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nytephoenyx's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The City of Brass is a refreshing YA fantasy story. This is one of those series that has garnered so much hype over the last few years, and it is well-deserved. There are still a lot of familiar (and tired) tropes, but the world is different and the magic excellent… and I really enjoyed the way Chakraborty slowly peeled back bits and pieces of the land’s history.
Nahri is an interesting protagonist. She has some snark and big dreams and is surviving by her wits alone – fairly common in a YA fantasy heroine. She’s likable enough, but I think that The City of Brass benefits from being multiple POV.. I think on their own, both Nahri and Ali would have gotten tiresome, especially in such a long books. Ali is pretentious but kind. He has spent most of his life training to guard his brother, who will someday be the king of Daevabad. Nahri has lived on the streets in the human world most her life until she accidentally raises Dara. The two together compliment each other well – one with a well of understanding about the world and one who is slowly learning it.
As is to be expected in YA fantasy, there is a love triangle. I found it fairly inconsequential and annoying – it neither added to the story nor took away from it too much, although that may change as the trilogy goes on. If you don’t particularly care for the romance, it’s easy enough to ignore up until near the end where it becomes pretty important for a few scenes. The action took a long time coming, but I really liked the way Chakraborty developed Nahri’s magic. Unlike most characters in her position, Nahri struggles to pick up the art and makes major mistakes. It’s refreshing to see a Chosen One style character treated in that way – not everything came to her perfectly.
It’s the world of The City of Brassi that captured me most as a reader. This novel uses Arab mythology and tradition to build a world that starts in Cairo, Egypt and expands to a djinn city. Chakraborty explores legends around the djinn in a new, refreshing light while weaving in modern issues. There were a lot of things introduced in this novel that I’m hoping will be expanded upon and revisited as the story goes one.
If you have been sitting on The City of Brass, I highly recommend giving it a read. The world is interesting and alluring. Even though thesis of the book may be off-putting, the story itself captures the imagination and it’s easy to get invested.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Genocide, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Racial slurs
kelpmattson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Medical content, and Violence
emmjay's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
A slower start to the most intense political intrigue. A main female character of color who is real with flaws but also a badass. No weird sexualization of children or constant threats of/depictions of sexual violence that is present in so many other high fantasy stories. I thought about this book when I wasn’t reading it. I already bought the whole trilogy. Heavy on the world building (not always a big draw for me but it was well done and impressive), intense, very dark and gruesome at points, diverse, interesting and complicated characters, elaborate. The first words out of my mouth when I rushed through the last page were “so f***ing good.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, and Trafficking
totallyshelfaware's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Gore, Child death, and Torture
Minor: Rape
stevienielson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, Racism, Death, and Gore
Moderate: Torture, Murder, Child death, and Animal death
Minor: Rape
ballgownsandbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Slavery, Medical content, and Gore
Moderate: Trafficking
sophieink's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
"You can't go back to the human world."
I had long been awaiting to read The City of Brass and going it I had expected it to be slow as I had heard it a fair few times.
It starts off following Nahri, set in 18th Cairo, when she accidentally summons a darkly mysterious djinn. After the events, they have to go to The City of Brass when the ancient djinn tribes live where Nahri might end up having quite a big role.
It is essentially about Nahri entering a politically charged city with ancient Djinn tribes all at each other throats and what her place in all of this means. If you are looking for a fantasy surrounded with magic, political intrigue, family court politics, old histories being brought up alongside the muddle of alliances and romances then I, personally, recommend it to you undoubtedly.
The writing is beautiful and I was able to sink into it easily, I could picture the landscape and I really felt dissolved into the world.
It starts off strong but I think the second quarter is a bit weaker as it feels dragged out, but then it picks up again leading to a really strong end. I was on the end of my seat as twists and turns happened.
I would also recommend if you are interested in what are the 'typical fantasy character types' as I think we have some really strong contenders here.
- DARA: the mysterious, brooding warrior
- NAHRI: the main girl with the potential power to save all us
- ALIZAYD: a nerdy prince who means well
and more. I found them all enticing and I really like seeing the relationships and interactions unfold as they were full of emotions. I think I was really interesting in seeing Dara and Alizayd's interactions, they were always exciting. I think Alizayd ended up being my favourite but that is honestly no surprise as the nerdy one always is.
I can kind of see why it has the mix of reviews that is does but for me, it really worked. It has so many of the fantasy elements that worked for me and I literally can't wait to carry on with this series !!
I can kind of see why it has the mix of reviews that is does but for me, it really worked. It has so many of the fantasy elements that worked for me and I literally can't wait to carry on with this series !!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Slavery, and Violence
ehmannky's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Absolutely stunning. Just the right balance of romance, high fantasy, and political intrigue for my tastes. I loved everything about it. The book follows Nahri, a young con artist who gets pulled into the dangerous world of the djinn after accidentally summoning an ancient warrior. It's fast-paced and I found all of the characters engaging. I love that Chakraborty delves into the moral ambiguity of all the characters here. Even the ones who seem like they'd be on the side of justice (like the religiously devout Ali, who annoys me most because he knows the injustices and is horrified by them and goes along with everything anyways) stray from doing what they know is right in defense of the honor and love of their family and ideology. Nahri is one of my favorite female protagonists I've read in years, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.
Just as stellar on a reread.
Just as stellar on a reread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, Slavery, Gore, Grief, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry
Minor: Torture, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
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