Review of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker

Contains spoilers

Can a bad ending ruin a great book?

For much of this book, I was swept up in the story, and was delighted by all the considerable tools and tricks K.J. Parker brought to bear — brisk plotting, a vivid narrator, an entertaining cast of characters, sharp dialogue and some truly inspired twists and turns (the one featuring the Emperor comes to mind).

I was ready to give this book 5 stars and was going to heartily endorse it to everyone I knew…and then I finished the book.

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