Not perfect but damn good. It scratched the Six of Crows itch that I'm always searching for.

Foundryside is a nearly perfect mix of action-packed tension, flawed characters that win your affection, dark humor, inventive world-building, and themes that parallel our own world.

Bennett's writing really shines in moments of action, and many scenes are cinematic experiences that feel well thought out and believable. In a weird way this book reminded me of Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy? Like it's dark, tense, and action-packed, but expertly sprinkles in humor both through dialogue and via actions taken by the characters. And our cast of characters are, while not necessarily unique, well-written and experience arcs that are well-earned and enjoyable. So much fun! But, be warned, some scenes are quite violent, and while the author doesn't lean towards straight-up gore and body horror, he does come rather close.

The magic system, built on a rune-like system that is likely familiar to fantasy fans, finds ways to be inventive and interesting. At times I felt it was a parallel to AI technology - objects that aren't necessarily sentient but come as close as possible. The magic was just mythical enough that some larger-than-life things were possible, but the author was able to reign it in and keep things from getting out of control. It was such a fun world to explore, and full of political intrigue.

With a scientific magic system, be prepared for just a tad bit of over-explanation; Bennett likes to explain exactly how machines work and exactly how our characters interfere with them. I do feel like Bennett kept the overexplanation to a minimum considering how technical it could have gotten, and thanks to a heavy amount of dialogue, the book remains readable and somewhat fast-paced.

There were a few iffy things here and there, like dialogue sometimes leaning towards exposition-dumping in unnatural ways, and the laws of the world sometimes being a bit nebulous, but the great parts about the story more than make up for any minor issues I had. I will warn you that it takes just a little bit to set up - around 30% until the plot really starts going and the intrigue hikes up. For once, though, the slow-ish start pays off very well!