The Drowning City

The Drowning City is a promising debut that didn't quite hit the spot for me. When the action picks up, it's a very enjoyable read, but I felt there were some issues about the scale and balance of the magical forces that made the story not quite satisfy.

Symir is a city of canals, on the river delta in an occupied country with a south-east asian flavour. Isyllt is a necromancer, from the north, who is in town to provoke discontent, and ideally stop the Assari empire from turning its attention north. There are complications, and multiple factions on all sides.

The setting is unusual, and the magic is interesting, if unbalanced. I'm interested in seeing more, even if this one didn't quite hit the spot.