''Shorefall'' is a 2020

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

novel by

Robert Jackson Bennett Robert Jackson Bennett (born 1984) is an American writer of speculative fiction. Early life and education Robert Jackson Bennett was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He graduated from the University of Texas with special honors in English in 2005 ...

. It was first published by Del Rey on April 21, 2020.

Synopsis

Several years after expert thief Sancia Grado and her allies Orso, Gregor, and Berenice created Foundryside—a merchant house specializing in the mass production of

sigil A sigil () is a type of symbol used in magic. The term has usually referred to a pictorial signature of a deity or spirit. In modern usage, especially in the context of chaos magic, sigil refers to a symbolic representation of the practitioner ...

s—the team continue their war against the other houses to create a fair society out of Tevanne. When the god-like hierophant Crasedes Magnus is reborn, the crew find themselves in a race against time to prevent wholesale slaughter and the end of their world. By the novel's end, Tevanne has become embroiled in a war as the consciousness of Tevanne melded with Gregor fights Crasedes to seize control of the city. Orso sacrifices himself to allow Sancia and Berenice to escape across the sea where they hope to find help.

Reception

Writing for

Tor.com ''Tor.com'' is an online science fiction and fantasy magazine published by Tor Books, a division of Macmillan Publishers. The magazine publishes articles, reviews, original short fiction, re-reads and commentary on speculative fiction. From 20 ...

, Martin Cahill heaped praise for the "heart and intricate characters who love and care for each other", lauding it as a "stunning novel that shows exactly what antasycan do."

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

labeled the novel an "expertly spun yarn", comparing it to "

Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

meets

A.I. Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech rec ...

" and commending the blend between technology, philosophy, and fantasy. ''Shorefall'' was also a staff pick by

Locus Locus (plural loci) is Latin for "place". It may refer to: Entertainment * Locus (comics), a Marvel Comics mutant villainess, a member of the Mutant Liberation Front * ''Locus'' (magazine), science fiction and fantasy magazine ** ''Locus Award' ...

in December 2020.

Amal El-Mohtar Amal El-Mohtar (born 13 December 1984) is a Canadian poet and writer of speculative fiction. She has published short fiction, poetry, essays and reviews, and has edited the fantastic poetry quarterly magazine ''Goblin Fruit'' since 2006. El-Moht ...

praised the series in general, commenting on the "fantastic explorations of capital, empire, and collective action in intricately imagined words" with particular note that the "most recent instalment surpasses hepreceding work, which is a tough thing to do."

References

2020 American novels American fantasy novels Del Rey books {{2020s-fantasy-novel-stub