**As a magical revolution remakes a city, an ancient evil is awakened in a brilliant novel from the Hugo-nominated author of Foundryside and the Divine Cities trilogy.
“An absolutely wild ride . . . Foundryside blew me away, and this is a perfect sequel.”—Amal El-Mohtar, The New York Times Book Review**
A few years ago, Sancia Grado would’ve happily watched Tevanne burn. Now, she’s hoping to transform her city into something new. Something better. Together with allies Orso, Gregor, and Berenice, she’s about to strike a deadly blow against Tevanne’s cruel robber-baron rulers and wrest power from their hands for the first time in decades.
But then comes a terrifying warning: Crasedes Magnus himself, the first of the legendary hierophants, is about to be reborn. And if he returns, Tevanne will be just the first place to feel his wrath.
Thousands of years ago, Crasedes was an ordinary man who did the impossible: Using the magic of scriving—the art of imbuing objects with sentience—he convinced reality that he was something more than human. Wielding powers beyond comprehension, he strode the world like a god for centuries, meting out justice and razing empires single-handedly, cleansing the world through fire and destruction—and even defeating death itself.
Like it or not, it’s up to Sancia to stop him. But to have a chance in the battle to come, she’ll have to call upon a god of her own—and unlock the door to a scriving technology that could change what it means to be human. And no matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same.
The awe-inspiring second installment of the Founders Trilogy, Shorefall returns us to the world Robert Jackson Bennett created in his acclaimed Foundryside . . . and forges it anew.
“If there be a person alive with more power than myself, then over time circumstances shall eventually degrade until, inevitably, I am their slave. And if our situations were to be reversed, then they shall inevitably become mine. — Crasedes Magnus”
‘Shorefall (The Founders Trilogy #2)’ by Robert Jackson Bennett is a deep-dive fantasy novel about a sort of hobbled together group of rebels, bound by the struggles they’ve shared and a communal desire to free others like themselves. Though I didn’t read the first book in the series, I had no trouble picking this one up and settling right into what was going on.
In a world where people rely heavily on the art of scriving– the act of imbuing everyday objects with sentience and permissions they wouldn’t normally have by nature’s rules, there comes a battle between two godlike figures. Crasedes Magnus, the first of the great hierophants and Valeria, the construct who defeated him in their last conflict.. were both left too damaged to affect the changes they intended without help.
Our protagonist is a spitfire named Sancia Grado, who just so happens to be able to physically see the logic of the scrivings sunken into the objects around her and interact with them, convincing them to do things they aren’t meant to. She’s rough around the edges, she’s amusingly sarcastic at times, but she’s also capable of great love and loyalty. It just doesn’t usually look like what we might expect from a heroine.
“I remember the plan,” said Sancia. “I just also remember there’s a lot of spots in the plan that say, ‘Sancia improvises a bunch of s***.’ Which is not, you know, comforting.”
Accompanied by her girlfriend Berenice (together, the two referred to as The Muses), the old scriver Orso (who left the Founding Houses and struck out on his own in an attempt to bring technology more equally to the people), and Gregor (the son of one of the Founding Houses.. and a broken thing in his own right), Sancia intends to put a stop to Crasedes as well. Their relationships are all rather beautifully complex. Each carrying their own baggage as they try to alleviate those same agonies in those around them.
As a team, they’re a well-oiled machine. They complement each other’s skills and temperments, and really.. this is what I find is the core thread through the story. It’s a tale about taking on the greatest of odds together. While of course, that is no guarantee of success, Bennett certainly shows the reader how much stronger they are because of their common goals and willingness to put each other first.
“We are all keepers of a secret flame, lighting the way forward.”
“Not a flame, I think,” he said. “A spark. We intend to start an inferno.”
“Yet fires do not care about who they burn.”
As great as Sancia is, it’s Gregor I find myself drawn to. He’s the tragic beauty. It doesn’t matter that he’s a deadly warrior, that he’s covered in scars, and emotionally cold and distant much of the time. There’s still something elegant about him, he just feels so lost to me all the time.
I have some minor complaints, of course I do.
Understandably, Bennett’s ideas are complex. The very theory of scriving itself is fascinating and in their world it’s everywhere. It’s used for defenses, both personal and geographical, but it’s also used for everyday work. Irrigation. Light. Construction. Every part of their world has been touched by it, maybe not improved.. but progression is not always improvement, is it?
Despite the complexity of the concepts, in my opinion he goes a bit overboard with the information dumps about how everything works. It’s constant. Explain a few things to me so I get how it works in theory and then focus on the story itself. Whatever. The result was it made the book a bit more of a trudge than it needed to be, but it also didn’t seem to weaken his work on the characters, plot, or relationships at all. So, it’s just a personal preference. I would have liked less of that.
Also, I would have liked less easy answers. With Sancia able to look at any scrived rig, see exactly how it works and how to manipulate it, that’s borderline convenient already. But add in the all knowing beings and the ways they find to share information as they move toward their goals, it’s just a bit too much. I really dislike everything being able to be explained in a flash of knowledge at every turn.
“What a thing, to wish to be unmade,” he thought. “To yearn to open up one’s skull and allow all the bindings there to come unspooling out like lengths of wire…”
Ultimately, none of my small protests matter. The story is gripping. I was invested from the start and remained so throughout. Most of the book has no real time for emotion. That isn’t to say the characters don’t experience them, they’re just pressed for time, pressed for action.. they cannot just still and let themselves crumble. There are moments however, that I found incredibly moving.
While the tension ramped up and time seemed fleeting, every decision became that much more crucial. Reveals, long foreshadowed and slow to come to fruition, made harsh impacts.. both on the characters and the reader. I was deeply unhappy with how certain events unfolded.. and I’m absolutely certain that is exactly why they were the right choices. The author left me feeling as bereft and broken as those within his story seemed to be.. and I can’t wait for him to do it again.
Come on.. book 3..
(More reviews like this available at BetwixtTheSheets.com.)
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
A darker sequel to the fantastic Foundryside.
I am truly adoring this series! I’m having so much fun learning about these characters. This one was an emotional ride the whole way through. This series has such a fascinating magic system. I adore all of the characters and I’m so worried about what’s going to happen to them next. I cannot wait for the release of book 3!
*eARC provided in exchange for an honest review*
A novel by Robert Jackson Bennett
The City of Tevanne is the Capital of an empire based on the industrial use of magic and slavery. It is an empire on edge. Slaves in their overseas plantations are rising in revolt all across the Durazzo Sea. So much so that suddenly, The City is on short rations because those plantations grow most of the food.
Internally, among the big Merchant Houses, Dandolo, Michiel, and Morsini, the situation is in foment too. The Scrivnors, who formulate the sigil strings for devices the Merchant Companies sell, are moving out of the “Big Three” to set up independent shops. That is an existential problem for Dandolo and the rest because the loss of these critical personnel closes off new ideas and innovation.
Sancia Grado, Berenice Grimaldi, Orso Ignacio, and Gregor Dandolo were the first to set up in the Commons. Their creation, Foundryside Limited, has the destruction of the Dandolo, Michiel, and Morsini companies as their singular goal. Breaking the stranglehold that the “Great” Merchant Houses have on scriving, and industrial magic will reset the table. At that point, Sancia and friends believe that the common folk of the city of Tevanne will be able to gain access to better housing, clean water, scrived lights, and all the other “luxuries” that the Merchant House Campos have in extravagant abundance.
When Sancia and company executed a very successful scheme targeting Michiel Body Corporate, they thought they had made a great stride toward breaking up Merchant House control of scriving. So, as people who have worked very hard to attain a goal finally succeed, Foundryside Limited celebrated a bit too hard.
The vicious hangovers of the morning after came with a terrible revelation. Valeria, an old ally, had sent Sancia warning of approaching disaster; an artifact from the body of Crasedes Magnus was on its way to Tevanne, and Ofelia Dandolo is going to try to resurrect him. Crasedes was the first hierophant, a master magician, and a monster with unmatched powers derived from human sacrifice. The myths concerning him say he could fly, destroy armies unaided, and make empires disappear. He must not be allowed to land. The question is, are Sancia and the rest of Foundryside Limited capable of stopping this onrushing apocalypse.
“Shorefall” is a masterpiece of fantasy. The writing is first-rate, with characters that are well-drawn, likeably human, and realistic. The world of Tevanne, though byzantine, is a unique piece of imagination. The pages groan with fantastic, well thought out action and descriptions that captivate the reader.
I highly recommend Mr. Bennett’s “Shorefall” to all aficionados of the genre.
Of note is the fact that this is the second book about Sancia Grado and the City of Tevanne. The first novel is “Foundryside.” Reading the latter is not essential, but it is just as enjoyable.
Del Rey and NetGalley provided an advance copy of this excellent novel in return for this review.
What a twisted scribed magical fiendish web of deceit the author has woven. I just finished and feel like I need to catch my breath. I’m still hanging off the side of the cliffhanger ending. Everything was a question with unknown answers, with lies, truthful answers that could be twisted to seem other. You think you know, they thought they knew but could you know if you have been lied to ? But, which are the lies ?
Oh it is intense, there was some serious power struggles going on. Power rearing its ugly face with a God like being determined to rule them all. Oh but it was not just one, no there were others involved other with secrets and a desire for something more. Battles are lost people are hurt, some characters die, it is a brutal desperate battle. I cringed a couple times when one of my favorites was, well you’ll find out.
I really enjoyed the slow building of the characters relationships with each other. They had to learn to trust, to open themselves up. There had been so much trauma, and lies. The author did this beautifully and believably. It also made it harder to say goodbye to them.
Oh the ending was such a shock, I never saw that coming ! Yes, I knew something was wrong but WOAH ! Now I must wait for book 3, waiting can be so hard .
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I loved the first book so much and I was incredibly excited to receive an ARC of the second book! And I think I read it at the exact right time. Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett said it best in that “most of the great triumphs and tragedies of history are caused, not by people being fundamentally good or fundamentally bad, but by people being fundamentally people.” (Good Omens). I think Robert Jackson Bennett is channeling that same opinion, whether he knows it or not. Terrible things have happened to Sancia and Gregor (and just about everyone else, too) but there’s unfortunately no way to separate that abuse of power from what it means to be human on the most basic level. The events and choices they are all forced to make combine into a lovely commentary on society.
There were parts I found slow and a bit tedious at times. But there were others that were so innovative, so powerful and touching that I kept going to see how they would be used further. And I love that while I could figure out bits and pieces of the impending twists, I couldn’t predict all of them. It kept me invested in the story and I very much appreciate that.
Our friends have difficult choices ahead of them. I have no idea if all will end happily, terribly, or somewhere in the middle. But I’m excited to see where they go and how they use what they’ve learned for the best.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book but with one caveat: the third one is not out yet. So if a work-in-progress is a deal-breaker for you, just tuck this into your to-be-read pile and keep your eyes open for the rest of the story!