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tialiiz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
sumna_sova's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
haegle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
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
4.0
The City of Brass
by S.A. Chakraborty
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow! Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't even know where I'm gonna start because there were times while reading, I was hella confused. LOL!
I'm very new to Islamic Mythology. The author of this book is a Muslim by the way. It's really refreshing to delve into other themes and concepts because culture and tradition are explored in great detail. This is what I really love about reading fantasy series. It sets itself apart from other genres because of its sense of adventure, representation, and inclusion. It's also interesting that the author never misses the traditional part because she really wrote it very well from the food, clothes, prayers, behavior, and beliefs.
When I started reading this book, I absolutely didn't have any idea what it was all about. I'm like that with the books I read most of the time in order to avoid spoilers. The start is really interesting because the idea of summoning a djinn and a flying rug excited me so much, plus the cover is really pretty. Not only that, but also I feel like the twist is really gonna be shocking if the evil is actually good and vice versa. That's what I felt which didn't really happen by the way (yet? Hmm) That's what kept me going.
However, when Nahri and Dara reached Daevabad, my excitement slowly dissipated because the pace of the story went down and that's 40ish% in the book. I had to stop reading because I got bored 😭 so what I did, I watched some reviews from other readers in booktok and youtube to bring my excitement back. It didn't really do much but it's enough to motivate me to continue. I understand though because those moments introduce another important character to the story, Ali.
Ali is my favorite character so far. I think it's so much better if he ended up with Nahri. Because to be honest, I cannot feel the chemistry between Nahri and Dara. Their relationship is really sudden for me and it's a little bit cringe. On the other hand, I also think that the story can go on without the romance subplot. But it's still Book 1 though so there might be something more in the succeeding books.
The pace of the book picked up at around 80ish% so half the time I'm reading I was bored 🥹 it also doesn't help that there are some parts of the book I didn't understand so I was confused 😭 it took quiet a time for everything to be cleared. From this part until the end is the moment I decided to give it a 4 star. Gawd! That was definitely one hell of a ride. My mind cannot process the events because many things are happening. The events keep jumping from one to another.
The most significant one that really stuck to me was loyalty and love between siblings and a parent to his children. It was very intense and fierce love that it broke my heart. It's not the romance that made me cry but it was the love of a parent to his children. 🥹
by S.A. Chakraborty
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow! Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this book. I don't even know where I'm gonna start because there were times while reading, I was hella confused. LOL!
I'm very new to Islamic Mythology. The author of this book is a Muslim by the way. It's really refreshing to delve into other themes and concepts because culture and tradition are explored in great detail. This is what I really love about reading fantasy series. It sets itself apart from other genres because of its sense of adventure, representation, and inclusion. It's also interesting that the author never misses the traditional part because she really wrote it very well from the food, clothes, prayers, behavior, and beliefs.
When I started reading this book, I absolutely didn't have any idea what it was all about. I'm like that with the books I read most of the time in order to avoid spoilers. The start is really interesting because the idea of summoning a djinn and a flying rug excited me so much, plus the cover is really pretty. Not only that, but also I feel like the twist is really gonna be shocking if the evil is actually good and vice versa. That's what I felt which didn't really happen by the way (yet? Hmm) That's what kept me going.
However, when Nahri and Dara reached Daevabad, my excitement slowly dissipated because the pace of the story went down and that's 40ish% in the book. I had to stop reading because I got bored 😭 so what I did, I watched some reviews from other readers in booktok and youtube to bring my excitement back. It didn't really do much but it's enough to motivate me to continue. I understand though because those moments introduce another important character to the story, Ali.
Ali is my favorite character so far. I think it's so much better if he ended up with Nahri. Because to be honest, I cannot feel the chemistry between Nahri and Dara. Their relationship is really sudden for me and it's a little bit cringe. On the other hand, I also think that the story can go on without the romance subplot. But it's still Book 1 though so there might be something more in the succeeding books.
The pace of the book picked up at around 80ish% so half the time I'm reading I was bored 🥹 it also doesn't help that there are some parts of the book I didn't understand so I was confused 😭 it took quiet a time for everything to be cleared. From this part until the end is the moment I decided to give it a 4 star. Gawd! That was definitely one hell of a ride. My mind cannot process the events because many things are happening. The events keep jumping from one to another.
The most significant one that really stuck to me was loyalty and love between siblings and a parent to his children. It was very intense and fierce love that it broke my heart. It's not the romance that made me cry but it was the love of a parent to his children. 🥹
lunasea_dream's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.0
hollyoz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
4.25
sarahsmiles16's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
_emcat_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
princessrobotiv's review against another edition
4.0
The City of Brass is a fantastic debut novel and an engaging fantasy read, period.
Having heard glowing things about this series, I was skeptical but intrigued. The setting being non-Western and the cast posessing diverse faiths (both real and imagined) was immediately compelling. These expectations were marginally unsettled by the realization that Chakraborty is a white American woman who converted to Islam in her teens. Not being Muslim myself, I honestly can't speak to the representation here.
I will say, however, that I found the world vibrantly and lovingly crafted and the characters beautifully flawed. Nahri began as a somewhat archetypal "YA fantasy" lead, at least where her initial character arc began, but quickly (and I mean within pages) proved to possess captivating and sympathetic depth. I really enjoyed being in her head, experiencing the brashness of her decision-making process paired with her loneliness, her yearning for family, and her love of knowledge and healing.
Likewise, Dara and Ali were two uniquely-rendered, deeply flawed characters, each with their own difficult histories and situations. Ali, in particular, was fascinating to me. Watching him struggle to balance his faith with his devotion to his family and experiencing all the many ways his choices, while made with the honest intensity of a young man attempting to cause as little harm as possible, led him closer and closer to his own moment of reckoning was really delicious.
The side characters were also well done. Muntadhir and Ghassan especially could have been flat archetypes used only to propel the plot, but they felt real and often sympathetic or genuinely charming in a way that I really commend.
I'll also say that the plot, while not perfect, really subverted my expectations. So many things happened towards the end of this book that left me reeling, shocked that Chakraborty had taken the story in the direction she did. This was a really pleasant surprise, and set up the series as something that isn't easy to pigeonhole into common plot beats or tropes. I really appreciate the momentum built up in those final chapters and the way the chaos of the battle was balanced against quieter moments of grief and reckoning directly after.
I quite liked the writing style; it's descriptive, sometimes trending towards purple, but almost always clear and digestible.
The book isn't perfect, however. I think all the various djinn groups and their histories and prejudices could have been more cleanly presented. The role of the shafit in the story, too, appeared to be more purposeful in the beginning when we believed Nahri to be shafit. This dissolved somewhere around the middle point of the story as more focus was given to the Daeva, the ifrit, and the Nahids. It felt very much like a loose thread, not because it isn't or won't be important, but because Chakraborty just packed so much conflict and intrigue into this first book that something had to give, and it was the shafit's plight.
I'm starting the second installment now, and I honestly have no clue what will happen. I'm fully down for the ride, though.
Having heard glowing things about this series, I was skeptical but intrigued. The setting being non-Western and the cast posessing diverse faiths (both real and imagined) was immediately compelling. These expectations were marginally unsettled by the realization that Chakraborty is a white American woman who converted to Islam in her teens. Not being Muslim myself, I honestly can't speak to the representation here.
I will say, however, that I found the world vibrantly and lovingly crafted and the characters beautifully flawed. Nahri began as a somewhat archetypal "YA fantasy" lead, at least where her initial character arc began, but quickly (and I mean within pages) proved to possess captivating and sympathetic depth. I really enjoyed being in her head, experiencing the brashness of her decision-making process paired with her loneliness, her yearning for family, and her love of knowledge and healing.
Likewise, Dara and Ali were two uniquely-rendered, deeply flawed characters, each with their own difficult histories and situations. Ali, in particular, was fascinating to me. Watching him struggle to balance his faith with his devotion to his family and experiencing all the many ways his choices, while made with the honest intensity of a young man attempting to cause as little harm as possible, led him closer and closer to his own moment of reckoning was really delicious.
The side characters were also well done. Muntadhir and Ghassan especially could have been flat archetypes used only to propel the plot, but they felt real and often sympathetic or genuinely charming in a way that I really commend.
I'll also say that the plot, while not perfect, really subverted my expectations. So many things happened towards the end of this book that left me reeling, shocked that Chakraborty had taken the story in the direction she did. This was a really pleasant surprise, and set up the series as something that isn't easy to pigeonhole into common plot beats or tropes. I really appreciate the momentum built up in those final chapters and the way the chaos of the battle was balanced against quieter moments of grief and reckoning directly after.
I quite liked the writing style; it's descriptive, sometimes trending towards purple, but almost always clear and digestible.
The book isn't perfect, however. I think all the various djinn groups and their histories and prejudices could have been more cleanly presented. The role of the shafit in the story, too, appeared to be more purposeful in the beginning when we believed Nahri to be shafit. This dissolved somewhere around the middle point of the story as more focus was given to the Daeva, the ifrit, and the Nahids. It felt very much like a loose thread, not because it isn't or won't be important, but because Chakraborty just packed so much conflict and intrigue into this first book that something had to give, and it was the shafit's plight.
I'm starting the second installment now, and I honestly have no clue what will happen. I'm fully down for the ride, though.
bookishfantasyreading's review against another edition
5.0
Very well-written and immersive. Nothing was over detailed, but enough detailed that I could visualize the scenes like a movie inside my head. The dialogue felt very natural, like real people conversating with each other. This book was a breath of fresh air and a nice change of pace from my usual reads.
tiphaine_slr's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75