Welcome to Litsy!

Author Richard Kadrey creates a very dark and complex world.

At the airport and had to leave my library books at home and start something new. My partner got me this for Christmas and I‘m excited to finally start it.

Getting out of my comfort zone

I‘ve been meaning to read his Sandman Slim series for a long time and I have a copy of the first book, but this new standalone is just too damn pretty. It‘ll be on my TBR until next month or so but I‘m excited!

This dark book is full of mystery, intrigue, and backstabbing. Life is a party for the survivors of the Great War - they have all the drugs and sex they want. But some people are disappearing, and returning much different than they were before. What is happening to these citizens? And is another war really on the horizon?

I‘ve been a fan of Kadrey‘s since reading Sandman Slim in 2010. This standalone fantasy novel spends a lot of time world-building which impacts the pacing, but there‘s plenty of action & excitement! It‘s set in, as the title suggests, a dark city reeling from a Great War (parallels can be drawn to our own history here). Largo receives an unexpected promotion as the head courier of the city he knows so well changing his life. Thanks, #NetGalley!

The world building is fantastic. It has a dark, steampunk feel to it with some really gruesome scenery. The characters, while all interesting, don't seem to develop much except for the MC. I think it could have used more editing. A lot of the narration could have been cut without the story suffering. But it was still entertaining. A good sci-fi/fantasy/steampunk mystery/thriller.