A Book Review: City of Miracles by Robert Jackson Bennett (The Divine Cities #3)

Why do we read fictions? What is the point of reading made-up stories about imaginary characters who aren't real?

For me, looking into a story of a made-up person is like staring into my reflection in the mirror, it shows me things about myself that I cannot see; the flaws, the hopes, the strengths, the weaknesses, and the colors of life. I find great values in made-up stories about imaginary people. Recently, I read City of Miracles, and this book spoke to me in a profound way.

Written by Robert Jackson Bennett, City of Miracles is the final book in a trilogy known as "The Divine Cities". I like the first, and the second installment in this trilogy, but I like City of Miracles the most. Here is a synopsis for the book.

Synopsis:

A bomb exploded in a luxurious hotel. When the dust settled, the police found the mortal remain of Shara Komyad, the former Saypuri prime minister, and a friend to Sigurd Harkvaldsson.

Sigurd grieves for his friend, vengeance has his heart, it always has. And so Siguard made his way to the main continent, seeking the assassin who killed his friend. The investigation ultimately led Sigurd to the city of Bulikov, the city of miracles. In the streets of this ancient city, Siguard would uncover a hidden war, and challenge an angry god. At the bottom of all this, lies the truth to Shara's death, and the key to Siguard's salvation.

My thoughts on this book:

In The Divine Cities trilogy, every book features a different protagonist. In City of Miracles, the protagonist is Sigurd, who has consistently appeared in the previous 2 books as one of the main characters. In the first book, Sigurd made his debut as a silent protector of Shara, and readers were given a glimpse into his dark, violent past. In the second book, Sigurd was the catalyst in a great event. Despite his heavy involvement in the series, there was always something mysterious about this man, and the author never gave us the answer. In the third book, though, we finally get to see a story from Sigurd's perspective, and the book also satisfied our curiosity, when it revealed the answers to all of our burning questions about him.

Every book in this trilogy has a different theme. City of Stairs explores how censorship can affect people at every level in a society. City of Blades explores the belief about the afterlife. So, what is the theme in City of Miracles? This book, is about Sigurd's rage, it is about his life-long obsession with righting the wrong, how it tormented him, and how, he found peace at the end of a journey, an ending that tasted both bitter and sweet.

I deeply connected with Sigurd and this book. I don't know how to explain it, but have you ever had the experience, where you discovered that something big, something popular, is terribly wrong? Then you feel the need to right the wrong, so other people won't fall victim to it like you did. Then you throw yourself into the fight for the truth, or for justice. You may become very good at fighting against this "wrong". But this "wrong" you are fighting against always comes back, to make you fight more. It's like rolling a snowball down the hill, a fixation that takes over your whole life. Years later, you discovered that you never moved on from where you were at.

Have you had this experience? I believe this is called, an obsession. What I described above is Sigurd's story, and my story, too.

The funny thing, last week, a friend and I were just talking about the topic of obsession. We have had a similar experience that was life changing. Then during the weekend, I read City of Miracles. This book, a mixture of thrillers, fantasy, and a spy novel, gripped me with its beautiful story and powerful writings. Meanwhile, its theme, about obsessions over correcting the wrong, this theme deeply touched me. Peace did come to Sigurd, albeit too late, but I still have plenty of time to make up for the lost years. When I closed this book, I was overwhelmed by feelings that I cannot put into words. I sat on my bed, stared into the vacant space and reflected on my life; all the time I misspent, every opportunity I wasted, the hurts I architected for myself, all because I could not let go. At that moment, I made a decision to change – be free, live for a better tomorrow, not for a bad yesterday. I don't have to correct every wrong I encountered in my life. 

Thank you, Robert Jackson Bennett, for writing one of the most creative and moving fantasy series of all time. This book, is the perfect way to end a majestic trilogy. And thank you again, for writing Sigurd's story, a story that showed me, how I can move on and find inner peace. Mr. Bennett, you may not be aware of it, but City of Miracles is changing my life.