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readandfindout's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Style/writing: 4.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 4.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Medical content, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Genocide, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Child death, War, Violence, Death, Blood, Torture, and Gore
Moderate: Xenophobia
xphilphil's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Slavery
Moderate: Xenophobia and Genocide
stormwise's review against another edition
adventurous
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
The conclusion of the Daevabad trilogy picks up right where The Kingdom of Copper ended, starts running, and doesn't stop for 752 pages. (Maybe picking this up immediately after reading The Lord of the Rings was a bit ambitious?)
Political tensions run high as the sudden absence of magic in the wake of Daevabad's violent conquest impacts every aspect of Daeva, djinn and shafit life.
Dara, the only Daeva retaining his ability to cast magic, struggles not only against Manizheh's efforts to turn him into a weapon but also his own internal conflict about his role and actions during the conquest of Daevabad.
Meanwhile, Ali and Nahri delve deeper into their pasts as they travel from Egypt to Ta Ntry, unravelling secrets about themselves, their heritage and their vast, magical world.
As a reader, finally unlocking the mysteries of the marid was VERY satisfying - the worldbuilding truly is magnificent. The climax of the story hit just right - it really felt like the protagonists had earned their victory and that the antagonists had real motivations and reasons for their actions. Also, diversity win! The gay couples survived!
If you're a fantasy fan who likes chunky books filled with magic, intrigue and truly phenomenal action sequences then please read this trilogy. Big content warnings, however, for explicit descriptions of medical procedures and a lot of fantasy-coded xenophobia and genocide.
Dara, the only Daeva retaining his ability to cast magic, struggles not only against Manizheh's efforts to turn him into a weapon but also his own internal conflict about his role and actions during the conquest of Daevabad.
Meanwhile, Ali and Nahri delve deeper into their pasts as they travel from Egypt to Ta Ntry, unravelling secrets about themselves, their heritage and their vast, magical world.
As a reader, finally unlocking the mysteries of the marid was VERY satisfying - the worldbuilding truly is magnificent. The climax of the story hit just right - it really felt like the protagonists had earned their victory and that the antagonists had real motivations and reasons for their actions. Also, diversity win! The gay couples survived!
If you're a fantasy fan who likes chunky books filled with magic, intrigue and truly phenomenal action sequences then please read this trilogy. Big content warnings, however, for explicit descriptions of medical procedures and a lot of fantasy-coded xenophobia and genocide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Xenophobia
n_asyikin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
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
5.0
The Empire of Gold started by reflecting the utter helplessness that derived after the storm of violence which besieged Daevabad. The befuddlement was central, the sense of responsibility & need to escape shaping many characters' thought. So the plot was rather slow in the beginning though I personally enjoyed the introspections; a form of character study rather typical in the series.
As always, Chakraborty wrote her world vividly. The fight scenes left me feeling exhilarated. The visual imageries I derived from her writing was some of the most captivating I've ever read. How could it not be with ancient magical creatures of air, water & fire intermingled with the djinns & human (i.e.pirates!) in a clash for power involving multiple otherworldly settings. The power in focus not just in the tangible form of physical strength & variant magic, but also strategic mindgame with worthy players who weren't afraid to push the limits.
Mistrust amongst the characters with astringent set of beliefs also meant that solutions weren't easily on hand. I liked how practically all characters had to address their own prejudices, had to unlearn & hold themselves accountable for their wrongdoings. It all led to a necessary revolution that started with the importance of collaboration. There was no "The Chosen One". This revolution involved a community fighting against a common enemy. But before reaching that point, I loved how Chakraborty depicted the danger of pigeonholing our view; the consequences of othering groups of people (or creatures) & demonizing said othered. The destructions & cruelties were, unfortunately, the only way for many to recognize the inhumanity of everything - but even then, many still resisted changes.
But above the political intrigues, perhaps it was the vulnerabilities shown I found moving. I shed a few tears for these imperfect, beloved group of characters. At the end, there were many forms of grieving: grieving over the lost of loved ones, grieving over the lost dreams, grieving over a love that was never meant to be. The ending may not be concrete, but it was fitting in its hopefulness. The bittersweetness seemed reflective of the uncertainties & very human imperfections explored in the story. The Empire of Gold was worth the maelstrom of emotions it would take you through!
____
In general, The Daevabad Trilogy is heavy in character study, more psychological rather than action-driven for most part. For some, the pace might feel slow. But I was hooked by the subtle mind games the characters were in, as they sussed each other out, built half-bonds only to see it broken & needing reconstruction. It was also interesting to infer how the characters were shaped by their past neglect & abandonment.
It also depicted how highly ingrained our views can be, chiseled & moulded often by biased history, made to edify, also (critically) glorify our existence. These characters had to have their foundations destroyed & what we saw subsequently was how one struggle to challenge what they knew about their world, hence, who they were.
Centrally, The Daevabad Trilogy touched upon the concept of the self, how we must be critical of the sources that shaped our world, even if that meant going against your loved ones. That no matter how wrong your loved ones could be, you could still yearn for their love, grieved for the love they could show you - you wished they could show others - because that's just being human, in all our complicated shades. But perhaps that was also its frightening tenet, that evil often derived from normalcy. That it wasn't something glaringly obvious, that one wrong aspect of societal normalization, meant we could be the monsters we fear. The courage was in admitting it, then addressing & fixing the wrongs.
The Daevabad Trilogy were epic in every sense: bold in terms of its characters, expansive in terms of its exploration, & rich in terms of its settings. The world that Chakraborty created was fascinating. The fact that it was just as rich internally (introspection) as it was externally (physicality) was great for me. The Daevabad Trilogy were truly captivating.
As always, Chakraborty wrote her world vividly. The fight scenes left me feeling exhilarated. The visual imageries I derived from her writing was some of the most captivating I've ever read. How could it not be with ancient magical creatures of air, water & fire intermingled with the djinns & human (i.e.pirates!) in a clash for power involving multiple otherworldly settings. The power in focus not just in the tangible form of physical strength & variant magic, but also strategic mindgame with worthy players who weren't afraid to push the limits.
Mistrust amongst the characters with astringent set of beliefs also meant that solutions weren't easily on hand. I liked how practically all characters had to address their own prejudices, had to unlearn & hold themselves accountable for their wrongdoings. It all led to a necessary revolution that started with the importance of collaboration. There was no "The Chosen One". This revolution involved a community fighting against a common enemy. But before reaching that point, I loved how Chakraborty depicted the danger of pigeonholing our view; the consequences of othering groups of people (or creatures) & demonizing said othered. The destructions & cruelties were, unfortunately, the only way for many to recognize the inhumanity of everything - but even then, many still resisted changes.
But above the political intrigues, perhaps it was the vulnerabilities shown I found moving. I shed a few tears for these imperfect, beloved group of characters. At the end, there were many forms of grieving: grieving over the lost of loved ones, grieving over the lost dreams, grieving over a love that was never meant to be. The ending may not be concrete, but it was fitting in its hopefulness. The bittersweetness seemed reflective of the uncertainties & very human imperfections explored in the story. The Empire of Gold was worth the maelstrom of emotions it would take you through!
____
In general, The Daevabad Trilogy is heavy in character study, more psychological rather than action-driven for most part. For some, the pace might feel slow. But I was hooked by the subtle mind games the characters were in, as they sussed each other out, built half-bonds only to see it broken & needing reconstruction. It was also interesting to infer how the characters were shaped by their past neglect & abandonment.
It also depicted how highly ingrained our views can be, chiseled & moulded often by biased history, made to edify, also (critically) glorify our existence. These characters had to have their foundations destroyed & what we saw subsequently was how one struggle to challenge what they knew about their world, hence, who they were.
Centrally, The Daevabad Trilogy touched upon the concept of the self, how we must be critical of the sources that shaped our world, even if that meant going against your loved ones. That no matter how wrong your loved ones could be, you could still yearn for their love, grieved for the love they could show you - you wished they could show others - because that's just being human, in all our complicated shades. But perhaps that was also its frightening tenet, that evil often derived from normalcy. That it wasn't something glaringly obvious, that one wrong aspect of societal normalization, meant we could be the monsters we fear. The courage was in admitting it, then addressing & fixing the wrongs.
The Daevabad Trilogy were epic in every sense: bold in terms of its characters, expansive in terms of its exploration, & rich in terms of its settings. The world that Chakraborty created was fascinating. The fact that it was just as rich internally (introspection) as it was externally (physicality) was great for me. The Daevabad Trilogy were truly captivating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Xenophobia
micheala's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-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
4.5
I've been putting this book off for a while as I loved the first two books and I didn't want this trilogy to end. The thing that finally pushed me to pick it up was the fact that it was overdue at the library and I couldn't renew it and I felt bad not reading it or returning it lol
There really is no way to talk about the finally in a series without spoiling the rest of the series, so if you haven't read the Daevabad Trilogy, all I can say is I highly recommend it.
I'm not a particularly fast reader, but I finished this 750+ page book in 4 days. The pacing never feels like it's dragging or like any of those pages are simply filler. Everything feels important to the plot and necessary for this rich world and this stunning conclusion to an amazing trilogy.
We continue to have the three alternating POVs of Narhi, Ali and Dara and all three of those POVs feel like they were given equal importance (not like the author had a clear favourite that they wanted to spend more time with, like I'm currently encountering with another book)
I did spend a LOT of this book very frustrated with Dara, in that he keeps being willfully naive about what is going on and what he is assisting with. I mean it makes sense for his character, it's just annoying wanting him to get with it already. Plus spending so much time with Manizheh was infuriating - like I'm sure it was meant to be.
I liked seeing all the threads that were laid in the first two books concerning Ali and Narhi start coming together. Finding out the truth about both of their histories was very satisfying.
I also really appreciated the way things wrapped up. It's not all sunshine and rainbows (there was a genocide and civil war that just happened so it would have felt out of place if it had), but there was that hopeful tint to the events.
Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to a series that I've very much enjoyed and I'm glade to finally have read it.
There really is no way to talk about the finally in a series without spoiling the rest of the series, so if you haven't read the Daevabad Trilogy, all I can say is I highly recommend it.
I'm not a particularly fast reader, but I finished this 750+ page book in 4 days. The pacing never feels like it's dragging or like any of those pages are simply filler. Everything feels important to the plot and necessary for this rich world and this stunning conclusion to an amazing trilogy.
We continue to have the three alternating POVs of Narhi, Ali and Dara and all three of those POVs feel like they were given equal importance (not like the author had a clear favourite that they wanted to spend more time with, like I'm currently encountering with another book)
I did spend a LOT of this book very frustrated with Dara, in that he keeps being willfully naive about what is going on and what he is assisting with. I mean it makes sense for his character, it's just annoying wanting him to get with it already. Plus spending so much time with Manizheh was infuriating - like I'm sure it was meant to be.
I liked seeing all the threads that were laid in the first two books concerning Ali and Narhi start coming together. Finding out the truth about both of their histories was very satisfying.
I also really appreciated the way things wrapped up. It's not all sunshine and rainbows (there was a genocide and civil war that just happened so it would have felt out of place if it had), but there was that hopeful tint to the events.
Overall this was a very satisfying conclusion to a series that I've very much enjoyed and I'm glade to finally have read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
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