Reviews with content warning for Racism - The City of Brass

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

59 reviews

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There are many conflicting words and opinions that The City of Brass brings about. The most important one though is this: promising. It's marketed as adult fantasy, and yet you'll find many instances of tropes and ideas popular in young adult literature. The person of low social class thrust into a very powerful position of luxury, the romance between a normal person and a god-like but very dangerous but VERY hot individual, a healthy dose of normal person thrust into magical world they didn't know was there a la Harry Potter. Much of the dialogue sounds very modern despite the story taking place in the 1800s and many characters being hundreds of years older than that. Moving past all that, I would still recommend this book. Chakraborty understands her world and her characters well enough to give the reader investment and interest in this world. The novel's biggest selling point is the society she creates - the conflict between a pureblood upper caste and a mixed lower caste is nothing new in literature, but Chakraborty treats the plot with precision and care. No side is made out to be a faceless villain, but there's also no preachy sense of 'both sides are equally bad' going on. There's no sense of preachiness at all: the world feels lived in and at its natural conclusion of thousands of years of buildup rather than artificially held together for the plot. The pros outweigh the cons and I hear the sequels improve in spades. 8/10.

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n_odonnell's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

It took me a little time to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. This book is incredibly magical and complex, the political intrigue and discrimination add so many layers to the story. I’m hoping the next books answer all the questions I have burning through me.

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bobbyeight's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

I am unwell. Just couldn't put the book down, it's 1am and now I don't know what to do with my life 😂 (thankfully I have book 2 to jump into)

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queerreaderchaos's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense 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

3.75

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lesliehirgelt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense slow-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

4.25

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pandaintheshelves's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

I loved this book.

I enjoyed the Middle Eastern mythology and the Muslim rep in a fantasy setting. Can't attest for their accuracy because I don't belong to the culture, but it was a nice change of pace. So, if you're a fantasy lover looking to diversify your readings, I'd definitely recommend this one.

The FMC is resourceful, brave, and witty, without falling into the "I'm not like other girls" type. She's also morally grey, impulsive, and relatable as a young character in a dangerous world with very high stakes she's learning to navigate. And she's not the only interesting one

One of the things that I enjoyed the most about this book is that every single character has its own voice. No one feels flat, and you end up caring for them no matter how little time they appear.

Yes, this is a YA story (or at least is how it's marketed around here) but it has very adult themes. Also, there are moments of very explicit violence. So, please, check the content warnings.

What could be a deal breaker for some readers but wasn't for me?

It's slow-paced, especially at the beginning. But as the first book of a trilogy, that's not surprising. Around the 50% mark, things start moving faster.

Also, the world-building takes a lot of pages. But given the complexity of the universe we're reading here, and the way it was balanced with presenting the characters and their conflicts, I was not bothered.

If you're a fast-paced, give-me-some-action-now kind of reader, this may not be for you. But if you want to give it a try anyway, I'd recommend the audiobook.

Also, I would like to clarify THIS IS NOT A ROMANTASY BOOK. Yes, there's romance, but it's not the center of the story. This is high-stakes fantasy WITH a romantic subplot.

Having said that, I loved the banter between the characters involved romantically. Some of the scenes got me giggling and kicking my feet in the air while making tea kettle noises.

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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

When I read this one, I was convinced I found the next best epic fantasy featuring people that may look like me and I hadn't had that since Sabaa Tahir's Ember of Ashes series and I was right. I loved this from the very start, completely hooked with every fiber of my being. The characters are immensely flawed and complex and I admit getting annoyed with a few of them probably more than others but that didn't make me love this series any less. Hell, even with my least favorite trope (a potential love triangle/corner), I couldn't put this down. So glad I started to read this when the whole series was finished because this does have a cliffhanger ending and I was screaming into the void when I got to it and went straight into holding the next one at the library. S.A. Chakraborty has become my new favorite of 2023. This is sure to be a reread in the future.

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ka_ke's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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? No

5.0

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mirifairy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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bookforthought's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

Ok, so this one had been sitting on my digital shelf for so long I had almost forgotten all about it until I randomly decided to pick it up in the summer. Oh, the joys of mood reading... I was actually really excited about a Middle Eastern fantasy since it seems to be a setting I usually enjoy but, I'll admit, some of the reviews I'd read mentioning heavy politics had me worried for a minute. Seems I worried for nothing though, because I ended up liking this one a lot!

Everything about this book was fascinating: the plot, the setting, the characters, the writing... I also started listening to the audiobook because I couldn't bear to tear myself away from it while walking or doing chores. That's quite rare for me, so it was an excellent sign. The way it was all woven together actually felt new and refreshing, even though it builds on several common tropes and mythology. Still, it never feels that way, certainly thanks to the author's amazing writing.

The worldbuilding was a bit intricate and I'll admit to getting lost at times (and I'm still not sure about a few things), but I did like the focus on the politics and the relations between different social groups in Daevabad. I decided to just roll with it and enjoy the ride, which proved to be the winning choice as otherwise I would have ended up too confused to appreciate the settings and the relationships between the characters. Speaking of which, the characters were one of the things I liked the most here: morally grey, flawed and with plenty of secrets to hide... just what we like to read about! I will admit to rolling my eyes a bit when a love triangle reared its head, especially since I definitely wasn't a fan of one of the pairings.

Now, I did have some issues with the pace, which felt very uneven. After a great start, things sort of dragged along for a while and then exploded again towards the end. While the emotions stirred up by the end were plenty and made up for the slight boredom in the middle, it still felt unbalanced. Still, I had a great time with this and definitely hope to pick up the second book in the trilogy in the New Year!

I received an advanced review copy of this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.

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