Novedad: City of Blades, de Robert Jackson Bennett

Ya está a la venta City of Blades, de Robert Jackson Bennett, secuela de City of Stairs (que reseñé hace algún tiempo). Ésta es la sinopsis de la novela:

A triumphant return to the world of City of Stairs. 

A generation ago, the city of Voortyashtan was the stronghold of the god of war and death, the birthplace of fearsome supernatural sentinels who killed and subjugated millions.

Now, the city’s god is dead. The city itself lies in ruins. And to its new military occupiers, the once-powerful capital is a wasteland of sectarian violence and bloody uprisings.

So it makes perfect sense that General Turyin Mulaghesh— foul-mouthed hero of the battle of Bulikov, rumored war criminal, ally of an embattled Prime Minister—has been exiled there to count down the days until she can draw her pension and be forgotten.

At least, it makes the perfect cover story.

The truth is that the general has been pressed into service one last time, dispatched to investigate a discovery with the potential to change the world--or destroy it.

The trouble is that this old soldier isn't sure she's still got what it takes to be the hero.

City of Stairs, de Robert Jackson Bennett

Banda sonora de la reseña: Sugiero leer esta reseña escuchando Losing My Religion, de R.E.M. (Spotify, YouTube).

Antes de City of Stairs, mi única experiencia previa con la obra de Robert Jackson Bennett no había sido demasiado satisfactoria. Intenté leer American Elsewhere, pero cuando iba como por la mitad me di cuenta de que ni me preocupaba lo que les pasase a los personajes (cuyas motivaciones no me convencían en absoluto) ni me interesaba la trama, así que decidí dejar de leerlo (la vida es muy corta y tal y cual). Sin embargo, este verano en la LonCon 3 tuve la oportunidad de asistir a un par de mesas redondas en las que participaba Bennett y me intrigó bastante lo que contó sobre su nueva novela, por lo que decidí darle una oportunidad.

City of Stairs es una novela independiente de fantasía urbana con algunos elementos de mitología, novela negra e incluso un toque de steampunk. Creo que la forma más sencilla de describirla es imaginando un hijo bastardo de dos de las novelas de China Miéville: The City & The City y Kraken. Sin embargo, y aunque no hay nada especialmente malo en el libro, no es tan bueno como ninguno de esos dos.

City of Stairs es, de hecho, una novela más que correcta e incluso tiene algunos momentos brillantes, particularmente los que tienen que ver con los dioses antiguos y sus artefactos milagrosos. También tiene mucho humor, algo que me sorprendió muy favorablemente. Y, por supuesto, también tiene grandes personajes, especialmente Sigrud, que roba la escena cada vez que aparece.

El punto más destacable de la novela es, sin embargo, el modo en que se acerca a temas como el colonialismo, la censura, la venganza y el abuso del poder político. La historia la escriben los vencedores, dice la máxima, y en este caso es literalmente cierto. En el primer capítulo, por ejemplo, Bennett consigue retratar una situación de opresión e injusticia, así como establecer el trasfondo de todo la novela, sin renunciar a ser totalmente irónico e incluso cómico. Y la extraña amalgama de la ciudad de Bulikov es una perfecta metáfora de la realidad social del Continente y sus habitantes.

Por desgracia, City of Stairs también tiene algunos problemas que han impedido que me convenza del todo. Bennett se apoya excesivamente en los diálogos para revelar hechos clave y para proporcionar una gran parte de la ambientación. El último capítulo, incluso, es en su mayor parte una larga conversación entre dos personajes en la que todo lo que quedaba por explicar es explicado con todo detalle (un recurso muy poco elegante, si me lo preguntáis). Además, muchas de las ideas la religión y la mitología (no seré más específico para evitar los spoilers) me parecieron muy poco originales y algunos de los giros y revelaciones finales, bastante facilones. 

En resumen, City of Stairs es una buena novela pero en modo alguno la obra maestra que algunas reseñas me habían hecho creer que me iba a encontrar. Si normalmente os gusta la fantasía urbana o queréis ver cómo sale parada ante la comparación con las obras de Miéville que citaba arriba, dadle una oportunidad. Si no, podéis dejarla pasar. Tampoco os perderéis demasiado.

(You can also read this review in English/También puedes leer esta reseña en inglés)

City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett

(Disclaimer: English is my second language, so I want to apologize in advance for there may be mistakes in the text below. If you find any, please let me know so that I can correct it. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks.)

Review Soundtrack: I suggest reading this review while listening to Losing My Religion, by R.E.M. (Spotify, YouTube).

Before City of Stairs, my only previous experience with the work of Robert Jackson Bennett had been not very satisfactory. I tried to read American Elsewhere, but when I was half my way through it I found myself neither caring for the characters, whose motivations I didn't buy at all, nor interested in the plot and I decided to stop reading it (life is short and all that). However, at LonCon 3 this summer I had the chance of attending a couple of panels in which Bennett participated and I was very intrigued by what he told about his new novel, so I decided to give it a try. 

City of Stairs is a stand-alone urban fantasy novel with some elements of mythology, crime fiction and even a touch of steampunk. I think that the easiest way of describing it is to imagine a bastard son of two China Miéville's novels: The City & The City and Kraken. However, although there is nothing especially wrong with the book, it is not as good as any of those.

City of Stairs is, in fact, a perfectly OK novel. It is fun to read and has some really excellent moments, particularly those related to the ancient gods and their miraculous artifacts. It also has a lot of humor, something that I wasn't expecting and was a very nice surprise. And, of course, it has some really great characters, especially Sigrud who steals the scene once and again.

The strongest point of the novel is, however, the way it approaches topics such as colonialism, censorship, revenge and the abuse of political power. History is written by the victors, as the saying goes, and in this case it is literally true. In the first chapter, for example, Bennett manages to masterfully depict a situation of oppression and injustice, as well as setting the background for most of the novel, while being really ironic and even humorous. And the strange amalgamation of the city of Bulikov is a perfect metaphor for the social reality of the Continent and its inhabitants. 

Unfortunately, City of Stairs also has some problems that prevented me from loving it. For instance, it relies very heavily on the dialog to reveal key facts and to provide a big part of the worldbuilding. Even the last chapter is, mostly, a long talk between two characters in which all that remained to be explained is explained in detail (a not very elegant solution, if you ask me). Also, many of the ideas about religion and mythology (I won't be more specific in order to avoid spoilers) stroke me as not very original and some of the final twists and revelations were quite sloppy, in my opinion. 

All in all, City of Stairs is quite a good novel but by no means the masterpiece that many reviews made me believe I'll find. If you usually like urban fantasy or if you want to compare how it stands against the Miéville's novels I mentioned above, give it a try. Otherwise, you can skip it. You won't miss too much. 

(You can also read this review in Spanish/También puedes leer esta reseña en español)

Novedad: City of Stairs, de Robert Jackson Bennett

La semana pasada se puso a la venta City of Stairs, la nueva novela de Robert Jackson Bennett. Ésta es su sinopsis:

An atmospheric and intrigue-filled novel of dead gods, buried histories, and a mysterious, protean city--from one of America's most acclaimed young fantasy writers. 

The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy.

Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov's oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country's most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov's cruel reign may not yet be over.