The Nameless City

The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I'm so not shocked that I loved this - I have been enjoying Faith Erin Hick's work for years now. I picked this one up at comic con last year, but 2016 was quite the reading lull for me, so I hadn't read it yet. Luckily, book 2 comes out tomorrow, so I decided to finally read this one tonight.

I love how Kaidu and Rat's friendship develops. She is quite wary of him at first, but Kai's persistence and consistent friendship not only brings her to eventually trust him, but also to rethink the way she looks at Daos as a whole people. Kai gains not just a friend in Rat, but a really awesome and amazing friend. From Rat, Kai learns to be bold, work hard, and question what's going on around you.

This is such a fascinating look at the different way culture groups interact with one another. The Nameless City has a million names, yet no name at all. To the Dao, the Named city-dwellers are Skral, Not-Dao, not a person. To the Named, the Dao are conquerors, oppressors, murderers, thieves, invaders. Some of the Named hope to merely drive the Dao out, but who will fill that void? Kai's father, Andren, hopes to establish a council where all the surrounding countries and the Named run the city together. While it seems quite idealistic (and therefore far-fetched), the General seems convinced to at least hear him out, and we can thank Rat and Kai for that. (view spoiler)[If Rat hadn't met the General through her connections with Kai, she wouldn't have been moved to try to save him. If she hadn't been willing to share what she learned about the assassination attempt on the General and his son, they would have been killed and all would have been lost. If Rat hadn't have saved his life, the General would have been less open to Andren's ideas. (hide spoiler)]

The character who confuses me the most at this point is the General's son, Erzi. He clearly is not prejudiced against non-Daos - His bodyguard Mura is not of the Dao, and not only does he trust her with his life, he knows she the best fighter and that is right to defend her. Yet he is adamant that their army needs to be stronger to protect their hold over the city, and seems absolutely shocked and dismayed when his father says he'd like to meet with representatives from the city.

Just to briefly mention the art - I LOVE Faith's style, so it's not a shock that I love the art in this book. It's so lush and details and sweeping. The colors by Jordie Bellaire are just perfect, setting the tone in every scene, from the dusky early morning runs to the richly warm festival.

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