Reddit reviews City of Stairs: A Novel (The Divine Cities)

> while gods gained their power from the reverence of others and such many millennia ago, they are still inextricably linked to the perception others hold of them, and as this perception because more twisted so does the god in question themselves.


Interesting -- that's exactly like a recent fantasy series that starts with City of Stairs

Not implying anybody is copying anybody else, but it is interesting.

Also features a completely fucked city because it was partially built on miracles that broke when the the god that enabled those miracles died.

While City of Stairs is technically part of a series, I picked it up because everyone said it can be read as a stand alone and it seemed really interesting. Plus, the reviews are super good so I figured I would have a good chance of enjoying it.

City of Stairs, by Robert Jackson Bennett

From Amazon:

The city of Bulikov once wielded the powers of the gods to conquer the world, enslaving and brutalizing millions—until its divine protectors were killed. Now Bulikov has become just another colonial outpost of the world's new geopolitical power, but the surreal landscape of the city itself—first shaped, now shattered, by the thousands of miracles its guardians once worked upon it—stands as a constant, haunting reminder of its former supremacy.

Into this broken city steps Shara Thivani. Officially, the unassuming young woman is just another junior diplomat sent by Bulikov's oppressors. Unofficially, she is one of her country's most accomplished spies, dispatched to catch a murderer. But as Shara pursues the killer, she starts to suspect that the beings who ruled this terrible place may not be as dead as they seem—and that Bulikov's cruel reign may not yet be over.