I loved the inspiration for the names and city, besides the ongoing mysteries. It was intriguing and pretty hard to put down again, because the characters were all interesting and mysterious in their own ways.The universe was not much of a cliché at all, and that made it even more interesting to read. There are always standard methods of world-building and what authors usually use of power systems etc., but this one makes me want to know more (this said mostly because the sequel explores it further). The world the author has created seems amazingly rich, with very interesting characters appearing throughout and deep complex cultures, politics and magical systems in play in the background. However a lot of that richness seemed wasted to me - the pacing seems almost too fast, and I couldn't help but to feel that perhaps the author have crammed too much into this one single title.I understand the book is apparently part of a series, but the story seemed to be self-contained, so perhaps the book might have been better off served being spread out into a mini series of its own.
What do You think about The Drowning City (2009)?
Most of my complaints fall under firstnovelitis. The world and the magics are fascinating.
—Rhea
This is getting harder to get into. Switching to something else for now.
—abhi
