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theespressoedition's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I sort of wish I had a lot to say about this book, but I'm keeping this review simple, especially since it's the first book in the series and I do plan to continue reading.
I listened to the audiobook. It was really well-narrated and the voice actor didn't do any unnecessary accents or change the way each character spoke too much, which I really appreciated. My only qualm with the audiobook was that it was 17 hours long on double speed and I found myself waiting for it to come to a close over and over. I think if I had read the book, it might have been a little different. I kept getting distracted and losing bits of information as I listened.
The story itself was so interesting and the characters each had so much depth to them. I enjoyed that there were some great twists along the way and it ended on a cliffhanger. I can't wait to see what happens next.
I listened to the audiobook. It was really well-narrated and the voice actor didn't do any unnecessary accents or change the way each character spoke too much, which I really appreciated. My only qualm with the audiobook was that it was 17 hours long on double speed and I found myself waiting for it to come to a close over and over. I think if I had read the book, it might have been a little different. I kept getting distracted and losing bits of information as I listened.
The story itself was so interesting and the characters each had so much depth to them. I enjoyed that there were some great twists along the way and it ended on a cliffhanger. I can't wait to see what happens next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Blood
Minor: Rape and Trafficking
marissaboone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A solid mix of slow paced, political challenges and quick adventure. I couldn't put it down truthfully and found myself rooting for all the characters despite their differences and rivalries. Excited to read the next novel in S.A. Chakraborty's trilogy!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
sagesapphire's review against another edition
adventurous
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
It took a bit of time and perseverance for this one to grow on me. The setting and premise interested me but something wasn't quite connecting right. The characters are so complex that it took me a lot to decipher whether or not I actually liked them or what they stood for, before I realised that "liking" them or not didn't matter, what matters is that they're well written characters with complexity and grey areas that I haven't seen in books I've read lately. So I love all the characters and how they are written, evil intent or no. By the end of the book I was begging for more and am definitely going to jump into the next in the trilogy. Super excited to find out what happens!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Rape and Self harm
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: Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Slavery
Minor: Death, Gore, Sexual violence, Torture, and Trafficking
dayday_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Grief
katrinarose's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this book because it is a fantasy world with familiar magical themes but instead of basing it on medieval European cultures (as is typical for many traditional fantasy books), it's based on West Asian cultures. I had grown frustrated with the lack of originality in many traditional fantasy and for this alone, this book was a breath of fresh air. I thought the political intrigue was very well done. Often I feel fantasy politics are oversimplified - there's the "bad" guys who are the oppressors and love to starve and torture and enslave the poor outsider population and the "good" guys who just want to save the needy and restore justice. That's always a compelling story - who doesn't want to root for the underdogs? - but it lacks the nuance of real life. It took some time to become familiar with the politics and backstories of the different djinn (daeva) tribes and it was confusing at first, but it was so well done. There are no good or bad guys, everyone has done good and bad things in the name of the people's survival and freedom. Everyone is morally gray, and I love that.
While plenty of exciting things happened in this book, it did still feel like an introduction to this world, as there was so much history and culture to get caught up on. I think I will enjoy the following books more, now that the exposition is over. One thing that annoyed me was the budding romance between Nahri and Dara. He's over a thousand years old and she's twenty, he has no business even entertaining romantic thoughts about her! It just felt very YA-ish, and not in a good way. There is no need to force every opposite sex duo together, even if they are on some long difficult journey together where they have to sleep near each other by the firelight (eye roll). And hinting at a love triangle with Ali, which would create the dreaded good-boy vs. bad-boy dynamic, is also very much not appreciated. I'm hoping that this whole romance deal was a big red-herring and she actually develops complex relationships for Nahri without the romance. I think overall Nahri could get some more character-development, I felt like she got a bit cheated in that area in favor of Ali's development (although I loved his character development too).
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read the next books!
While plenty of exciting things happened in this book, it did still feel like an introduction to this world, as there was so much history and culture to get caught up on. I think I will enjoy the following books more, now that the exposition is over. One thing that annoyed me was
Overall I really enjoyed this, and I'm excited to read the next books!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Child death, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, and Grief
allison_21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I've been excited to read this book for a while, and it did not disappoint. The action, the politics, the emotions - it all flowed together so well and every event made sense. Really looking forward to reading the next two books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
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: Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Medical content
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: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Grief