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Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... McMinnville Public Library | Hawke, S. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | FANTASY Hawke, S. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Woodburn Public Library | Hawke | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
WINNER of the Ditmar Awards for Best Novel and Best New Talent, the Norma K Hemming Award, and the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel!
Poison. Treachery. Ancient spirits. Sieges. The Poison Wars begin now, with City of Lies , a fabulous epic fantasy debut by Sam Hawke
I was seven years old the first time my uncle poisoned me...
Outwardly, Jovan is the lifelong friend of the Chancellor's charming, irresponsible Heir. Quiet. Forgettable. In secret, he's a master of poisons and chemicals, trained to protect the Chancellor's family from treachery. When the Chancellor succumbs to an unknown poison and an army lays siege to the city, Jovan and his sister Kalina must protect the Heir and save their city-state.
But treachery lurks in every corner, and the ancient spirits of the land are rising...and angry.
Author Notes
A black belt in jujitsu, Sam Hawke lives with her husband and children in Australia. CITY OF LIES is her first novel.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Australian author Hawke launches her Poison War epic fantasy series with this exhaustive and imaginative exposé of capitalistic corruption. Wealthy, cultured Silasta, the Bright City, is threatened from without and within. It's under siege by the downtrodden and vengeance-bent workers called earthers, whose exploited labors have sustained it, while it rots within from one betrayal after another among its privileged families and members of the guilds. Jovan is an apprentice secret proofer, someone who tests for toxins (often being poisoned himself in the process) and develops their antidotes. He's devoted to protecting Tain, Silasta's politically naive new chancellor, from the poisoner who killed Jovan and Tain's uncles. Jovan's sister, Kalina, too physically frail to proof, has espionage skills that prove crucial to the city's survival. Hawke's often violent and always detail-oriented narrative dwells heavily on episodes of the protracted siege as the springboard for political commentary, chiefly through Tain's experiences of growing into maturity as a humane man and pragmatic ruler. This colorful and exciting tale occasionally stretches the limits of belief, but fantasy fans will still enjoy it and eagerly anticipate its coming sequel. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A brother and sister trained from birth to protect their ruler find their skillsand their assumptionstested in Hawke's debut novel.Jovan and Kalina are noble-born siblings whose family has long performed a secret duty: to guard the Chancellor against covert threats, especially poison. Jovan is the "proofer"the preparer or tester of everything the ruler eats or drinks, aided in this task by his incredible memory. Kalina should have had Jovan's role, but her physical frailty forbade it; her determination led her to learn other aspects of spycraft from their teacher and uncle, Etan. Idealistic, good-hearted Tain is their childhood friendand the heir to the powerful Chancellor position. When Etan and the old Chancellor both fall to poison, Jovan, Kalina, and Tain are all thrust into responsibilities they thought were years away. The three friends must question everything they know about their world and each other as they struggle to solve the murders of their predecessors, keep the city from falling to a rebel army, outwit career politicians twice their age, and survive ongoing threats on their lives. A tightly wound and ever escalating plot is complemented by the cast's refreshing nuancesJovan is implied to be on the autism spectrum, and Kalina's training as a spy hasn't made her superhuman, just all the more conscious of her limitations. None of the main characters are terribly good at inflicting violence on other people but must rely on their wits, charm, and moral compasses to overcome their more ruthless enemies. Even when magic comes into play the story never loses its essentially human and relatable scale, making it stand out from more sprawling, cinematic fare.A well-crafted debut with believable political intrigues, solid worldbuilding, and original characters. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
With the mysterious deaths of Chancellor Caslav and his proofer Etan at the lunch to honor the Talafan Lord Ectar, the political plans of other council members in the Silasta desert are thrown into chaos. The suspects are many even Lord Ectar is not above suspicion when the exotic pet monkey he brought as a gift is found dead the next day. In the midst of all this, a rebellion of the Darfari has broken out outside the city's gates, and Tain, the newly minted chancellor and son of Caslav, must deal with both the revolution and the investigation. He enlists his friend Jovan, a Darfari girl named Hanrea, Jovan's sister, Kalina, and some trusted order guards to help save the city he loves. Can he trust that Jovan can get enough information to stop the next murder? Can Hanrea help keep the Darfari calm before more uprisings occur? Can Kalina get to Aven, the warrior-guilder, in time to save the city from destruction? Hawke's first entry in the Poison Wars series is an engrossing fantasy that combines mystery and political intrigue.--Tiffany Austin Copyright 2018 Booklist
Library Journal Review
DEBUT In the city-state of Silasta, wealthy families and guild members live in luxury. Jovan is the heir to his uncle, a poison master who protects the Chancellor's family from danger. As the best friend to Tain, the Chancellor's Heir, Jovan must keep the immature Tain out of trouble. When the Chancellor is murdered by an unidentified poison, which also kills Jovan's uncle, the young men get caught up in a political maelstrom involving power-hungry Council members. When the city is besieged by a rebellious army, residents must figure out how to survive. Can Tain, Jovan, and his sister Kalina find a way to root out internal and external betrayals and save the Heir and Silasta? VERDICT This epic fantasy debut weaves political, class, and belief systems into a deftly drawn world, laying fertile ground for exciting political commentary.-Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.