Book Review - CITY OF LIES by Sam Hawke

(Title: City of Lies / Author: Sam Hawke / Publisher: Tor / Publication Date: July 3, 2018)


Let me start first by thanking Tor Books for providing me an advanced reader copy of this book, as the official release date for CITY OF LIES is July 3, 2018.  I always appreciate receiving review copies before the actual publication date and I do not ever take that for granted.  I also have to admit to being somewhat ignorant with regard to this title until very recently.  

However, once I read the synopsis of CITY OF LIES by Sam Hawke, I thought it sounded incredibly intriguing and immediately requested an advanced copy.  CITY OF LIES is Australian author Sam Hawke's first novel and the very first entry in her Poison Wars series.  The buzz is really beginning to grow for this book and for Sam Hawke to have landed with Tor so early in her career is just a testament to the talents that Tor feels she already possesses as an author.  Couple that with the fact that she and Robin Hobb are personal friends and I absolutely couldn't wait to read this, seeing as Ms. Hobb is definitely on my top three authors of all time list.  With all of that in mind, I quickly jumped into the story of Jovan and his sister Kalina.

CITY OF LIES begins with the line "I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me".  Well, if that isn't an attention-grabber of a first line I don't know what is!  The story unfolds in the city of Silasta, also know as " The Bright City".  Silasta is by all accounts a cultured and wealthy city of the privileged but also rife with corruption and greedy capitalistic abuses.  The downtrodden who live in the surrounding areas of Silasta have been attempting an overthrow of the city for some time, fomenting riots and other public displays of defiance.  


However, the Chancellor of the city is an incredibly powerful man who has been able to stave off every coup attempt and has managed to marginalize the less-fortunate masses living outside of the city and keep them relatively under control.  That is until the day that two highly influential members of the hierarchy are poisoned and the Chancellor is faced with the very real possibility that there is an undetected assassin afoot within the walls of Silasta itself.  Enter the two main characters of CITY OF LIES Jovan and Kalina.  They are both what are known as "proofers".  Essentially the job of a proofer is to guard against their leaders being poisoned either through their food of by various other means.  The way they are trained for this incredibly important job is to be gradually poisoned at a very early age and then throughout their lives so that they can develop a sort of immunity to poisons while also being able to detect hundreds of different forms and essences of those poisons before they ever reach the lips of the people who they are charged to guard.  

Jovan is thrust into the role of guarding the privileged heir of the Chancellor Tain when his sister Kalina's health is too frail to carry out her duties.  When the two leaders of Silasta are poisoned (one of whom happens to be Jovan and Kalina's uncle, the still fairly inexperienced Jovan must learn quickly because the fate of Silasta and its stranglehold on the populace is very much in danger.  As word slowly leaks out of their deaths, the rebellion gains more confidence, seeing it as an opportunity and a chink in the armor of the otherwise impregnable city.  As a result Jovan, Kalina, and the heir Tain rush to solve the murders before any more occur and the ensuing instability causes an overthrow of Silasta and its noble ruling class.  

It is in the process of attempting to solve the poisoning murders that the three begin to peel back the layers of the truth at the heart of the city of Silasta and start to question what they have always been taught about their upbringing and world.  For Silasta  is not the Utopian society it has always been portrayed as for these three friends, and when they are faced with the reality of the deceit and intolerance that is a matter of course in the city, their entire perspective is devastatingly altered.  How will that effect their future and the future of the city that they have always called home?  Will the heir to the Chencellorship Tain be open to the truth or will he reject it in an effort to guarantee and solidify his power and eventual ascension as the future Chancellor of Silasta?

I love when I have absolutely zero expectations before I read a book.  That's by no means a knock, I just mean that I had read no reviews of this book nor had I seen any marketing material other than the cover and back-cover synopsis.  It really makes reading a book like this a freeing experience and you can just let the story unfold and wash over you with no preconceived notions as to what you are about to read.  There are so many things that I liked about this book.  The first one was the constant switching of viewpoint perspective with each chapter, alternating between both Jovan and Kalina.  At first I didn't think I was going to like it and I was a bit confused.  However, as the book went on I felt that it enhanced the story for me.  


I enjoyed seeing the events taking place through the eyes of two different people in very different situations.  Once I got used to the fact that each chapter would be told through alternating perspectives, I loved it.  Another thing that I liked about the book was the exceptional world-building.  The city of Silasta is fascinating and the backstory of the disgruntled lower-class trying to overthrow their oppressive leaders was a deftly-handled one.  It's a timeless plot theme really and we as readers can easily relate to a story like this because we've seen it in the real history of our world on many occasions.  Lastly, I'd like to touch on the characters, most specifically the brother and sister duo of Jovan and Kalina.  It is here where Sam Hawke really shows her prowess as a writer.  

The complex relationship between the two while also balancing that with the obvious love that they have for each other carries the story and lifts it from simply a good tale to a great one.  I highly recommend CITY OF LIES and the good news is that this is just the first book in hopefully a long series where we can enjoy this world and these characters for years and years to come.  

(My Rating: 9/10)

Comments

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *