Foundryside is a 2018 fantasy novel by Robert Jackson Bennett. It was first published by Crown Publishing Group on August 21, 2018. It is the first book in a trilogy that includes Shorefall (2020) and Locklands (2022).
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Robert Jackson Bennett |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | The Founders |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Published | August 21, 2018 |
| Publisher | Crown Publishing Group |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), audiobook, e-book |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | 978-1524760366 |
| Followed by | Shorefall |
Synopsis
editIn the city of Tevanne, where "scriving" — the systematization and mass production of sigils — has enabled the industrialization of magic, Sancia Grado is a thief hired to steal a powerful magical artifact... one which has a mind of its own.
Reception
editKirkus Reviews considered it "grand entertainment" (if one can "accept the notion that the laws of gravity are just suggestions"), with Sancia being "a gamin version of the Tom Cruise of Mission Impossible, and police officer Gregor Dandolo "worthy of Umberto Eco".[1]
The Verge described it as "essentially a cyberpunk novel, trapped in the clothes of an epic fantasy", and "pressingly modern and relevant", lauding both the "enthralling heist" and the extent to which Bennett focused on "the ethics of capitalism".[2]
Locus praised Bennett's depiction of "the general mayhem that follows in Sancia’s wake" as "complicated and believable, but never confusing", and called Sancia "an enjoyable protagonist" and "three-dimensional, marked by a massive case of PTSD and an inability to jettison her sense of empathy", but faulted scriving as not only overly complex, but "so interwoven with the politics [of Tevanne] that the first quarter or so of the book has been overtaken by infodumps".[3]
Tor.com commended Bennett for "the central message of Sancia's character arc", and noted that the novel as a whole is "populated with rich, complex people".[4]
References
edit- ^ Bennett, Robert Jackson (May 28, 2018). "Foundryside". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Liptak, Andrew (December 23, 2018). "Foundryside is a cyberpunk adventure wrapped in an epic fantasy novel". The Verge. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
- ^ Lila Garrott Reviews Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, by Lila Garrott, in Locus; August 2018 issue; archived online October 23, 2018; retrieved April 5, 2021
- ^ Everyday Magic: Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett, reviewed by Martin Cahill, at Tor.com; published August 20, 2018; retrieved April 5, 2021
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