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I've been avoiding post-apocalyptic stories lately, but this one kept my attention all the way through. It had two main pluses for me:

1) No zombies, just 99% of the world's population dying from a really bad flu.

2) Much of it was set in Toronto and southern Ontario.

I've been avoiding post-apocalyptic stories lately, but this one kept my attention all the way through. It had two main pluses for me:

1) No zombies, just 99% of the world's population dying from a really bad flu.

2) Much of it was set in Toronto and southern Ontario.

I like Jim Butcher's other series more. The Dresden series is excellent fun and the new series has a talking cat.

But this series is tiding me over while I wait for new volumes in those series. Spoiler Alert: The Canem ambassador says there's rats in his walls, but they aren't rats and they don't talk.

No talking cats or talking rodents.

But outstanding story telling that qualifies as fantasy but is nothing like any other fantasy I've read.

It says "The Divine Cities, #1" so we can expect a #2. I'm looking forward to it, but this is not a book that needs a sequel to feel complete.

I liked Half a King so much that I had to read Half the World and Half a War. Now I'm feeling a bit let down. I tagged this as fantasy, but really it might be extremely post-apocalyptic science fiction.

No talking rodents, I'm afraid. But there were people being clever, I always like that. And some people trying to redeem themselves. I like that too.

These magical short stories made me want to write my own outrageous stories.

What's stopping me besides time and energy?

They just wouldn't be this wonderful.

And technically, I don't want to spoil this for you, but there might even be a talking cat.

These magical short stories made me want to write my own outrageous stories.

What's stopping me besides time and energy?

They just wouldn't be this wonderful.

And technically, I don't want to spoil this for you, but there might even be a talking cat.

Considering there wasn't even a hint of a talking rodent, robot or spaceship in this book, I liked it a lot.

Linked short stories - some heart-breakingly sad, some light and funny. A major character in one story might be a minor character in the next.

And available as an ebook from the Ottawa Public Library.

This book is much sadder than I usually let myself read, but it's incredibly well written.

This book is much sadder than I usually let myself read, but it's incredibly well written.

This is must read for people who consider themselves students of science fiction. It's not an optimistic view of interstellar space exploration, but it feels more realistic than most.

And it's got fun speculation on how artificial intelligence could arise.

This is must read for people who consider themselves students of science fiction. It's not an optimistic view of interstellar space exploration, but it feels more realistic than most.

And it's got fun speculation on how artificial intelligence could arise.

The good:
- a brand new magical world to explore
- with flying airships
- that are crewed like naval ships in the Napoleonic wars

And if that's not enough:
- a major point-of-view character is a talking cat!

The bad:
- it's the first book in a series, who knows how long before the next volume comes out?
- if Butcher is writing these books, he's not writing about Harry Dresden.