Sharon Shinn; The Shuddering City

Title:	The Shuddering City
Author:	Sharon Shinn
Category:	Science Fiction / Fantasy
Rating:
Date Reviewed:	April 10, 2023

have read a lot of positive reviews about The Priory of the Orange Tree, but I have hesitated to read it because of its intimidating length (it is 848 pages). So when I saw The Shuddering City on the paperback shelf at the library, I thought I should try it to see if I liked something else that she wrote. Oops - looks like I got my authors confused. The Priory of the Orange Tree is by Samantha Shannon, and The Shuddering City is by Sharon Shinn. Somehow all those Ss, Ns and Hs in their names resulted in me thinking they were the same person! But this mistake resulted in introducing me to the work of Sharon Shinn, and since I liked her novel, it is a happy outcome.

Shinn has invented a fantasy world with a technology that is a curious mixture of advance and medieval. The civilization has electric vehicles that run along tracks, with power supplied from a grid of electric cables that run above the streets. Electric vehicles means that they can build motors, understand electro-magnetism, and metal working and industrialized parts. The civilization has permanently lit scones (LEDs?) to illuminate dark passageways below the temple. At one point, antiseptic is applied to a wound, which means they understand germs and infections, which means they have microscopes (and presumably, also have telescopes). Yet power plant that provides all the electricity is apparently some magical device left by a god? Their weapons are just swords and knives. No electronic communications (they have a grid of electric lines strung but use couriers instead of telegraphs.) Outside of the city, they ride horse and use sails to power their ships, so there is no sign of batteries. They can construct bridges across chasms, yet still seem to have an archaic, inefficient form of government dictated by aristocrats.

This novel is told from multiple perspectives, the omniscient narrator jumps between characters to reveal the entire tale.

The first character we meet is Pietro - an elderly man returning to the city of Corcannon. Pietro has been away 10 years. He is alarmed that before he can even enter the city, a massive earthquake shakes the landscape, destroying buildings and infrastructure. Why Pietro so is alarmed is not revealed at first, but it is clear he expects more earthquakes of increasing power to strike. Pietro knows more than he is willing to reveal.

Cody is a daring young courier, who seemingly knows everyone and everywhere in Corcannon. He typically runs along the cables of the electric grid because it gets him up above the street traffic, thus allowing him to move faster through the city. I couldn't understand why he wasn't immediately electrocuted when he stood on the live wires.

Madeleine is the sole daughter of one of the wealthiest men in Corcannon. She is young, beautiful, pampered and leads a charmed life of social occasions, stylish dressing and shopping, and feasts and fetes. Madeleine is betrothed to the dashing Tivol, the son of another wealthy Corcannon dignitary. Tivol has been her friend since childhood, and now she is planning to marry her best friend. Life is ideal - yet it seems that in the last weeks there have been a few occasions where her life has been at risk. For example, a madman randomly attacked Madeleine's party at a restaurant - fortunately Madeleine was not injured, but perhaps it would behoove her to have a permanent body guard?

Jayla is an experienced soldier looking for work (surprisingly, the continent does not appear to have any warfare, so soldiers spend all of their time working as guards). She is competent and practical. When an earthquake strikes at the beginning of the book, the bridge that leads into the city of Corcannon is damaged and cannot be crossed. While waiting outside the city for the bridge to be repaired, Jayla takes under her wing a young Zessin girl named Aussen who is traveling alone. Aussen doesn't speak the local language, she is from the far western side of the continent. Jayla resolves to keep her safe until someone from Zessin can be found to guide her home.

Brandon works as a guard in a peculiar role. A solitary young woman, Villette, is kept confined to a palatial estate home, she is unable to leave, and is only permitted approved visitors. Because Villette is kind and beautiful, her guards often succumb to her charms and become her ally. Thus, Brandon's guard assignment will last just 6 months before he is replaced. Brandon is certain that HE will not fall for the wiles of this innocent seeming woman - just do the job, get paid, and move on.

Shinn's characters are interesting and believable. There are some mysteries (is someone trying to kill Madeleine, and if so, why? Why is Villette held prisoner? What does Pietro believe is the cause of the earthquakes that threaten Corcannon?) to keep the reader interested. However, there is a plot point which annoyed me greatly (see my reasoning in the spoiler section), which is why I awarded The Shuddering City just three stars. I did like the book enough that I would be open to reading more by Sharon Shinn.

*** Warning - Spoilers below ***

Why not draw a pint of blood from Madeleine on a repeated schedule, such as once every 3 weeks? Use that blood to repeatedly douse the earthquake mechanism. It is foolish to have Madeleine bear children only to have them killed in a blood sacrifice. Keep all of her offspring alive, and encourage all of them to have many children. Give some of Madeleine's promiscuous sons numerous willing partners, and Madeleine could have 100 grandchildren in 40 years. Then the Council could draw a pint of blood from each of them on a regular schedule and the god-mechanism could be soaked with blood on a regular basis, yet no one would die. This seems like such an obvious solution it is annoying no one thinks of it.

The Reversionists need more explanation. Benito, as a member of the temple's inner circle, clearly knows that pouring blood on the buried device will halt the earthquakes and the destruction of the land. So why does he persist in trying to kill Madeleine - does Benito want the continent split asunder and destroyed like the Ruined Lands to the east?

The Reversionist assassin has her throat slit while in custody - it is clear that the reversionists have allies amongst the guards - so why aren't the Council more alarmed by this? It would be simple to find out which guards were responsible for guarding the captured assassin, forcing them to reveal their reversionist confederates. But the Council seems to make little effort in stopping the crazed organization that seems hell-bent on destroying their world! Why such a blasé response?

Why does Pietro give Aussen a pendant carved from of godstone, saying it will keep her safe if she wears it? Villette has to swallow the Zessin stones to disguise the magic in her blood. How does wearing a necklace help protect Aussen? What does it protect Aussen from - it's not like the Council of Corcannon is repeatedly testing every citizen for the magic blood - the Council already knows that Madeleine is the last person with magic blood?