THE CITY OF DUSK

As warring houses prepare for the death of an heirless king, a handful of young mages attempt to fix their world via forbidden magic.

Taesia's world is dying. Five hundred years after the Sealing divided the Four Realms, supplies in the hub city of Nexus have begun to dwindle, and the Cosmic Scale of magical energies that once flowed freely between the Realms is now dammed up. As a spate of magical crimes stokes the public's fear of demon-summoning Conjuration magic, Taesia, the ne'er-do-well heir to House Lastrider, finds herself caught up in a conspiracy when her brother, Dante, devises a plan to use Conjuration to reverse the Sealing and restore order to their world. Dante's unexpected arrest for the murder of a public official leaves Taesia without his guidance, however, and she must work to finish what he started. Of course, as readers might expect, neither Dante nor his sister has an adequate grasp on the ramifications of their choices. Also at work are a bevy of magic users from other Realms, some of whom are angling for a shot at the throne. Although fantasy readers will appreciate Sim's attempt to create an expansive world in the vein of A Darker Shade of Magic or Gideon the Ninth, awkward infodumping crowds out any room that may have been left for character development. Perhaps more unsettling is the seemingly unending parade of names—from those of the unwieldy cast to the largely unexplained fantasy monsters—which will leave readers longing for an index. There's a lot to love here, but the novel's most interesting plot points and side characters get lost among the weeds.

An ambitious work of fantasy that unfortunately overcomplicates an intriguing world full of murder and mayhem.