Foundryside Review

“Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.  But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic--the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience--have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.  Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.  To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.” - Goodreads

Foundryside is a book about magic in a setting much like 1600’s Venice. Before this book, I had never heard of Robert Jackson Bennett before I read this book, but his writing and world-building is so extraordinary that I am riveted for the next installment of this series. If there could be a written series strikingly similar to the plot that’s been in my head for years, Foundryside is the one. The twists and turns are so unique and creative that you are forced to keep reading until the last page. And I am not going to spoil you the main twist in the book as it is very weird and must be experienced first-hand. Though the exposition about the world and other aspects are long winded and throughout the book, you don’t feel bored while reading it. In fact, I wanted more exposition about the “Old World” and I can say that I need a prequel series about that time very soon! Also, I was expecting the relationships of the character to go one way so when it didn’t go that way, I was pleasantly surprised. Though, a character that I was interested in didn’t get the best ending and made me dislike them a lot.