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dariusz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Slavery, Grief, Medical content, and Violence
Moderate: Genocide, Toxic relationship, and Torture
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Violence, Torture, Murder, Medical trauma, Medical content, Confinement, and Grief
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
okays1331's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"If what I have seen is true, it means there is peace for the worst of us. Rest for those who do not deserve it. It was beautiful. And it spoke to a mercy this world does not deserve."
Swoon. Sob. Laugh. Sob and sob some more. I am undone by the finale to the Daevabad trilogy. I care so much about these beautiful, terrible, broken Djinn. The writing conveys a depth of emotion that is impossible not to feel myself alongside the characters.
This book is so long (nearly 30 hours in audiobook), and it is a testament to Chakraborty's storytelling that I never wanted to put it down a single moment. Thank goodness a snow storm came along to lock me in the house with this story for a few days.
From the first book, the trilogy grew layering and deepening the mythology from the beginning of the first book which felt like a simple (albeit gorgeous) fairytale (that is right up until the end) to this finale full of rich details and history. It was all done effortlessly. Sometimes, in other high fantasy books, it can feel like the reader is trapped in pages of background reading before the story happens at all, but not here. The author builds it naturally into the story, so suddenly, I realized I could navigate Daevabad's complex politics and history with relative ease. That is until the next revelation shook up what I thought I knew. And wow, the way the history was unveiled made it increasingly hard to find the "right" side or make easy monsters of the antagonists. Even more so when Dara, one of the first people we meet and love in the whole series stands on wrong side of every story.
The author writes about grief, love, faith, forgiveness, and loyalty so beautifully and respectfully. The pain is wrenching and my heart hurts. The bonds are forged here. The characters through tragedy and bloodshed realize what is truly important to them. What they would kill and die for.
Some of my favorite moments that will stick with me.
-Ali finding himself in prayer and grief beside humans worshipping in Egypt taking comfort from reaching out to the same creator.
-Dara talking about death and the afterlife with his grieving enemy.
-Ali and Nahri finding space to be themselves and trust each other with their pain and fear.
-Nahri performing surgery on Ali's heart with barely any magic after confessing their love for each other.
-Family learning to love and accept each other. “You’re not the only one who’s had to pretend to be different while people with power insult the parts of you you never get to wear openly. I wish that you had trusted me, but more than that, I wish I had behaved in a way that would have encouraged you to trust me.” Jamshid
-Jamshid kissing Muntadhir's fingers in the midst of his panic attack reminding him that Muntadhir woke him this way after Jamshid was shot "You said you were so afraid of hurting me that you knew not where else to touch".
-At the release of Manizeh's command, Dara transforming from the fearsome Afshin of legend into a broken and desperate man falling to his knees to beg forgiveness for the things he has done and pleading with Nahri to surrender so that he will not have to hurt her or watch her die.
-Ali sharing space and history with his Marid grandfather making the Marid no longer monsters, but another of the incredibly complex beings that share the magical world.
BUT all the characters are sassy as hell. It's so funny to hear them teasing each other or pulling one over on a powerful elder. Even Ali has grown a true sense of humor probably learning it from all his time with Nahri. Charkraborty knows exactly when to give us this little taste of laughter and love.
“ An excellent omen. Just really promising all around."
"Alizayd isn't dead...I made him swear it. And I think he's afraid of me."
Swoon. Sob. Laugh. Sob and sob some more. I am undone by the finale to the Daevabad trilogy. I care so much about these beautiful, terrible, broken Djinn. The writing conveys a depth of emotion that is impossible not to feel myself alongside the characters.
This book is so long (nearly 30 hours in audiobook), and it is a testament to Chakraborty's storytelling that I never wanted to put it down a single moment. Thank goodness a snow storm came along to lock me in the house with this story for a few days.
From the first book, the trilogy grew layering and deepening the mythology from the beginning of the first book which felt like a simple (albeit gorgeous) fairytale (that is right up until the end) to this finale full of rich details and history. It was all done effortlessly. Sometimes, in other high fantasy books, it can feel like the reader is trapped in pages of background reading before the story happens at all, but not here. The author builds it naturally into the story, so suddenly, I realized I could navigate Daevabad's complex politics and history with relative ease. That is until the next revelation shook up what I thought I knew. And wow, the way the history was unveiled made it increasingly hard to find the "right" side or make easy monsters of the antagonists. Even more so when Dara, one of the first people we meet and love in the whole series stands on wrong side of every story.
The author writes about grief, love, faith, forgiveness, and loyalty so beautifully and respectfully. The pain is wrenching and my heart hurts. The bonds are forged here. The characters through tragedy and bloodshed realize what is truly important to them. What they would kill and die for.
Some of my favorite moments that will stick with me.
-Ali finding himself in prayer and grief beside humans worshipping in Egypt taking comfort from reaching out to the same creator.
-Dara talking about death and the afterlife with his grieving enemy.
-Ali and Nahri finding space to be themselves and trust each other with their pain and fear.
-
-Family learning to love and accept each other.
-
-
-
BUT all the characters are sassy as hell. It's so funny to hear them teasing each other or pulling one over on a powerful elder. Even Ali has grown a true sense of humor probably learning it from all his time with Nahri. Charkraborty knows exactly when to give us this little taste of laughter and love.
“ An excellent omen. Just really promising all around."
"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Genocide, Medical content, Murder, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
bookish_otaku's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
5/5 stars
Could there have been a better ending to an amazing trilogy? I really don’t think so.
I think I’d have to say the thing I loved most, that really stuck out to me about this entire series, was the writing of Dara’s character. He’s so incredibly flawed and morally grey and suffers so much, but the way he was written to trigger the deepest emotions (whether they be anger or sorrow) a human is capable of feeling was masterfully done. Sometimes I hated him, and then other times I found my heart deeply aching for him, and the sheer range shows just what a well written character he is. He is also so wonderful for reminding us that there is always more than one side to a story, and that sometimes people believe terrible things because if they stopped believing them, then they couldn’t live with themselves.
This is a topic I think Chakraborty did an immensely wonderful job addressing. What Dara did is inexcusable, and she faces that head on. He has done horrible things, but she offers this path to redemption, a way to be productive instead of wallowing over all that has happened and cannot be changed. It’s a tough topic, and she does it amazingly. Her writing of Manizheh is similar and one of a tragedy, although we see what happens as a result of her terrible life. It’s awful and gut wrenching and unforgivable, but it also makes us chew on that bitter fact that no one person is entirely to blame, and that peace can only come from ending the horrible chain of revenge and blame.
More on the topic of book writing, I loved what she did with the world-building, expanding it even into the final installation of her trilogy. It leaves endless possibility for other works and gives that sense of hope that even though this story is completed, it’s never really over.
I’m sure I’ve talked about this in my other reviews, but it warrants being repeated, Nahri as a strong female lead. So many times, “strong female lead” is thrown around to attract readers when really it’s some chic who’s conventionally hot (generally to white people might I add) who refuses to listen to others because she’s too “independent” for that, even when they give sound advice, and who tends to have a streak for violence or trying to break rules. Nahri broke rules, but not in the “I have to prove my independence as a strong female lead so I’m going to break some rules for the sake of breaking rules.” No, she broke rules with a purpose and a message. She also broke the rule that apparently, “strong” female leads require a desire for violence.
I’m so in love with her being a healer, finding strength in helping others and listening to what they need. Sometimes she gets pushed around by men, but she does it with a resistance, and in a way where it’s like she is the one in control. She knows how to pick and choose her battles, a message that’s so vital in this trilogy. She uses her wits, not her brawn, to win not the battle, but the war. She also becomes stronger, not by hiding her feelings, but by learning to slowly open up after having been repeatedly taught by the world that everything she wants will be taken from her. She is beaten again and again, but she gets back up on her own, she doesn’t need a man to help her. But of course, if she does need help, it will be from a friend first, not a man. (By this I mean she won’t care if they’re a man or not because she isn’t so focused on her impression of being strong.) If this isn’t true strength, then my goodness I don’t know what is.
I can’t say that the plot twists weren’t entirely unexpected. There were some parts where I was like “Oh :O” but nothing earth shattering. Where this trilogy really stands strong is in its characters and the emotional impact they have and the hard lessons they must learn alongside us. It’s for this that I find this series truly invaluable to read and hope that anyone and everyone who enjoys living, read these books.
For the modern day reader who is truing to diversify their bookshelves, also a great read. But it’s mostly for the above that this trilogy shines so far above many others.
Could there have been a better ending to an amazing trilogy? I really don’t think so.
I think I’d have to say the thing I loved most, that really stuck out to me about this entire series, was the writing of Dara’s character. He’s so incredibly flawed and morally grey and suffers so much, but the way he was written to trigger the deepest emotions (whether they be anger or sorrow) a human is capable of feeling was masterfully done. Sometimes I hated him, and then other times I found my heart deeply aching for him, and the sheer range shows just what a well written character he is. He is also so wonderful for reminding us that there is always more than one side to a story, and that sometimes people believe terrible things because if they stopped believing them, then they couldn’t live with themselves.
This is a topic I think Chakraborty did an immensely wonderful job addressing. What Dara did is inexcusable, and she faces that head on. He has done horrible things, but she offers this path to redemption, a way to be productive instead of wallowing over all that has happened and cannot be changed. It’s a tough topic, and she does it amazingly. Her writing of Manizheh is similar and one of a tragedy, although we see what happens as a result of her terrible life. It’s awful and gut wrenching and unforgivable, but it also makes us chew on that bitter fact that no one person is entirely to blame, and that peace can only come from ending the horrible chain of revenge and blame.
More on the topic of book writing, I loved what she did with the world-building, expanding it even into the final installation of her trilogy. It leaves endless possibility for other works and gives that sense of hope that even though this story is completed, it’s never really over.
I’m sure I’ve talked about this in my other reviews, but it warrants being repeated, Nahri as a strong female lead. So many times, “strong female lead” is thrown around to attract readers when really it’s some chic who’s conventionally hot (generally to white people might I add) who refuses to listen to others because she’s too “independent” for that, even when they give sound advice, and who tends to have a streak for violence or trying to break rules. Nahri broke rules, but not in the “I have to prove my independence as a strong female lead so I’m going to break some rules for the sake of breaking rules.” No, she broke rules with a purpose and a message. She also broke the rule that apparently, “strong” female leads require a desire for violence.
I’m so in love with her being a healer, finding strength in helping others and listening to what they need. Sometimes she gets pushed around by men, but she does it with a resistance, and in a way where it’s like she is the one in control. She knows how to pick and choose her battles, a message that’s so vital in this trilogy. She uses her wits, not her brawn, to win not the battle, but the war. She also becomes stronger, not by hiding her feelings, but by learning to slowly open up after having been repeatedly taught by the world that everything she wants will be taken from her. She is beaten again and again, but she gets back up on her own, she doesn’t need a man to help her. But of course, if she does need help, it will be from a friend first, not a man. (By this I mean she won’t care if they’re a man or not because she isn’t so focused on her impression of being strong.) If this isn’t true strength, then my goodness I don’t know what is.
I can’t say that the plot twists weren’t entirely unexpected. There were some parts where I was like “Oh :O” but nothing earth shattering. Where this trilogy really stands strong is in its characters and the emotional impact they have and the hard lessons they must learn alongside us. It’s for this that I find this series truly invaluable to read and hope that anyone and everyone who enjoys living, read these books.
For the modern day reader who is truing to diversify their bookshelves, also a great read. But it’s mostly for the above that this trilogy shines so far above many others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Confinement
Moderate: Genocide
ltrueblood's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Sexual violence, Violence, and Gun violence
noelanig's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Genocide, Medical trauma, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery
azrah786's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
3.0
[This full review can also be found on my BLOG]
Back in March my 4 star rating spoke for itself, I had some issues with this book. I’ve been sat on my feelings for a good 5 months now and it hurt but I couldn’t help but knock off another star. It’s taken some time for me to finally finish putting my thoughts into words but I figured if I say my piece I can put this all behind me and not have all these feelings festering in the back of my mind.
I would like to start off by saying a (belated) MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Harper Voyager UK and Netgalley for granting my wish and giving me the opportunity to read The Empire of Gold early.
From the first time I heard about the Daevabad books I had a feeling they would mean something special to me, but I never expected them to wedge themselves SO DEEPLY into my heart. This (not so) little trilogy has very much taken over my heart and soul over the last year and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships through these books, so of course The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated release of the year! And let me just say what a finale, trust me when I say this book will have you feeling EVERY POSSIBLE emotion ever.
Shannon’s writing and storytelling is as magical as ever. In this final instalment we get to explore more about various aspects of this world that were only touched on before – venturing outside of Daevabad, meeting some new faces that give a bigger insight into the history and lore of the world, and some long asked questions are finally answered. Though I think I’ve made it obvious that this book was not my favourite.
[Please be aware that from here onwards this is probably spoiler territory. And apologies if this is more of a ramble than a review.]
My biggest issue whilst reading was the fact that I actually S T R U G G L E D to get through the first chunk of the book. And by chunk I mean more than half of it because part 2 is SO LONG that I forgot the book was actually written in parts lmao.
This came down to two major things.
1 - A certain “romance”
I have come to learn that romance can either make or break a book for me a lot of the time, and this time it was the latter..
Throughout this series I have personally read the relationship between Nahri and Ali as a platonic one, (Ali’s little crush aside.) That bffs borderline siblings vibe relationship.
Now during a period where he is mourning his brother, Ali 2 seconds later would be ogling at that same brother’s wife/widow – I’m sorry but doesn’t that sound messed up!?!?!? Furthermore, his devoutness has been such a large part of his character throughout the series yet he was constantly lusting over Nahri in this book – and I mean almost every other page – and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
And with Nahri, up until this point I’ve never read any of her actions to show that she reciprocated feelings like this for him. To me this honestly came out of nowhere and there were times when she was really acting out of character. Hence the romance felt forced and felt like a way to squeeze that one “oh look one of us is going to die so we like need to get together NOW before that happens lol” trope in.
I felt like this was such a disservice to both of their characters and I was just really disappointed.
What pissed me off the most though was - did we really need Nahri, my strong fierce independent woman who don’t need no man, getting tied up in ANOTHER romantic entanglement? Especially when there were more pressing things happening which deserved more page time!!??? (More on this in a moment.)
Just ONCE I was hoping for a well developed friendship to stay that way and not get boxed in by romance, but no.
2 - Not enough of the book was focused in Daevabad where the MAJOR PLOT was actually happening!!!
Now I understand Shannon’s decision to keep the 3 original POVs but there definitely should have been a better balance. 2/3 of the book takes place outside of Daevabad – the city where the world has literally gone to shit, where most of the secondary characters are and where the primary storyline is taking place!!!!
Yes okay, there were altercations with pirates and the Ifrit and the Marid in Ali's and Nahri’s chapters, which was when the story got a little exciting on their side, but double chapters of just gallivanting down the Nile felt like a waste of page time. I mean where did all the Marid stuff actually help in that final showdown!?!??
I was way more interested in what was happening in Daevabad so was eagerly awaiting the next Dara chapter. It felt like SO MUCH was going on there and I just wish we’d gotten another perspective (Muntadhir’s or ZAYNAB’S!!) so we could have seen more. It would have helped balance the narrative out a little.
Dara’s chapters also started getting darker which added to the imbalance because they were so jarringly different to the other two POVs, and they also got physically harder and more painful to read which didn’t help with my struggle. If I didn’t have friends who’d already read the book urging me to continue I probably would have just dropped it.
This blog post written by a friend voices a lot of my other thoughts if you want to check it out, but these were my initial concerns.
The last 20-25% kind of saved the book for me. The emotions I felt reading Part 3 in particular are unmatched to anything I’ve ever read before. And one of the biggest strengths of this book was definitely Dara’s arc. However, the more time I have to think about this book the more lacklustre this conclusion seems.
Don’t get me wrong there were some wonderful scenes and quotes in this book, many that I will treasure in my heart forever. I was very much SOBBING near the end and this series will always be special to me.
It’s just that like a couple of people have pointed out, as a whole it feels as though Shannon was trying to please everyone with this finale which in my eyes was its downfall.
Back in March my 4 star rating spoke for itself, I had some issues with this book. I’ve been sat on my feelings for a good 5 months now and it hurt but I couldn’t help but knock off another star. It’s taken some time for me to finally finish putting my thoughts into words but I figured if I say my piece I can put this all behind me and not have all these feelings festering in the back of my mind.
I would like to start off by saying a (belated) MASSIVE MASSIVE thank you to Harper Voyager UK and Netgalley for granting my wish and giving me the opportunity to read The Empire of Gold early.
From the first time I heard about the Daevabad books I had a feeling they would mean something special to me, but I never expected them to wedge themselves SO DEEPLY into my heart. This (not so) little trilogy has very much taken over my heart and soul over the last year and I’ve formed some wonderful friendships through these books, so of course The Empire of Gold was one of my most anticipated release of the year! And let me just say what a finale, trust me when I say this book will have you feeling EVERY POSSIBLE emotion ever.
Shannon’s writing and storytelling is as magical as ever. In this final instalment we get to explore more about various aspects of this world that were only touched on before – venturing outside of Daevabad, meeting some new faces that give a bigger insight into the history and lore of the world, and some long asked questions are finally answered. Though I think I’ve made it obvious that this book was not my favourite.
[Please be aware that from here onwards this is probably spoiler territory. And apologies if this is more of a ramble than a review.]
My biggest issue whilst reading was the fact that I actually S T R U G G L E D to get through the first chunk of the book. And by chunk I mean more than half of it because part 2 is SO LONG that I forgot the book was actually written in parts lmao.
This came down to two major things.
1 - A certain “romance”
I have come to learn that romance can either make or break a book for me a lot of the time, and this time it was the latter..
Throughout this series I have personally read the relationship between Nahri and Ali as a platonic one, (Ali’s little crush aside.) That bffs borderline siblings vibe relationship.
Now during a period where he is mourning his brother, Ali 2 seconds later would be ogling at that same brother’s wife/widow – I’m sorry but doesn’t that sound messed up!?!?!? Furthermore, his devoutness has been such a large part of his character throughout the series yet he was constantly lusting over Nahri in this book – and I mean almost every other page – and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
And with Nahri, up until this point I’ve never read any of her actions to show that she reciprocated feelings like this for him. To me this honestly came out of nowhere and there were times when she was really acting out of character. Hence the romance felt forced and felt like a way to squeeze that one “oh look one of us is going to die so we like need to get together NOW before that happens lol” trope in.
I felt like this was such a disservice to both of their characters and I was just really disappointed.
What pissed me off the most though was - did we really need Nahri, my strong fierce independent woman who don’t need no man, getting tied up in ANOTHER romantic entanglement? Especially when there were more pressing things happening which deserved more page time!!??? (More on this in a moment.)
Just ONCE I was hoping for a well developed friendship to stay that way and not get boxed in by romance, but no.
2 - Not enough of the book was focused in Daevabad where the MAJOR PLOT was actually happening!!!
Now I understand Shannon’s decision to keep the 3 original POVs but there definitely should have been a better balance. 2/3 of the book takes place outside of Daevabad – the city where the world has literally gone to shit, where most of the secondary characters are and where the primary storyline is taking place!!!!
Yes okay, there were altercations with pirates and the Ifrit and the Marid in Ali's and Nahri’s chapters, which was when the story got a little exciting on their side, but double chapters of just gallivanting down the Nile felt like a waste of page time. I mean where did all the Marid stuff actually help in that final showdown!?!??
I was way more interested in what was happening in Daevabad so was eagerly awaiting the next Dara chapter. It felt like SO MUCH was going on there and I just wish we’d gotten another perspective (Muntadhir’s or ZAYNAB’S!!) so we could have seen more. It would have helped balance the narrative out a little.
Dara’s chapters also started getting darker which added to the imbalance because they were so jarringly different to the other two POVs, and they also got physically harder and more painful to read which didn’t help with my struggle. If I didn’t have friends who’d already read the book urging me to continue I probably would have just dropped it.
This blog post written by a friend voices a lot of my other thoughts if you want to check it out, but these were my initial concerns.
The last 20-25% kind of saved the book for me. The emotions I felt reading Part 3 in particular are unmatched to anything I’ve ever read before. And one of the biggest strengths of this book was definitely Dara’s arc. However, the more time I have to think about this book the more lacklustre this conclusion seems.
Don’t get me wrong there were some wonderful scenes and quotes in this book, many that I will treasure in my heart forever. I was very much SOBBING near the end and this series will always be special to me.
It’s just that like a couple of people have pointed out, as a whole it feels as though Shannon was trying to please everyone with this finale which in my eyes was its downfall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
More...