Shorefall

March 1, 2020
Tolkien meets AI as Bennett (City of Stairs, 2014, etc.) returns with a busy, action-packed sequel to Foundryside (2018), neatly blending technology, philosophy, and fantasy. Tevanne is a medieval-ish city-state made up of four "campos," each controlled by a merchant guild. One lies in ruins, the outer wall now "little more than masonry and rubble about ten feet high." The sight causes Sancia Grado, the nimble thief introduced in Foundryside, to wonder, "Did I do that?" Well, yes--and much more besides. Though in ruins, the campo still plays a role in the current proceedings even as Sancia and her cohort--Gregor, Orso, and other Foundrysiders with nicely Shakespearean names--start things off by trying to run a confidence game on the hitherto unexplored Michiel campo. As ever, things get complicated when the objects in Sancia's world manifest consciousness through a clever process of programming called "scriving." When a formidable foe named Crasedes Magnus enters the scene, having scrived himself into near invincibility, Sancia realizes she's got her work cut out for her if Tevanne is going to survive and remain a playground for her mischief. The insider language comes thick and fast as Bennett spins out his story: "She'd never really had the opportunity to handle the imperiat much," he tells us, "and unlike most scrived devices, she had difficulty engaging with hierophantic rigs." Still, old-fashioned tools come in handy, as when Gregor dispatches an unfortunate watchman with his sword: "Orso saw hot blood splash his invisible barrier, and the soldier collapsed into the waters, pawing at his throat." Vorpal blades won't do much against Crasedes, though, for whom Bennett gives a fine backstory amid all the mayhem. It's up to Sancia, as ever, to divine the magical means to make him rue his ways--or, as he thinks, as the very stones of Tevanne rise up to fight against him, "This...is not how I wanted things to go." An expertly spun yarn by one of the best fantasy writers on the scene today.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 16, 2020
The thoughtful second installment to Bennett’s Founders fantasy trilogy (after 2018’s Foundryside) kicks off as a clever caper but swiftly changes tone, shifting into supernatural horror. Sancia Grado, an ex-thief able to “flex” her mind to see hidden magical inscriptions and commune with enchanted objects, aids her fellow mage-technicians of Foundryside—a well-wrought fantasy world that will put readers in mind of Renaissance Venice—to infiltrate the grand merchant houses of the city’s robber barons and redistribute their powerful “scrived” belongings to the public. But as Sancia’s budding revolution celebrates its first success, the resurrection of a legendary wizard, the hierophant Crasedes Magnus, forces Sancia to turn to her own scrived objects to combat him. The ancient magical items she’ll need are powerful enough to rewrite reality and sentient enough to have their own agendas, leaving Sancia with an impossible choice between “the unimaginable and the irredeemable.” The industrialized magic system is intricate and fascinating (if at times overly detailed), and Bennett’s characterization of the unhinged, all-powerful Crasedes strikes a perfect balance between terror and allure. This thrilling installment will leave readers eager for the series finale. Agent: Cameron McClure, Donald Maass Literary.

Starred review from April 15, 2020
Set three years after the events in Foundryside (2018), the second Founders novel takes the series to dangerous new heights. Sancia, Gregor, and their group of scrivers are changing the city of Tevanne with their independent consulting firm that ensures everyone, not just the wealthy, can access the symbols and formulas that magically imbue technology. At the beginning of this story, the Foundrysiders are in the midst of a transaction, one that is both a sale and a heist. Offering to sell a unique new twinning technique, the intrepid band is secretly planning to duplicate a founding family's hoarded magic cyphers and make them freely available to those less fortunate and, in the process, bring down another merchant house. Little do they know that their actions will cause a devastating struggle for the lives and souls of Sancia, Gregor, and the city itself. They were previously able to pause the reincarnation of an all-powerful, immortal being, but his imminent arrival is aided by a formidable founder. The large-scale conflicts, new characters, and climactic ending set the stage for more exciting action and adventure to come in the complex, ever-expanding world of the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

November 1, 2019

Winner of Edgar, Shirley Jackson, and Philip K. Dick honors, Bennett offers the second book in the "Founders" trilogy, set in a city run on (and corrupted by) industrialized magic. Sancia Grado and pals now want to effect a revolution that would make scriving--that is, the art of endowing ordinary objects with sentience--available to everyone. Her enemies intend to stop her by resurrecting a monstrosity from the past, but have they thought this through?

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.