The Hidden Palace

The Hidden Palace, Helene Wecker. Back in January, when I was listing top-priority books, I didn't even know this was coming out, but it immediately became the most exciting thing coming out this year once I heard. It's been eight years since The Golem and the Jinni - longer than the seven-year wait between Conspiracy of Kings and Thick as Thieves, or the seven years since Goblin Emperor (Witness for the Dead being a close runner-up in excitingness) - and I'm sure part of what makes these books so precious is their rarity. I mean, I'd like to think I would still recognize the excellence of Wecker or MWT if they were churning out a book a year, but any one book might not feel as special. In any case: new Golem and the Jinni! !!!

A note about rereading: I did reread the first one immediately before reading the new one (why would I not, I love it so much, pay no attention to the stack of other books I'm supposed to be reading), but I thought Wecker did a relatively thorough job recapping/reintroducing everybody, and one could probably plunge straight in and be fine. I mean, I wouldn't start the series here, but if you're looking at *your* stack of other books you're supposed to be reading, this can be one more rather than two more.

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