I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Silk Fire by Zabé Ellor Published by Solaris on July 5, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dragons & Mythical Creatures, Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / General
Pages: 475
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Netgalley
Set in a planet-sized matriarchal city where magic and technology freely bleed together, a male courtesan’s quest for vengeance against his aristocrat father draws him into an ancient struggle between dragons, necromancers, and his home district’s violent history.
In the world-sized city of Jadzia, magic and ancient science merge into something dark and wondrous.
Koré’s life is consumed by power, politics, sex and vengeance, and as courtesan to the wealthy and powerful, he is privy to all manner of secrets. He knows meddling in politics is dangerous─still, he is willing to risk everything to stop his father from seizing the Imperial Throne of the War District. But Koré soon finds the corruption runs far deeper than just one man.
During a tryst in an ancient tomb─in the pursuit of political influence─Koré encounters a dying god, who imbues him with the powers of one of the city’s sacred dragons. Suddenly Koré finds himself a hunted man, threatened with becoming a pawn by whoever finds him first.
If the wrong person discovers his secret and lays claim to his powers they would plunge their world into war, unleash untold horrors and destroy the city─and the two people he has come to love.
Aughughuhguh. This book is so. I’m so. Eugh. Lots of other people have said a lot of really smart things about this book and you should go read their reviews instead. The famous dathomira review, of course, but also some other great reviewers have given in-depth reviews. Personally, this book was Exhausting and I could definitely see that maybe someone could enjoy it, but there was SO MUCH going on, and I didn’t understand what was happening, and there was no way to really get immersed in the book because there is such a weird mix of Fantasy Language and Regular Slang. I stopped 45% of the way in. Two stars, only because I legally have to give this a star rating. Booksweet link. Storygraph link. Goodreads link.
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