. I was fascinated by the history. I chuckled at the humor. While I was a little confused by the very ending of this book, I certainly want to read the next book. I have to know what happens next!
So lastly . . .
Thank you Crown Publishing!
To see me other reviews visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/
So what Peter Newman did with a goat in his novel the vagrant, this book does with a key. Seriously read this for the key. In any case, I be a sucker for a heist story. Especially a heist gone wrong. This is the story about thief-extraordinaire, Sancia Grado and the consequences of her latest conquest. Sadly for her, it involves everyone wanting her dead. I adored Sancia. From the first page, I was rooting for her. She is snarky, smart, moody, and wonderful. She is the heart and soul of the story.
The world building in this one is lovely as well. The major city is called Tevanni. It is run by four competing merchant Houses, called campos, that remind me of medieval guilds. These campos work with magical writing called scrivings. These are formed by writing sigils onto inanimate objects to change the reality within the object. Wheels that roll themselves, floating lamps, doors that require specific commands to open, etc. The science behind these scrivings are highly controlled by the houses and competition is fierce.
For people outside of the campos, like Sancia, there is only the struggle to survive. Scrivings are for the rich Houses. The poor live in shanty towns, called Commons, with no laws, no clean drinking water, and very little food. Trust is scarce and death is a careless moment away.
Of course Sancia is a fighter and watching her take on the campos is where the fun is. The plot does get to be a bit melodramatic and unrealistic but I didn't care. I loved learning about the scrivings. I reveled in the schemes of Sancia. I adored the magic system. I was fascinated by the history. I chuckled at the humor. While I was a little confused by the very ending of this book, I certainly want to read the next book. I have to know what happens next!
So lastly . . .
Thank you Crown Publishing!
To see me other reviews visit https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/