layawaydragon
Written on Aug 5, 2022
'A refreshing look at magic - featuring a heroine every reader will root for - from one of the smartest writers I know', says Peter V. Brett, New York Times bestselling author of The Demon Cycle
The upstart firm Foundryside is struggling to make it. Orso Igancio and his star employee, former thief Sancia Grado, are accomplishing brilliant things with scriving, the magical art of encoding sentience into everyday objects, but it's not enough. The massive merchant houses of Tevanne won't tolerate competition, and they're willing to do anything to crush Foundryside.
But even the merchant houses of Tevanne might have met their match. An immensely powerful and deadly entity has been resurrected in the shadows of Tevanne, one that's not interested in wealth or trade routes: a hierophant, one of the ancient practitioners of scriving. And he has a great fascination for Foundryside, and its employees - especially Sancia.
Now Sancia and the rest of Foundryside must race to combat this new menace, which means understanding the origins of scriving itself - before the hierophant burns Tevanne to the ground.
- ISBN10 1786487896
- ISBN13 9781786487896
- Publish Date 21 April 2020
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 2 December 2022
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Quercus Publishing
- Imprint Jo Fletcher Books
- Format Paperback (UK Trade)
- Pages 512
- Language English
Reviews
Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Written on Nov 28, 2020
Continuing on a few years after the events of book one, Shorefall drops you right into the middle of things. I love it when a sequel does that. The group decides to make like Robin Hood (rob from the rich and give to the poor) and we start with a heist. I am a big fan of a complex theft, whether it goes well or ends up becoming jumbled.
It was a treat to return to Bennett’s awesome setting. The city of Tevanne is a mess, kind of like the real world. Unlike the real world, Tevanne has a rocking magic system called scriving. In essence, scriving is convincing an item that it is something it’s not, so that it functions in a way it wouldn’t normally. It’s the most technological magic I’ve ever read and it makes for an interesting world.
This book throws our ragtag group of not-really heroes against an extremely villainous villain named Crasedes. I truly loved him. There’s something fabulous about a bad guy who has a twisted reasoning that almost makes sense. That being said, this book is much darker than its predecessor. Expect higher stakes and an injury/death list that is quite hefty.
And that leads us into the parts I didn’t love. The banter that added bits of fun to Foundryside was lacking in Shorefall. While the darker tone of the book worked for the storyline, I really missed those dashes of humor. The character development was off the charts, though, which is where the book shone. I finished book one with a sense of awe at the world the author created; I had much the same reaction regarding character growth in this book. Just…wowza.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the pacing in this book, unfortunately. It alternated between slower moments and bursts of action. Normally, I enjoy that in a book, but for some reason it felt a little off here. I really can’t figure out why. From time to time, it would take me out of the plot and leave me less than engrossed.
Shorefall was a mixed bag for me. I truly liked it, but it stopped a bit short of Foundryside for me. However, it is still a well-written book in a truly fascinating world. There was much more to like than dislike and it left me wondering what would happen next.
Have you read this book? What did you think?
annieb123
Written on Jul 31, 2020
Shorefall is the second book in the Founders trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett. Released 21st April 2020 by Random House on their Del Rey imprint, it's 512 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats.
This is a phenomenally well written book. Despite the fact that I hadn't read the first book, this book hooked me. The review has waited a few months because I fell in love with the writing, but found the plot so hard to follow that I needed to go back and read the first book. (It doesn't work well at all as a standalone and they're both doorstop chonky books (512+ pages each)). Getting to the point of being able to write a review was a bit of a commitment. I'm glad I took the time.
I found this installment much less of a rollicking fantasy magical engineering marvel (but not "steampunk-y in the slightest) and more of an exploration of created family, loyalty, pragmatism, good-vs-evil and general epic high fantasy. The magic system is subtle and believable. The author explores the ramifications of the system logically and well. There's an appealing f/f romance subplot which doesn't detract from the main adventure, but might not be *enough* romance for readers who prefer a little plot with their romance.
In some ways, Bennett's writing (and this trilogy) remind me most of Yoon Ha Lee (Machineries of Empire) and Seth Dickinson (The Masquerade) which is sort of weird because they're both really SF writers and this is definitely fantasy. The point is, he's a top shelf writer of speculative fiction and this book is *really* good, maybe one of the best SF/F offerings I've read this year, just don't try to read it as a standalone. I've intentionally avoided offering a precis of the plotline for 2 reasons: first, every other reviewer does just that and second, it's too complex to sum up in a couple of paragraphs.
Four and a half stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
ross91
Written on May 10, 2020
The plot twist at the end was a little predictable, but I enjoyed it anyway
Inkslinger
Written on Apr 25, 2020
ARC provided by Random House/Ballantine (Del Rey Books) and Robert Jackson Bennett via NetGalley. All opinions are mine and freely given.
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"If there be a person alive with more power than myself, then over time circumstances shall eventually degrade until, inevitably, I am their slave. And if our situations were to be reversed, then they shall inevitably become mine.
-- Crasedes Magnus"
04-27: 'Shorefall (The Founders Trilogy #2)' by Robert Jackson Bennett is a deep-dive fantasy novel about a sort of hobbled together group of rebels, bound by the struggles they've shared and a communal desire to free others like themselves. Though I didn't read the first book in the series, I had no trouble picking this one up and settling right into what was going on.
In a world where people rely heavily on the art of scriving-- the act of imbuing everyday objects with sentience and permissions they wouldn't normally have by nature's rules, there comes a battle between two godlike figures. Crasedes Magnus, the first of the great hierophants and Valeria, the construct who defeated him in their last conflict.. were both left too damaged to affect the changes they intended without help.
Our protagonist is a spitfire named Sancia Grado, who just so happens to be able to physically see the logic of the scrivings sunken into the objects around her and interact with them, convincing them to do things they aren't meant to. She's rough around the edges, she's amusingly sarcastic at times, but she's also capable of great love and loyalty. It just doesn't usually look like what we might expect from a heroine.
"I remember the plan," said Sancia. "I just also remember there's a lot of spots in the plan that say, 'Sancia improvises a bunch of s***.' Which is not, you know, comforting."
Accompanied by her girlfriend Berenice (together, the two referred to as The Muses), the old scriver Orso (who left the Founding Houses and struck out on his own in an attempt to bring technology more equally to the people), and Gregor (the son of one of the Founding Houses.. and a broken thing in his own right), Sancia intends to put a stop to Crasedes as well. Their relationships are all rather beautifully complex. Each carrying their own baggage as they try to alleviate those same agonies in those around them.
As a team, they're a well-oiled machine. They complement each other's skills and temperments, and really.. this is what I find is the core thread through the story. It's a tale about taking on the greatest of odds together. While of course, that is no guarantee of success, Bennett certainly shows the reader how much stronger they are because of their common goals and willingness to put each other first.
"We are all keepers of a secret flame, lighting the way forward."
"Not a flame, I think," he said. "A spark. We intend to start an inferno."
"Yet fires do not care about who they burn."
As great as Sancia is, it's Gregor I find myself drawn to. He's the tragic beauty. It doesn't matter that he's a deadly warrior, that he's covered in scars, and emotionally cold and distant much of the time. There's still something elegant about him, he just feels so lost to me all the time.
I have some minor complaints, of course I do.
Understandably, Bennett's ideas are complex. The very theory of scriving itself is fascinating and in their world it's everywhere. It's used for defenses, both personal and geographical, but it's also used for everyday work. Irrigation. Light. Construction. Every part of their world has been touched by it, maybe not improved.. but progression is not always improvement, is it?
Despite the complexity of the concepts, in my opinion he goes a bit overboard with the information dumps about how everything works. It's constant. Explain a few things to me so I get how it works in theory and then focus on the story itself. Whatever. The result was it made the book a bit more of a trudge than it needed to be, but it also didn't seem to weaken his work on the characters, plot, or relationships at all. So, it's just a personal preference. I would have liked less of that.
Also, I would have liked less easy answers. With Sancia able to look at any scrived rig, see exactly how it works and how to manipulate it, that's borderline convenient already. But add in the all knowing beings and the ways they find to share information as they move toward their goals, it's just a bit too much. I really dislike everything being able to be explained in a flash of knowledge at every turn.
"What a thing, to wish to be unmade," he thought. "To yearn to open up one's skull and allow all the bindings there to come unspooling out like lengths of wire..."
Ultimately, none of my small protests matter. The story is gripping. I was invested from the start and remained so throughout. Most of the book has no real time for emotion. That isn't to say the characters don't experience them, they're just pressed for time, pressed for action.. they cannot just still and let themselves crumble. There are moments however, that I found incredibly moving.
While the tension ramped up and time seemed fleeting, every decision became that much more crucial. Reveals, long foreshadowed and slow to come to fruition, made harsh impacts.. both on the characters and the reader. I was deeply unhappy with how certain events unfolded.. and I'm absolutely certain that is exactly why they were the right choices. The author left me feeling as bereft and broken as those within his story seemed to be.. and I can't wait for him to do it again.
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04-24: Finally finished this book. It got a bit heavy emotionally toward the end and not all in ways I liked. Which.. isn't to say the choices were wrong. Actually, probably quite the opposite. Review to come!
04-23: This is definitely growing on me. I have some issues, but the basis of the story is quite good.
04-22: I confess I've gotten a bit distracted with things I needed to do around home, but I have made some progress with this book. So far, the act and benefit of scriving is the most fascinating part.. that and a character named Gregor. Hmm...
04-21: I'm so eager to get into this book, the scriving premise is fascinating. Imagine anything being able to become sentient.. and the havoc that could be wrought..
tweetybugshouse
Written on Mar 15, 2020
A lot more details about how scriving can be twisted and used for personal gain. “Humankind is most innovative at turning innovation to the cruelest ends.” Is the best way to sum up some of the plot twist that unfold in this amazing sequel to Foundryside. I have to give props to the author for pulling off that this villain makes a pretty-damm good case to justify his reign of terror.
If i keep talking i give it all away so just do yourself a favor pick up book one Foundryside and then come April 2020 you be ready for the sequel Shorefall. Your Welcome!