I picked this up because I wanted to see if that handsome bastard Robert J. Bennett’s writing is worth all the hype. It is. Dammit! Great male fantasy writers are all supposed to look like G.R.R. Martin! Oh well. Anyway -
Welcome to Bulikov, a broken city once ruled by gods that... Whatever, never mind that. This is brilliant stuff. Incredibly well done worldbuilding that never seems overwhelming or overly complex but just keeps getting deeper, and deeper, and deeper, deftly interwoven with unforgettable main characters Shara and Sigrud, not just a backdrop. Political intrigue, yes, but plenty of action and old fashioned fantasy fun as well, with a terrifically well developed and executed magic system.
And the monsters... Rarely am I this affected by the sheer creepiness and horror of fantasy creatures - but the mhovost and Urav in particular are seriously the stuff of nightmares.
Read City of Stairs, be entertained, be amazed, and be afraid.