Publication Date: January 13th, 2026
Paperback. 368 pages.
When an entire block of flats goes missing in the town of Clementi, drowned in an otherworldly wave, the information he needs to prevent another catastrophe lies in the pasar bayang – the shadow markets. But the demigod protector of the markets has neither forgotten nor forgiven their humiliation by the Singapore authorities decades ago. Ben will need to wrestle with the legacy of his government and the whispers of his own insecurities, navigating landscapes both urban and fantastical, both inside the soul and outside the real world, all so he can just do his goddamn job."
I liked this one a lot more than I expected to! City of Others is an urban fantasy that is comforting, deeply layered with lore and world-building, and full of personality, though it still has plenty of darker corners to it that exist beneath its vibrant exterior.
The magical Singapore setting was incredible and I thought it ended up being such a fun and intriguing concept. I really loved how much background and cultural roots the author built into this world, and I especially loved how he managed to blend the banal reality of bureaucracy with some more supernatural and fantastical elements. It’s an urban fantasy that is so fun to explore, with supernatural beings like Jinn living alongside everyone else (although with a considerably mafia-like type of power) and other Asian mythological/folkloric figures slipping into every crack of this world.
Our protagonist, Ben, is an exhausted and overworked civil servant working at the DEUS--the Department for Engagement of Unusual Stakeholders, that is--and he is remarkably relatable. As a result of his experiences, he’s very cynical and verging on being fully burnt out, but somehow he is still a good, caring person and really does want what’s best for his team and the citizens he works for. He’d also like to keep upper management off his back, maintain his relationship with his father, and even possibly keep things going well with his new boyfriend (and his boyfriend is the best, I enjoyed him immensely as a character).
One of my favorite aspects of this book was Ben and his coworkers, a bit of an odd misfit team that has just about every skill needed for their very unique job. Each character brings such distinct strengths and quirks to the team and to every scene they are present for in this book, and I loved how much this felt like a little bit of a chaotic found-family office situation at times. I honestly hadn’t realized how invested I was in these characters until about halfway through the book when I found myself quietly rooting for everyone and looking forward to the roles of different characters. It’s just one of those books where I think you don’t realize how much you’re enjoying the world and its characters until you find yourself lamenting having to put the book down between reading opportunities.
I feel like this is one of those cozy-but-not-too-cozy fantasy stories where it feels easy to read and generally comforting and fun, but the stakes are still high and there are still some pretty emotionally (and otherwise) intense moments that happen. The author has really created a fantastic balance where there’s plenty of humor throughout the story, but it still goes deeper than you might expect. There are so many deeply important themes explored, such as those of grief, heritage and culture, and how the decisions a government makes even long ago can still affect people and groups for generations to come. And all of this is explored through the well-known frustrations of slow-moving bureaucracies, office politics, government politics, and tensions between various groups of magical beings.
The pacing of City of Others is surprisingly quick, and I think that really works to its benefit because it removes any potential to get bored while reading this story, and I also think it made for a quick read. I was shocked by what was happening before I had even hit 100 pages, but I was equally excited by what that meant might still happen throughout the rest of the book.
I don’t have many complaints about this book. The only thing I would remark on is that because the world feels so rich and vast and the plot moved so quickly, it felt like there wasn’t always a lot of time to fully wrap my head around certain aspects of the world or magic that were happening. There’s a feeling that we only ever really scratch the surface of things in this book, which could be a positive or negative, but it left me feeling just the slightest bit disconnected from things at times, though ultimately I think it just leaves me wanting more--in a good way!
Overall, I found this to be an incredibly charming urban fantasy that has an amazing amount of heart and an overflowing abundance of supernatural and mythological elements that make it an adventure you do not want to miss. I highly recommend this for any fantasy fans, but especially urban fantasy fans and those who want a story with characters you can really root for and have fun with.
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