The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

Kaidu wants nothing more than to go to Dandao, the city of a thousand names. When he arrives there, he finds that the Nameless City is nothing like he imagined. He flails through his training to become a warrior, admitting that he "likes books better than blades." During an accidental excursion into the city, he runs into Rat, a girl who has always lived in the city, someone who will change his point of view of both the city and his own people's role in it.
 

The artwork in this installation is gorgeous. Hicks must have spent hours painstakingly drawing out every landscape. The details are astonishing and the coloring is rich and vibrant. That being said, the story is a little lacking. The world-building is intriguing and I definitely want to find out more about the Nameless City and its origins. The characters were interesting, but no one really stood out from the crowd. Kai was, to me, nothing more than a foil for introducing the reader to the city. This felt more like the prologue of a story than a full story in and of itself. The action really starts happening and the book ends. That being said, I will pick up the next installment to see where the story goes and how the characters develop.

My copy courtesy of First Second and Netgalley.