FOUNDRYSIDE by Robert Jackson Bennett

Look! I have tabs!

(Originally published on Wordpress, 11 Nov 2025)

This was a joy of a book. Reminds me of the headiness of falling into N.K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth trilogy. Or the wonder of discovering Eddings’ The Mallorean series (please don’t hate me. I really did love The Mallorean when I was a teen) or Terry Brooks’ Shannara series.

You know: complex but truly well done worlds, amazing characters that you like, a magic system that makes sense within the world, great pacing, and astute social commentary.

To give a little bit of context, Foundryside is set in a world where objects are scrived—a process where words or symbols are written on an object to make them do things that may or may not be opposed to their nature. And the purpose of scriving objects is, presumably, to make life easier for people because, say, you can scrive a carriage’s wooden wheels to go faster. Except that the instructions and know-how for scriving are owned by only four families who live in charmed compounds with all of the people who work for them or are loyal to them, while the rest of the people in Tevane—the fictional country where the story is set—live in squalor outside of these compounds.

Enter Sancia, one of the have-nots, but a very talented thief, who was given a job to steal what she finds out is a key. Obviously, this will not be an ordinary key.

Anyway, still not in a space to get make a serious review, but here are the quotes that I’ve tabbed on my copy:

“<So…you’re just a polite lockpick?>”

Relevant when Clef explains to Sancia what he does.

“Sometimes, you need a little revolution to make a lot of good.”

Self-explanatory

“Every innovation —technological, sociological, or otherwise— begins as a crusade, organizes itself into a practical business, and then, over time, degrades into common exploitation. This is simply the life cycle of how human ingenuity manifests in the material world.

“What goes forgotten, though, is that those who partake in this system undergo a similar transformation: people begin as comrades and fellow citizens, then become labor resources and assets, and then, as their utility shifts or de-grades, transmute into liabilities, and thus must be appropriately managed.”

This is from an epigraph which quotes one of the world’s historical documents. You can probably tell what one of the main things this book is commenting on.

“I’m still hung up on this thing being a ‘he’,” said Gregor. “It…is a key, yes? The key says it’s a him? Is that right?

“Can we not bother with the dumb shit, please?” said Sancia.

This is a throwaway line, but I really loved it, because in two lines, Bennett seems to put protests against how an individual perceives themselves in its place.

<Shut up!> screamed Sancia at her. She shut her eyes. <Shut up, shut up, shut up! I’m…I’m not a goddamn thing! I’m a scrumming person. I’m a free person.>

<Do you feel free?> asked Valeria. <Or do you feel, perhaps, like you have stolen yourself?>

Honestly still trying to parse this line about stealing yourself, and maybe one day in the future when I go back to this post, I’ll have figured it out. It feels important to figure out.

“…It makes you think you’re a thing. It makes you resign yourself to becoming a crude good. It makes things out of people so thoroughly, they… they don’t even know that they’ve become things. Even after you’re free, you don’t even know how to be free! It changes your reality, and you don’t know how to change it back!”

This, I understand. Especially in light of how those who control tech platforms or supercharged capitalist markets seem to think of people. And I do have the same question: how do you stop begin a thing?

“Remember—move thoughtfully, give freedom to others, and you’ll rarely do wrong, Sancia. I’ve learned that now. I wish I’d known it in life.”

Seems like pretty good advice.

So right now, I’m faced with the choice of reading the second book right away in ebook format, or waiting to get a print copy. For some reason, I’m holding off and may get a print copy. Not entirely sure why, because God knows I have no space to put it in, but I suppose it’s because I read Bennett’s books in print format and both were great experiences, so I want to hold on to that?

It’s not logical, I know, but I guess that doesn’t really matter to me.

Also, maybe I’ll buddy-read Shorefall with Ilia! Who knows?

Anyway, another book I highly recommend, for those among you who want some high fantasy in your reading diet.