The Hanging City is a 2023 fantasy novel by Charlie N. Holmberg. It was published in August 2023 by 47North. It's a standalone novel.
Seven years on the run from her abusive father, and with no hope of sanctuary among the dwindling pockets of human civilization, Lark is out of options. Her only leverage is a cursed power: she can thrust fear onto others, leaving all threats fleeing in terror. It's a means of survival as she searches for a place to call home. If the campfire myths of her childhood are true, Lark's sole chance for refuge could lie in Cagmar, the city of trolls—a brutal species and the sworn enemies of humanity. Valuing combat prowess, the troll high council is intrigued. Lark could be much more useful than the low-caste humans who merely labor in Cagmar. Her gift makes her invaluable as a monster slayer to fight off the unspeakable creatures that torment the trolls' hanging city, suspended from a bridge over an endless dark canyon. Lark will do anything to make Cagmar her home, but her new role comes with a caveat: use her power against a troll, and she'll be killed. Her loyalty is quickly put to the test when she draws the hatred of a powerful troll who loathes humankind. Still, she finds unexpected friendship in the city and, even more surprisingly, love. But if everything else doesn't undo her, being caught in the arms of a troll surely will. Now in the fight of her life, Lark has a lot to learn—about her past, about trust and hope when all seems lost, and above all, about the extraordinary power of fear itself.
Lark was not a particularly memorable protagonist, or interesting character. She doesn't have many very strong character traits, nor does she undergo a significant character arc. The only depth to her character is that she has a traumatic past, but little to nothing about that past inform her actions in the story or are expanded upon. The other characters suffer a similar problem. Each has a trait, a flaw, and that is both central to their character, and yet the only notable thing about them. There is little depth, they have no nuance to them. There's little reason to become invested in the relationships between characters, when the characters themselves are difficult to connect with, which becomes an issue when the romance begins to develop.
This novel has a strong start in terms of plot. The first third or so of the novel sees Lark arriving at the city of Cagmar and beginning to immerse herself in the society. Unfortunately, the plot begins to stagnate after that. The middle of the book has little in terms of substance or plot progression. This section is where the romance becomes more of a focus, but the romance felt forced, so those moments don't feel significant. The narrative picks up in the last third, with a conflict against humans becoming a central focus, but that segment also feels rushed because the story had dragged so much in the middle. The groundwork for this conflict, an all-out war between the two species, wasn't built up to. The conflict itself resolves fairly quickly, which robs the resolution of feeling satisfying. I found this frustrating, since the story had a lot of potential and it felt wasted by the end.
The world-building in this novel left me wanting more. The reader learns some basic information about troll society, such as the fact that it's based on a caste system, but is never shown or told much of substance about them. The same is true for the human society. An event led to the collapse of human society, leaving them struggling to survive, but what this event is or how it caused a collapse is never said or even hinted at. A great deal of information about the world is waved away or mentioned, but not expanded upon. Even Lark's abilities, a central part of the story, are only given brief explanation and no depth. All in all, the world feels secondary to the romance, which is an issue because the story treats the romance as forbidden, without providing the proper context as to why it would be forbidden.
I liked the writing in this novel on its own. The author has good prose and gave vivid descriptions of Cagmar. The reader was able to get a good mental image of the city and how it was laid out and operated. The troll characters were described in detail and it was easy to picture them in your mind. The action scenes, though few and far between, were exciting and felt tense when they needed to.
The Hanging City is a book that I liked the premise of more than I enjoyed the actual story. The story has a strong start, but loses its steam past a point. The characters felt somewhat flat and the world-building left something to be desired. I enjoyed the writing in and of itself. It had aspects that work very well, but on the whole, this book was not a hit for me.
Rating: 2 Stars
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