At no point did it feel forced, or a means of box ticking, as some people have suggested is the case when anything other than ‘straight, white’ is the choice of the day. As a result, the variety in representation was wonderful, and effectively done, from skin tone to mental and physical disability, the alternative style of family life and raising children, to the ‘love as thou wilt’ philosophy. But more than that, she’s considered what cities and societies really looks like, and decided to offer her readers a more genuine sense of humanity in all its forms. Sam Hawke has clearly thought deeply about what she wanted to say with her book. These sibling protagonists relate most of the tale, as unfolding events expand into conspiracies which threaten the very way of life within the city. Investigations are left to the Chancellor’s Heir, Tain, and his two best friends, Jovan and Kalina, nice and nephew to Etan. His death, and the subsequent arrival of a similarly mysterious army outside the gates, seem more than coincidence. First in the Poison Wars series, and the debut novel by Sam Hawke, City of Lies starts out as a kind of murder mystery- the Chancellor of Silasta is fatally dosed with a substance unknown to his closest friend, secret guardian and master of poisons, Etan.
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