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Spies and magic make an enchanting brew in 'City of Miracles,' by Austin's Robert Jackson Bennett

Bennett has already won a whole shelf of awards, and his latest shows why.

Robert Jackson Bennett's literary career started strong and hasn't faltered. The Austin-based writer's debut novel, Mr. Shivers (2010), won the Shirley Jackson Award for psychological suspense and horror fiction; his next book, The Company Man (2011) won mystery's Edgar Award for best paperback original. After another Shirley Jackson Award for 2013's American Elsewhere, Bennett made his first foray into epic fantasy the following year with City of Stairs, which was nominated for the World Fantasy Award.

That novel introduced readers to the city of Bulikov, a declining metropolis from which a small group of gods had once ruled over a vast continent until a revolutionary leader from the conquered island of Saypur found a way to kill them. Years later, when the occupying Saypuri forces have forbidden the Continentals even the barest fragment of their religious past, the murder of a historical scholar brings a spy named Ashara Komayd and her assistant, Sigrud je Harvaldsson, to Bulikov, where they uncover a plot of genuinely world-changing proportions.

City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett
City of Miracles, by Robert Jackson Bennett(Broadway Books)

City of Stairs was notable for its richly detailed setting, which forewent the common pseudo-medieval trappings of epic fantasy in favor of a world that combined elements of our late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the depth of its characterizations — Sigrud, in particular, would turn out to have much more to him than was evident at first glance.

His layered history is key to understanding City of Miracles, the third book in the "Divine Cities" series. Nearly two decades have passed, during which time Ashara has served as Saypur's prime minister and Sigrud has been forced underground (following the events of City of Blades). When he learns of Ashara's death in a hotel bombing, however, Sigrud immediately gets himself to the site and begins investigating.

He soon learns that while they'd always known that some aspects of divine magic have lingered into the present day, Ashara was concerned about a potential threat from the surviving children of the gods — one of whom has, indeed, recruited several humans to help execute his scheme.

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In the early stages of the novel, Bennett reunites Sigrud with key characters from the previous two books in a way that will give readers familiar with the series a strong sense of continuity without making newcomers feel lost, while also introducing him to new adversaries and potential friends. The hook is that, knowing he would come to avenge her death, Ashara also charged Sigrud with protecting her adopted daughter, Tatyana. First, though, he has to find her, even as he's trying to figure out why Ashara's enemies might be after her.

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The magic in City of Miracles is spectacular, but it's the spycraft that really makes the novel stand out. From a quick-and-dirty alleyway knifing on the first page, to an extended fight scene where a heavily outnumbered Sigrud picks off his foes in an abandoned warehouse, to a gripping battle on cable cars traversing an alpine mountain range, Bennett nails all the gritty details. At their best, these action sequences feel like they wouldn't be out of place in a James Bond movie — minus the magic weapons, of course. Even then, though, the "miracles" are often used as analogues for mundane modern technologies such as surveillance cameras and bulletproof vests.

Similarly, as he leaves an ever-growing number of dead bodies behind him, Sigrud faces a quandary that Bond or Jason Bourne might easily recognize. "We trained you to do one thing," an old friend tells him. "And you're good at it. But I think it's maybe all you know how to do anymore."

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When an angry, frustrated Tatyana lashes out at their situation, he seemingly admits as much: "There are those who mean us harm," he tells her. "And those who offer us shelter. We must flee from one to get to the other. The rest — that is beyond our control."

Bennett knows, however, that a pure killing machine is a plot device, not a character. Just as City of Stairs transformed Sigrud from a stock henchman to a nuanced companion figure, City of Miracles teases out his potential as a tragic hero more than capable of anchoring his own story. The result is a magical thriller that should appeal to fans of Patrick Rothfuss and John Le Carré alike.

Ron Hogan is the founding editor of Beatrice.com, one of the longest-running websites dedicated to books and writers.

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City of Miracles

Robert Jackson Bennett

(Broadway, $16)