Big fat 5 stars for this book and a massive congratulations to Noah Lemelson for writing an exquisite debut novel.

The Sightless City is a delicious science-fiction martini - dieselpunk and mystery are the gin and vermouth, and Lovecraftian horror is the olive. You can shake it, you can stir it, sip it like a gentleman or chug it from a shaker pint if you want, because it doesn't matter - the final product is still one of the most in-depth, exciting and entertaining SF novels of the year that leaves you happily smacking your lips out of pure sensory satisfaction and reaching for more.

Marcel Talwar is a human war veteran working as a private investigator, and Sylvaine Pelletier is a ferral engineering student struggling with society's perception of her and her lack of The Knack - the ability for aethermantic manipulation. They live in a world where sangleum oil and the aether derived from it are sources of both good and evil - they make the world function the way it does and support life in various ways, but they can also be used as a weapon, as explosives, a poison or a drug. The main question is what exactly are they being used for and how?

I could go on and on about all the intricacies or science, history, religion and political intrigue woven through the story but the world Lemelson has created is so rich and precise it just has to be experienced in its entirety. There are so many fascinating, well-rounded side characters (special shoutout to Kayip and Namter) they could all have their own novels written about them. There is just the right amount of plot twists, and not too many complicated battle scenes. There are multiple storylines that perfectly intertwine and drive the story forward, and I want to give Lemelson extra points for writing a solid female character. The writing is a little highbrow but not difficult to read and I promise you, you will devour this book in a couple of days.

As a final thought, my highly profound metaphor referred to the Lovecraftian parts of the story as the olive in the martini. The thing is I want a whole jar of olives. A shaker pint of them! And hopefully, Lemelson will focus on that aspect of the story much more in the next book in the series.

The Sightless City comes out on July 20th. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Noah Lemelson and Tiny Fox Press for the advanced reader copy.

I really enjoyed The Sightless City which I thought I would from the description. The Sightless City is a dystopian, steampunk inspired book that has a murder-mystery throughout, one that was much larger then I originally thought. The character were really interesting and I enjoyed the seperate storylines throughout the book. Marcel and Sylvania were definitely interesting characters and enjoyed seeing really strong characters. The world was incredible and was beautifully created.

This was certainly interesting! Marcel is a very likable protagonist, sort of bumbling through trying to establish himself as a private detective and good citizen. This story is very much shown and not told, but we learn enough to get inside Marcel's head, traumatized by war, lonely, trying to fit in to his new society but confused and turned off by the political machinations of his friends. Sylvaine is another really interesting character, she's a genius engineer, outside and outcast from society for her appearance, desperate to succeed professionally and fit in. Both Marcel and Sylvaine are horribly, painfully manipulated, but thankfully they catch on after not too long, and start to fight back against the very nefarious plot they've uncovered. This is a good versus evil story, but messy. Sylvaine has access to a cool metal-manipulating kind of magic, but there is also Kayip, a great warmonk with a magic sword, and toward the end there are religious cultists with some other kinds of magic or demonic abilities. This is definitely a stand alone book, which is good, but there's also a lot of unexplored territory, and these characters could have more great adventures in this interesting world.

I picked up THE SIGHTLESS CITY thinking it was going to be a straightforward murder-mystery, and the first few chapters delivered on that assumption. But then the book took a turn into a much larger mystery, complete with kidnapping, magical engineering, mutations, more murder, conspiracies, and a coup!

I liked how the novel started with separate storylines for Marcel, the war-veteran turned private investigator, and Sylvaine the engineer, with their story lines eventually merging together for some grade-A team work to take down a common enemy.

I absolutely loved Sylvaine! She has a great character ARC, and her depiction passes the Mako Mori test, which I always appreciate as a female reader of SFF.

I was confused in the first few chapters about the Calamity and Sangleum. They’re both mentioned a lot, so I knew they were important, but I wasn’t sure why. I finally found out why in the first half of chapter sixteen, which gives a good summary of sangleum and why the principate and resurgence battled over the city of Huile. I think if the information in chapter sixteen, had been presented as a prologue or even in chapter one or two, I would have had a clearer understanding of what was happening in the first half of the book.

Overall, this novel has highly-detailed world building, and a great cast of human and non-human characters, and would appeal to people who enjoy pulpy PI novels and SFF.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

A steampunk dystopian with a dark and imaginative plot. Lemelson creates a well-crafted world and unique characters. A rich and engaging story, a must for fans of steampunk and sci-fi fantasy.

Thank you NetGalley, Noah Lemelson and the publisher, Tiny Fox Press for the ARC.

Sentence writing is long and complex, which is not usually a style I enjoy reading. It is hard for me to keep track of the original thought which is described for lines. The dialogue feels bland, however, it can't leave you wanting because over description is definitely the forte of this author.

I have received a digital advance review copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've requested this book because when I read the description, I knew it was going be right up my alley. This book had everything I love meshed up into it. It made me fall in love with the story from page one and I was able to finish it in one day.
Noah Lemelson's writing is so amazing. His world building was incredible, I was able to imagine everything so vividly. The plot and the way the story unfolded had me sitting on the edge of the seat. Everything was just simply amazing.
We get to meet some very unique characters, that I was able to connect with. My favorite one by far has to be Marcel. He is proof that the main character doesn't always have to have special powers and I loved that aspect so much.

This book is part of a trilogy, so I really can't wait to read them when they come out.

This was certainly interesting! Marcel is a very likable protagonist, sort of bumbling through trying to establish himself as a private detective and good citizen. This story is very much shown and not told, but we learn enough to get inside Marcel's head, traumatized by war, lonely, trying to fit in to his new society but confused and turned off by the political machinations of his friends. Sylvaine is another really interesting character, she's a genius engineer, outside and outcast from society for her appearance, desparate to succeed professionally and fit in. Both Marcel and Sylvaine are horribly, painfully maniputated, but thankfully they catch on after not too long, and start to fight back against the very nefarious plot they've uncovered. This is a good versus evil story, but messy,
Sylvaine has access to a cool metal-manipulating kind of magic, but there is also Kayip, a great warmonk with a magic sword, and toward the end there are religious cultists with some other kinds of magic or demonic abilities. This is definitely a stand alone book, which is good, but there's also a lot of unexplored territory, and these characters could have more great adventures in this interesting world.

This book honestly had me hooked from the start! I read the whole book in one day, even during my classes. The worldbuilding that Noah Lemelson provided was incredible. However, it was not an overload of information either! All of the characters are so unique, and I especially love Sylvaine. She was so determined even though she was not very lucky. I also loved how Marcel, despite being a human, was such a strong character!

This book had a mix of some of my favorite tropes! I can't wait to read the next few books!

Thank you so much to Noah Lemelson and Netgalley for an arc of this amazing book!

This was an absolutely incredible read! It was impossible for me to put down so I finished it in a day. The worldbuilding was an in-depth experience that was honestly quite confusing in the beginning, but evolved to capture the landscape perfectly. The war-torn city of Huile and engineer's land of Icaria were both written in a way that lights up your imagination. This story has no end of villians in it, but Lemelson did a fantastic job at making you question who the real antagonists were.

Marcel's character is my favorite because as a protagonist set in a world of magic, science, and confusion he is utterly human and normal. It was a refreshing twist to have a main character that didn't need to be supernatural or possess magical abilities to stay interesting. Lemelson's ability to make you connect to both Marcel and Sylvaine, despite neither being alike, only strengthened the bond I felt with these characters.

The book left a lot of questions unanswered that I am avidly waiting to be answered in a sequel. It pulled me in and now I don't want to leave! The ending was both satisfying but still left you ambitiously searching up if a sequel was in the works. If you are looking for a book that will have you lost in your head for several hours, days, or even weeks this is the one for you.

Thank you to netgalley, Noah Lemelson, and the publisher for the ARC!