Review: Locklands, by Robert Jackson Bennett

Sancia, Clef, and Berenice have gone up against plenty of long odds in the past. But the war they’re fighting now is one even they can’t win. This time, they’re not facing robber-baron elites, or even an immortal hierophant, but an entity whose intelligence is spread over half the globe—a ghost in the machine that uses the magic of scriving to possess and control not just objects, but human minds.
To fight it, they’ve used scriving technology to transform themselves and their allies into an army—a society—that’s like nothing humanity has seen before. With its strength at their backs, they’ve freed a handful of their enemy’s hosts from servitude, even brought down some of its fearsome, reality-altering dreadnaughts. Yet despite their efforts, their enemy marches on—implacable. Unstoppable. Now, as their opponent closes in on its true prize—an ancient doorway, long buried, that leads to the chambers at the center of creation itself—Sancia and her friends glimpse a chance at reaching it first, and with it, a last desperate opportunity to stop this unbeatable foe. But to do so, they’ll have to unlock the centuries-old mystery of scriving’s origins, embark on a desperate mission into the heart of their enemy’s power, and pull off the most daring heist they’ve ever attempted.

"There is no dancing through a monsoon". Robert Jackson Bennett's Locklands aims higher than ever and crafts a tale of gigantic scope, a novel about transhumanism, choices, and sacrifices. Set eight years after Shorefall's devastating conclusion, it follows the original cast as they make a new society, something so vastly different from everything that came before, a new way of being. They fight for a chance to survive, battling against the ancient being that they awakened in the past, and finding unexpected allies. It's all-out war, vast and desperate, the very surface of the earth altered.

And yet at its heart, it's also a quiet story of loss and despair, about what a single man can accomplish in the face of a personal tragedy. It's terrible to imagine that much of the pain and catastrophies suffered by humanity were done in the course of attempting to right a wrong. Against the backdrop of the war mysteries are revealed, and the tragedy at the center of it all pulls at heartstrings in its simplicity.

Sancia and Berenice suffer through a trial of their own, as they're forced to face the consequences of what happened in the first book. They're an older couple now, they've been together for years, and they're comfortable in their skin and their love and in the ties that bind them; they know each other, inside and out, but darkness looms ahead, and choices that must be made.

The epilogue is masterful, tying all the final threads together to form a heartbreaking conclusion that nonetheless is filled with hope.

Locklands is the perfect finale to an imaginative trilogy.

✨ 5 stars

Review: The Saint of Bright Doors, by Vajra Chandrasekera

Nestled at the head of a supercontinent, framed by sky and sea, lies Luriat, the city of bright doors. The doors are everywhere in the city, squatting in walls where they don’t belong, painted in vivid warning. They watch over a city of art and avarice, of plagues and pogroms, and silently refuse to open. No one knows what lies beyond them, but everyone has their own theory and their own relationship to the doors. Researchers perform tests and take samples, while supplicants offer fruit and flowers and hold prayer circles. Many fear the doors as the source of hauntings from unspeakable realms. To a rare unchosen few, though, the doors are both a calling and a bane. Fetter is one of those few.
When Fetter was born, his mother tore his shadow from him. She raised him as a weapon to kill his sainted father and destroy the religion rising up in his sacred footsteps. Now Fetter is unchosen, lapsed in his devotion to both his parents. He casts no shadow, is untethered by gravity, and sees devils and antigods everywhere he goes. With no path to follow, Fetter would like to be anything but himself. Does his answer wait on the other side of one of Luriat’s bright doors?

"Is the chain ever free?". Vajra Chandrasekera's The Saint of Bright Doors is a lyrical marvel of a novel, a richly detailed exploration of agency, cults, and familial abuse. In this standalone, fantastical story, we follow the son of a major cult leader as he leaves home and finds himself in a city with a thousand strange doors. Not everything is clearly explained, but the nebulous nature of some things really sells the atmosphere. The major questions are answered, though, and some more, letting the reader glimpse some tantalizing truths.

The worldbuilding is immaculate, detailing a complex world that's so much more than what it's shown, as clearly said in the surprising final part of the novel, which is exhilarating with its paradigm shift. We explore the city and then the world with Fetter, uncovering secrets and trying to overthrow a tyrannical government that vanishes people into prisons as big as a country. We see him lose himself in many identities as he tries to be many people at once, uncertain of his place in the world, molded by his mother's abuse and by his powerful father's absence. The doors are a riveting mystery that remains partly unexplained.

The supporting cast is a delight, from the jaded revolutionary to the door scholar to his fellow Unchosen. Fetter's mother gets some more spotlight in the second half, and her story sheds some light on the nebulous nature of this world. She is a formidable character, looming large in the narrative, perhaps more than Fetter's father, who's still masterfully painted when we finally get to know him. And then the twist leads to a payoff that, while feeling somewhat abrupt and sudden, still works.

The narrative normalizes queer relationships, although in-story queerness is formally against the law. Fetter is bisexual, and he has to navigate what his relationships mean when he struggles to be someone that he's not. There's an intriguing glimpse of a wlw relationship in the background, which in some way ends up shaping the story.

The Saint of Bright Doors is a stunning debut, a lyrical delight.

✨ 4 stars

Review: Shorefall, by Robert Jackson Bennett

Having narrowly saved the metropolis of Tevanne from destruction, Sancia Grado and her allies have turned to their next task: sowing the seeds of a full-on magical-industrial revolution. If they succeed, the secrets behind scriving—the art of imbuing everyday objects with sentience—will be accessible to all of Tevanne’s citizens, much to the displeasure of the robber-barons who’ve hoarded this knowledge for themselves.
But one of Sancia’s enemies has embarked on a desperate gambit, an attempt to resurrect a figure straight out of legend—an immortal being known as a heirophant. Long ago, the heirophant was an ordinary man, but he’s used scriving to transform himself into something closer to a god. Once awakened, he’ll stop at nothing to remake the world in his horrifying image. And if Sancia can’t stop this ancient power from returning? Well, the only way to fight a god… is with another god.

"What a wondrous thing, to share my life, and be loved". Robert Jackson Bennett's Shorefall pulls no punches. The stakes couldn't be higher as a new menace comes to the city, a threat that must be dealt with in a mere matter of days. Set a few years after the first installment of the series, this books is brimming with action and heart, and it's an emotional journey that makes you grapple with what it means to be human. It's about found families, and choices, and the cost of innovation.

The world-building is superb, expanding the threads in the first book to create an immersive experience. The magic system is terrific, of course, and new applications of it are reavealed, making for gripping scenes. Gregor's backstory is fully revealed, and suffice it to say that it pulls at the heartstrings for the injustice of it all. The villain is extraordinary, set on change and terrifying and not entirely wrong in his assessment.

Sancia and Berenice are still together, and we even get a few chapters from Berenice's POV. Their relationship is solid and sweet, but they never lose track of the goal; they know that the fate of the world is in their hands, and they aren't going to ruin their chances by worrying about each other. After all, they're both extremeley competent.

Shorefall is a stunning sequel to Foundryside.

✨ 4.5 stars

Snippet: The Bachelor's Valet, by Arden Powell

Alphonse Hollyhock is blessed with wealth, class, and more beauty than brains. Though he hasn't got a lick of wit or magic to his name, he's perfectly content living life as an airheaded bachelor with his valet—the clever, unflappable Jacobi—by his side to ensure everything runs smoothly. All he lacks, according to his mother, is a wife. Despite Alphonse's protests, he's to marry Aaliyah Kaddour: a bright, headstrong young woman who would probably be charming company if she didn't threaten everything about Alphonse's way of life. Marrying means giving up his fashionable flat, his fast car, and, worst of all, it means losing Jacobi.
Perhaps most distressingly, this talk of marriage is bringing all sorts of confusing feelings to the forefront. Because rather than falling for the beautiful girl being pushed into his arms, Alphonse seems to be falling for his valet. Except a man can't fall in love with another man. Can he? Meanwhile, Aaliyah has plans of her own. She's as devious as she is pretty, but if Alphonse wants to get through this marriage business in one piece, he'll have to trust her. Her and Jacobi, and, most dangerously, his own feelings.

"Like stepping into summer sunshine". Arden Powell's The Bachelor's Valet is a sweet low-stakes fantasy story about an air-headed bachelor and his loyal valet with magical powers. It's incredibly cozy and it never once attempts to be more than it is; I found it a perfectly relaxing read to cleanse the palate in-between heavier books. This is the same author of the book about a nightmarish eldritch fairy creature, so I'm really happy to have given them another chance. This novella is part of a series of loosely connected queer romantasy books, so I might pick up something else from the series. There's also a nice wlw relationship that takes some space in the narrative.

✨ 4 stars