"Foundyside" by Robert Jackson Bennett

Foundryside is the start of another epic fantasy trilogy (I do realize I keep reading a lot of firsts-in-series and need to be better at continuing and finishing the various trilogies that I start). The world as I picture it in my head is somewhat medieval and all the technology is powered by "scriving" (a type of magical writing on objects that "convinces" them to perform certain tasks or behave in a certain way). For a example, bricks would have sigils written on them that convince them to stick to each other, and thus a wall would be created.

The author does a good job setting up the world and explaining how things work without boring the reader. In fact, this book is anything but boring. Every time I sat down to read, I could not help but zoom through 50 to 100 pages at a time. It is that action-packed and suspenseful.

Our main character is Sanchia, a street urchin and a thief. We first meet her as she is about to steal an  highly-priced item from a well-guarded safe. Sanchia has an unusual ability: she is able to touch objects around her and "hear" their history. For instance, by touching the floor, she'll get information on who and when passed there and get details on where a weak or rotted through floorboard might be located.

I liked her character development. She grows a lot throughout the novel, learns many things about the world and herself, and really by the end of Book 1 has all preconditions to become the real hero of an epic story.

The world that Bennett weaves is gradually revealed to the reader and is unimaginably intricate and large. The world building includes not just the immediate surroundings and how thing work, it also encompasses a centuries-long history, lore, and beliefs. As our characters encounter new larger problems, we gradually get a wider-lens view of the world, and by the end of the book, the setup for a conflict of an epic proportions is complete. If anything, in reading the last chapter, I was stunned by the vastness of the world that Bennett succeeded in revealing.

Being a fast-paced and engaging read, it is also a novel that requires deeper thinking. It tackles social and economic issues, morality, people's insatiable hunger for power and the concept of a just and fair society. I really enjoyed this book. 5 out of 5 stars. The sequel comes out in January 2020.