Don't Mention the Gods

[mtvessel]

May 2017
City of Stairs - Robert Jackson Bennett - Jo Fletcher Books, 2014
* * * *
This book was in the running for the 2015 World Fantasy, Locus and British Fantasy Awards, but won none of them. This is perhaps not surprising, for it breaks a number of the cardinal rules of fantasy. For a start, it is not set in a mediaeval world, but in something closer to our own; there are guns and trains. The obvious cultural influences of its two main nations are unusual - "the continent" and its great city of Bulikov are clearly Russian-influenced, while the island state of Saypur, which has conquered the continent, is a small-scale India. So we have white-skinned Continentals being ruled over by brown-skinned Saypuris. But the most striking feature is the treatment of religion. Most fantasy worlds have at least some sort of pantheon (perhaps as a necessary psychological prop when arbitrary magical powers render rational explanations impossible), but in this world, Richard Dawkins has won. Saypur is an atheist nation whose culture is based on science and technology and its Worldly Regulations ban the people of Bulikov from worshipping their six gods. There is a good reason for this - until 70 years ago, the gods actually existed and terrorised the world until they were killed off with a mysterious weapon invented by a legendary Saypuri hero called the Kaj.

A nice magical consequence of this history leads to the striking image that gives the book its name. Bulikov's spectacular architecture was largely the work of the builder god Taalhavras, and when he was destroyed, all the things that he built disappeared in a catastrophic event know as the Blink. So Bulikov is a city of half-standing walls and staircases that stop in mid-air. I was reminded of images of Hiroshima after the atomic bomb.

Bennett is also good at memorable main characters. The protagonist is Shara Thivani, a Saypuri ambassador with Miss Marple levels of apparent harmlessness. She is backed up by her assistant Sigrud, a badass Dreyling seen by everyone as a barbarian, but much more than he seems. Finally there is Turyin Mulaghesh, a sweary, tough-as-nails ex-General who just wants to retire. Together they are the brains, brawn and organisation of an effective A-team.

The plot starts as a rather tedious whodunnit as Shara arrives to investigate the murder of a Saypuri historian named Efrem Pangyui who was beaten to death, but escalates, albeit in somewhat predictable ways. There is a certain amount of China Mieville-style over-the-top brutality, but enough clever stratagems for the danger to feel real and to allow the reader to cheer on Shara and Turyin. Shara's and Sigrud's mutually respectful relationship is also nicely done. It was good to see an academic accepting that violence and strength are sometimes a necessary answer to a problem and a man of action respecting the equal importance of knowledge and study. Mulaghesh is to some extent a gender-reversed military cliché, but her open willingness to own the consequences of her shadier decisions gives her an appeal that a male version of her character would not have had. I also enjoyed the way in which the repressive and bureaucratic aspects of Saypuri rule - denying the Continentals their cultural heritage, if for good historical reasons - toyed with my liberal sensibilities.

There are a few flaws. I don't really remember the baddies. The world-building is solid but a bit simplistic. Only three states exist - the continent, Saypur and Sigrud's homeland. There must be other realms but they are not mentioned. I couldn't believe that the rule of the divinities, let alone the Kaj and his exploits, could have become so mythologically vague in less than a human lifetime - there is some handwaving about the Blink affecting people's memories, but Saypur at least clearly has a strong historical tradition so there would surely have been written accounts. Bennett's descriptions of places are more functional than vivid, which makes Bulikov a less memorable setting than it could have been. I hate to say it yet again, but a map would have helped.

Maybe its originality is why it has failed to win any awards (so far - it's up for a best series award at the Hugos this year). The plot doesn't fit into the comfortable patterns of a typical epic fantasy which means it doesn't linger as well in people's minds as well as it should. But now I have been reminded of it, I definitely want to read the next one.