Faction Paradox: Of the City of the Saved [REVIEW]

Memorable and admirable for its ideas alone, Of the City of the Saved by Philip Purser-Hallard explores the titular City: a galaxy-sized metropolis at the end of the universe which houses every human who ever lived. The City is an absolutely sprawling setting that holds infinite potential, with Districts for every culture imaginable, past, present, and future (and otherwise). There's so many things to explore and aspects of this setting to ask questions about, and while a lot remains unanswered, the book spans so many topics and settings to really make the most out of the page count. The plot only matters halfway, and the joy of exploring the City is the other half. Still, it's no wonder there's a whole short story series spinning off of this book. There's endless possibilities for exploration, and this book can only lay the groundwork; that's less a slight on the book itself, and more a testament to the brilliance of the setting and its scope. This is a long-ish book which thrives on making the setting feel rich and lived-in, yet there's still endless possibilities to explore.

Oh, yeah, the book also has a plot. It's pretty good. Introducing a rebel offshoot species of humans makes sense, as it's only natural that the City of the Saved wouldn't be for everyone – and when their origins are eventually revealed it all snaps into place satisfyingly. Their rebellion, and the ripple effects the introduction of potent weapons has, is explored from the perspectives of a litany of characters who we get to know throughout the course of the book.

These characters are all developed surprisingly well for how much the book jumps around in setting and perspective, although all the same, that broad scope did leave me wanting a bit more nuance to each character. Still, the cast really comes to life, and the author found ways to make even more minor characters (shoutout to Little Brother Edward in particular) interesting and engaging. Seeing things from their eyes really helps, as do the shifts in narration style that come with each perspective shift. Things like futuristic slang for Julian (a City-born Neanderthal who hangs around with posthumans), a complete lack of punctuation for Dedalus (an illiterate slave), and even the more minor style differences between characters liven up the reading experience immensely. It really feels like you're getting to see the City and the book's events through their eyes, moreso than it would if the narration style was the same throughout. It makes the whole thing seem that much more expansive.

Still, the book suffers from a disinterest in focusing on a specific character, which is fine for most of the pagecount, but really ends up hurting the climax. Faction Paradox is a series of big, wild ideas more than anything, and the revelations the final third provides really had me impressed and excited, but the climax thrives entirely on those ideas as opposed to actually bringing the plot to a satisfying, character-based conclusion. Instead a compelling villain gets introduced, dumps a lot of exposition, and abruptly gets killed by a side character with little in the way of personality. The big rebellion is carried out as planned, and the City is facing a new era of conflict which is only just beginning – it's an exciting social statement, sure, but the sheer open-endedness makes it feel a bit... empty. The climax rides on its ideas, but the resolution (and lack thereof) is nonetheless lacking.

And yet... I'm still giving it a "love"? Yes!! When you have a setting such as this, and ideas as big and awesome as this book has, you almost don't need plot. The scope of the City, its origins, its structure: these things are absolutely awe-inspiring, and it's an endlessly lively setting that the book explores to the fullest. Just let yourself get swept away in the excitement of learning about the City of the Saved and its past, and you won't be disappointed.