Ombria in shadow (2002)

A struggle over a city's ruler unfolds beside a stranger city of shadows, ghosts and concealed passages. McKillip makes the ordinary and the magical feel like overlapping impressions of the same place, each changing how the other can be read. Sorcery matters through loyalties, protection and the people made vulnerable by power. Choose it for concentrated urban enchantment and ornate prose, allowing some images to remain elusive.