I read it, but - GAH! I feel like I need to go back and read [b:The Hidden City|1385783|The Hidden City (The House War, #1)|Michelle Sagara West|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266788937s/1385783.jpg|1375829], then read it again, to be sure I got everything. I think I'll wait until [b:House Name|6121287|House Name (The House War, #3)|Michelle Sagara West|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1279636477s/6121287.jpg|6299563] comes out, then read all three of them together. At that point, I'll probably be ready for a re-read of [b:The Sun Sword|153223|The Sun Sword (The Sun Sword, #6)|Michelle Sagara West|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266483918s/153223.jpg|147905] (really, the whole series) again. But of course, to do them justice, I should go back and read the Hunter duology, too. This is the problem with [a:Michelle Sagara West|6256|Michelle Sagara West|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]! Her world is SO rich that it's difficult to find a good beginning place. But very well worth it, I promise! ( )

City of Night, Vol. II in the House Wars series, Michelle West. DAW.
Reviewed by Marsha Sisolak.
Original review at http://www.ideomancer.com/?p=287 .

Michelle West (aka Michelle Sagara) is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read a number of her series, but my favorite book by far was her first in The House Wars series: The Hidden City.

City of Night is the second in that series. I ordered it the second it was available, and the tale continues with Jewel Markess and her den’s adventures. Some of their journey takes place in the undercity referred to by the title of the first book; quite a lot of it takes place above ground, between the twenty-fifth and thirty-fifth holdings. In the opening book, the city of Averalaan was dangerous, with the undercity appearing somewhat less so. In this book, the threats for Jewel and her den increase. Lack of money and another den ready for revenge are only two of them, and there is no place to hide now. The undercity paths have turned treacherous and no one—not Jewel, not her fellow den members, and certainly not Rath, her protector—find safety below.

Michelle Sagara makes a reader care about her characters. Jewel’s young, perhaps twelve, and Rath is significantly older and more experienced. He takes her under his wing and trains her (and then members of the den as they arrive) against his better judgment in the first book. I fell in love with Jewel and Rath then, and could not wait to continue reading about them when I’d finished.

But the long prologue to City of Night introduces Angel, an orphan and soon-to-be member of Jay’s den, and his father’s mission that Angel might choose to take on: to find a worthy lord. It took me a few pages to get over my disappointment that I was not immediately thrust back into Jewel’s Averalaan and its hundred holdings that I’d remembered.

Still, the author’s ability to make me care won me over long before that almost sixty-page prologue ended. And, even though it wasn’t Jewel on the dock waiting for the ship from the North, I was immersed in the port and the Port Authority, a section of Averalaan I had not seen in the earlier book. For another thing that Michelle West does exceedingly well is world building and setting.

I believe in this city, the peoples that fill it, lords and mages, the poverty-worn lower classes and vicious dens that populate the holdings, and the demons that walk its streets.

Although there is a lot to love about this book—including the expansion of character points of view with Angel’s and the other den members’—it’s definitely a middle book. While Jewel and the remnants of her den are able to reach Rath’s sister for protection, a demon follows her to the Terafin’s manse and attacks the Terafin.

The conflict between gods and demons and humans has begun. It will take another book or two to resolve that.

Don’t begin the series with this book unless you are prepared to read carefully. The number of point of view characters might baffle some. My recommendation is to read the first, fall in love with Jewel and Rath, Jewel’s den and their world as I did, and then read the second.

Currently, I think this one falls a little short in comparison to The Hidden City, which was a phenomenal read, but I’m perfectly willing to hold my final opinion until the next book comes out.

And I’ll let you know how well it succeeds after I gulp the third—which simply can’t be published fast enough for me. ( )

I think Michelle West's books are among the best of newer fantasy writers. I love her universe, her ability to write characters that are three-dimensional and who I care about, her interest in broad themes of family and loyalty, and her fabulous storytelling.

This is the second in the House Wars series and expands on the story told in the Sacred Hunt duology - expands and tells it from a slightly different perspective. Some people may find this annoying because they think they've heard the story before and it isn't strictly moving the new story along, but I'm not one of those people. I absolutely loved getting deeper into the tale, finding a new way of looking at it all, and getting to know these characters even better than I already know them. I love that West is taking her time to develop this rich story and this great group of characters. I can't wait to see where she goes next. ( )

If you have read the first book, Hidden City, and liked it, then you are going to have to read City of Night as it continues the fascinating story of Jay (Jewel) and her den. The ending is particularly good and shows some of Michelle's best prose... BUT, before you get there, there is uneven plotting. I tell you this not so much to dissuade you from picking this book up, as to hint that you might need to be patient.

The book begins, for one thing, with an entirely new character. He appears to be the focus of the book for quite awhile, and then he sinks into the background. After consideration, I can see why this was necessary to the overall plot arc, but it's a bit disconcerting. At least I found it so.

The only other thing I would note is that you might want to refresh your memory by either reading or flipping through the Hidden City. It's a complicated and wonderful world that Ms. West has created, and there are hardly any words spent in reminding us what we were told in the first book. The mages, the gods, the houses, yikes!, there's a lot going on and none of the usual textual reminders we've come to expect in follow-up books.

I liked this book and recommend it to West fans.

Pam T~ ( )