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booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
THE EMPIRE OF GOLD is a satisfying conclusion to the amazing Daevabad Trilogy, taking its time tying up everything and everyone with suitable endings, as much as is possible for conflicts that brewed for millennia.
Dara's character arc is particularly good, but there's much to love for Nahri and Ali as well. The pacing is excellent, the characters’ motivations are coherent even as events become bloodier, and I’m very satisfied with the ending. It's everything I loved about the first two, but with more catharsis and resolution since it's the final book in the trilogy. The longer page count let the story take how long it needed, with space for things to play out at a wonderful pace.
This wraps up a bunch of stuff left hanging from the previous book. There's a storyline that has most of its major elements here though it wasn't entirely new for this book. This is definitely a distinct phase of the larger story, with enough that's unique to it for it to stand out, but more than enough in common to be a great finale. The big things I can think of that get resolved here are working off of ground laid before, so nothing is wholly new but the way things are developed and complicated makes it feel fresh. As the last book, things are wrapped up very well. The characters get endings that are right for them and I like how things work out for Daevabad as a whole. A few things are left open, but it's the openness of possibility for the characters who made it to the end of the book. The main characters are the same and their narrative voices have stayed consistent, with some changes in how they think about certain events. This wouldn't make sense if someone started here and hadn't read the first books. There's enough story here that if someone persisted after the first few chapters they might have a good time, but a lot of what makes this so good is dependent on knowing what the characters and their city have been through, without that knowledge the resolutions wouldn't be as meaningful. If you're intrigued by book three, please go back to the beginning and read the whole trilogy.
I loved this and I'm sad there isn't more, but there's plenty to linger over.
Dara's character arc is particularly good, but there's much to love for Nahri and Ali as well. The pacing is excellent, the characters’ motivations are coherent even as events become bloodier, and I’m very satisfied with the ending. It's everything I loved about the first two, but with more catharsis and resolution since it's the final book in the trilogy. The longer page count let the story take how long it needed, with space for things to play out at a wonderful pace.
This wraps up a bunch of stuff left hanging from the previous book. There's a storyline that has most of its major elements here though it wasn't entirely new for this book. This is definitely a distinct phase of the larger story, with enough that's unique to it for it to stand out, but more than enough in common to be a great finale. The big things I can think of that get resolved here are working off of ground laid before, so nothing is wholly new but the way things are developed and complicated makes it feel fresh. As the last book, things are wrapped up very well. The characters get endings that are right for them and I like how things work out for Daevabad as a whole. A few things are left open, but it's the openness of possibility for the characters who made it to the end of the book. The main characters are the same and their narrative voices have stayed consistent, with some changes in how they think about certain events. This wouldn't make sense if someone started here and hadn't read the first books. There's enough story here that if someone persisted after the first few chapters they might have a good time, but a lot of what makes this so good is dependent on knowing what the characters and their city have been through, without that knowledge the resolutions wouldn't be as meaningful. If you're intrigued by book three, please go back to the beginning and read the whole trilogy.
I loved this and I'm sad there isn't more, but there's plenty to linger over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Slavery, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, Torture, Genocide, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, Colonisation, Excrement, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Kidnapping and Sexual content
CW for eye injury (graphic), major character death (graphic).achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
incredible
i will not stop talking about this to anyone who will listen
i wanted more zaynab but that's literally my only critique
the chosen name thing!
just. perfection.
i will not stop talking about this to anyone who will listen
i wanted more zaynab but that's literally my only critique
the chosen name thing!
just. perfection.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
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
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