I heard a lot of things about Stella Gemmell. About how she is heavily influenced from her late husband's work, how she is trying to step into his shoes, or even that she is taking advantage of her surname. Trust me when Ι say that this isn't the case. In her debut novel, Stella is carving her own path in what we call Epic Fantasy, and she is doing so with great skill, wonderful narration and unbound imagination.
The characters were well-crafted and diverse, with multiple POVs and timelines that were beautifully weaved together. The story though isn't about the characters, but about the city itself, as well as the situations and events that take place in it.
The story is a little slow at first, and with Stella's unique writing style it's a bit difficult to engage with the story (and especially with the characters) in an emotional level, but all in all, The City is a beautiful and well-promising novel, so I recommend it to every Epic-Fantasy reader.
