Questions About City of Stairs (The Divine Cities, #1)

by Robert Jackson Bennett (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (11)

Charty There is not an active romance. There are two characters who were once involved and they meet again, but they don't continue or rekindle the relations…moreThere is not an active romance. There are two characters who were once involved and they meet again, but they don't continue or rekindle the relationship.(less)

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Are there any ebook version of City of Stairs in Amazon Uk? Also Are there's any romantic element in the book?

Mona I'm about a quarter of the way through. There is a previously ended romantic relationship that is part of the story, but it doesn't seem to be a cente…moreI'm about a quarter of the way through. There is a previously ended romantic relationship that is part of the story, but it doesn't seem to be a centerpiece of the plot, as Alissa indicates below.(less)

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Is no one else disturbed by the characterization and treatment of the only queer character in this book?

Dainey

This answer contains spoilers… (view spoiler)

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My 14 year old wants to read this book. Does it have any erotic, sexual, or profane content?

Brandon Hafeli Two characters have a sexual relationship, but the few scenes are not explicit. Some swearing, especially in some heated rants near the end.

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I'm trying to encourage our book club to branch out into some new genres. Would this be a good book for that? What is the level of language/violence/sex for our sensitive readers? Thanks.

Charty The book raises some interesting questions that I think could provide good discussion. The City of the title used to be a powerful empire that enslave…moreThe book raises some interesting questions that I think could provide good discussion. The City of the title used to be a powerful empire that enslaved the Saypuri people, but they rebelled and now the once powerful empire has been brought to ruin and the City (and others on the continent) now suffer from the opression of the opressed. He also raises some points about history and who records it, keeps it and decides what is the historical "truth". There are a lot of meaty roles for female characters. This book deals heavily in religion. Not religion as Western Christendom thinks of it, but the characters of the book inhabit a world where there were multiple "gods" or divinities and they performed miraculous acts, which in other language could be seen as "magic" so I think there is some complex questions that could be talked about regarding reality and the nature of the divine and how people and their faith interact and affect one another.

There is some bad language - mostly a particular character who swears a lot. Violence, not much interpersonal, but there are a couple of set pieces with big battles but not too graphically depicted (I thought). Some individual peril for our main characters. As for sex, there is some depicted but nothing graphic, I've read steamier YA/teen books in that regard. Oh, and one of the characters is homosexual/bi-sexual if that's a concern. Hope that helps!(less)

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