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lyricallit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
I wish I'd known there are 2 POV streams here, Nahri & Ali. The first time we switched to Ali I was confused and remained uninterested for awhile 😆 But it picked up. I enjoyed reading a fantasy with non-Western roots! I will probably get the next books to see where it goes. (I do hope the pacing picks up a tad in the next book)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape, War, Torture, and Slavery
mmelibertine's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I could fix him. Probably.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Rape
juliana_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-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
I loved this. It does start slow, but once Dara and Nahri were on their way I was hooked. So much fantasy is just repackaged medieval Europe, so this held my attention for nearly six hundred pages. I read it on my Kobo to look up words and also had a hard copy to easily reference the map and glossary. It was worth the effort to fully understand this world.
My only issues:I don’t mind a romantic subplot, but the one between Dara and Nahri seemed abrupt and just based on lust. I would have liked to see it unfurl slowly. He’s also…a millennium older than her. In addition, I felt that dropping pieces of Daeva lore through both Ali and Nahri’s perspectives made it difficult to follow or figure out what was true and what was manipulation. I needed like a blurb or a “once upon a time” at the beginning.
My only issues:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Blood
Minor: Sexual violence and Rape
magdalenahai's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? No
Väkivaltaa oli paljon ja kirjan alku oli niin taistelupainotteinen, että se melkein sai minut luovuttamaan. Pidin siitä, että asiat vedettiin riittävän överiksi djinnien maailmassa, taikuudesta otettiin kaikki irti. Maailma oli muutenkin rikas ja syvä, monella konfliktilla oli alku historiassa. Päähenkilöissä riitti myös sävyjä, kukaan ei ollut mustavalkoinen. Alin, Daran ja Nahrin välille kehittyvä kolmiodraamasta en niin välittänyt enkä siitä että miehet käyttäytyivät Nahria puolustaakseen matalalla kynnyksellä hyvin aggressiivisesti. Uskonnot olivat keskeisemmässä roolissa kuin fantasiakirjoissa keskimäärin. Kirjan loppu jäi hyvinkin avoimeen tilanteeseen, jossa päähenkilöt ovat kaikki tyynni vaarassa.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Rape
lordcafeine's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
Moderate: Sexism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Death
Minor: Rape
jenn_amanda's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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: Alcohol, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Genocide, Classism, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Trafficking, Violence, Kidnapping, Slavery, Torture, War, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, Blood, Child death, and Cursing
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Gore, Murder, and War
Moderate: Slavery, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Outing and Homophobia
hutchmusic14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
4.75
This book is BRILLIANT. Chakraborty does an incredible job with the pacing, leaving every chapter with a taste of intrigue and action. She deals with themes of prejudice, oppression, war, love, lies...so much.
Fantastic read!
Fantastic read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and War
Minor: Rape
bobbyeight's review against another edition
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)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Violence, War, Slavery, Racism, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, and Child abuse
Moderate: Trafficking
Minor: Rape and Death of parent
alixcalfa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Child abuse, and Kidnapping