Esmay Rosalyne's Reviews > Red City

This review was originally published on Before We Go Blog

4.25 stars

I am not going to lie, I picked up Red City expecting a sexier and more romantic version of Fonda Lee’s Jade City, and while it kinda gives that vibe, it is also so much more than that. It’s a true gutpunch of a story that keeps peeling back layers of culture, identity, power, morality, loyalty, and love, all while showcasing the dangerous things that can happen when a person loses or sacrifices all of those things, and I love it for that. Think the magical mob rivalry of The Greenbone Saga meets the dystopian crime syndicate underworld of The Bone Season, with a touch of Romeo & Juliet-esque tragedy and a dangerous magic system with a cool-factor that is honestly criminal. Do I really need to say more?

Now, while I was initially a bit caught off-guard by the fact that Part 1 of Red City feels like one big extended prologue in which we follow our two main protagonists, Ari and Sam, as young teens, I quickly latched onto them and loved the careful set-up for the emotional rollercoaster that we were about to step into with them. Ari is a boy with magic burning in his veins who gets pulled out of his home in India by the Lumines syndicate to become their brightest rising star, while Sam has grown up struggling to make something of her life as the daughter of a poor immigrant in the grimy streets of Angel City and takes her chance by forcing her way into the Grand Central syndicate.

So, childhood friends turned strangers turned enemies turned almost (?) lovers... why yes, the tension and emotional stakes are incredibly high, and I loved seeing how Ari and Sam's lives continued to parallel and mirror each other in so many ways as they both got pulled into a world that could offer them everything they have ever dreamed of, if only they are willing to sacrifice everything that has made them who they are. Lu does such a phenomenal job of developing both sides of this mob rivalry that it's impossible to choose sides, and I loved how every time we switched perspective, I felt my own judgement and allegiance shift. There's no black/white good vs. evil, and that is exactly what makes this story feel so human.

Moreover, I really appreciated how Lu explored the themes of identity, corporate greed, inequality, trauma, and the immigrant experience through Ari and Sam's eyes, without making them empty vessels to bring home the social commentary. They are both such well fleshed-out and beautifully human characters who you can understand and root for, especially because they are both driven by a deep love for their families that feels so relatable and honest. Also, the romance is really only one example of the many complicated relationships that Ari and Sam are entangled in, and I loved how each side character was just as beautifully complex as the next. I especially enjoyed digging into the strained mother/daughter bond between Sam and Connie (whose few little POV chapters I loved!), as well as the complicated dynamic between Ari, his mentor, and his fellow apprentices at Lumines.

And yes, it sometimes frustrated and hurt me to see them taking actions that only pulled them deeper into the danger that they are so desperately trying to escape, but I also really couldn’t blame them for getting drawn in by the dangerously alluring secret world of the alchemy crime syndicates, because I was honestly just as intrigued and dazzled by it all. I mean, I haven’t read too many fantasy books with alchemy magic systems before, but Marie Lu’s take on it here just felt refreshing and unique and so damn cool to me.

The magic is somehow so simple yet so complex, and I really enjoyed learning about all its miraculous wonders and disturbing horrors together with Ari and Sam, as well as how it has embedded itself into the social structure Angel City. We get to see the many ways that it can be used to take a life, to fight, to influence, to corrupt, to torture, and to drug. And we also get to experience first-hand how it requires pain to transform, and how the use of the coveted substance Sand slowly eats away at your soul while you only become more reliant on and addicted to its powers. Like, if you enjoy magic systems that come with a high cost, then Red City is exactly your type of drug.

But as impressed as I was with how Lu balanced and interwove all the political intrigue, magic, cinematic action, and thematic exploration, I just can’t deny that I was personally mostly here for the angst and yearning between Ari and Sam. It’s so understated that you almost forget the romance is the red thread weaving this entire tragic trainwreck together, but I was honestly living for the heartache of it all. I did feel like the intensity of their feelings in their adulthood did not totally match up with the quiet bond that we got to see develop in their formative years, even if their level of emotional turmoil made sense thematically as they now find themselves pitted against each other without wanting to be.

While Red City started off a bit slow, it just crept deeper and deeper under my skin with each new brutally bold twist and turn only to leave me absolutely reeling by the end. I don’t know how I have slept on Marie Lu’s works for so long, but you better bet I am going to be diving into her YA backcatalogue while I desperately await the next instalment in The New Alchemists series. If you’re in the mood for a character-driven, gritty dystopian urban fantasy that seamlessly blends action with emotion and ruthlessly digs into power, belonging, and the quiet ache of wanting to protect the people you love even when the world keeps demanding pieces of you in return, then I can’t recommend Red City highly enough.