The Sightless City by Noah Lemelson- Book review

The Sightless City by Noah Lemelson has one of the most amazing covers I have ever seen, and suits this science fiction dystopia with interesting mutants, sentient Ferral beings and humans living in a post-revolution world.

Image from amazon

Thank you Net Galley, Tiny Fox Press and the author for this e ARC for an honest review.

The striking cover caught my attention and I had to find out more about this floating, burning eye.  The story is set in the city of Huile a few years after a revolution has overthrown the Principate. Marcel is a private investigator who realises he has been used by his friends as a pawn in kidnapping troublemakers who are enslaved to work on keeping aether flowing. He wants to take his former friends down and is helped by a Ferral engineer, Sylvaine and Kayip a monk.

The world-building is different from other dystopian stories, this isn’t another variation of the earth destroyed by some man-made calamity. I really like Sylvaine, who is a Ferral, a kind of hybrid human and animal who desperately wants to prove herself as an engineer despite the discrimination she faces and will do anything to achieve this. Her story was heartbreaking but she comes back fighting. The plot races along with a dramatic climax towards the end which sets up the next book.  I was intrigued by Marcel, he wasn’t the smartest guy in the box and was a bit naïve but this was a refreshing change from the usual clever, athletic, smart men that are all too frequent and made Marcel a very human hero.

The story is a little confusing and I did have to reread a few pages to figure out what was going on. There are hints of something mystical at the start of the book and this becomes more prominent towards the end of the book but I would have liked to have known more about this a little earlier.

Perfect for fans

Anyone who loves dystopian science fiction with a touch of fantasy.

Summary

3 and a half stars- Great Characters but slightly confusing plot but will be keeping an eye out for the next part of Sylvaine and Marcel’s story.