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A review by literarypenguin
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
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
This book was one I have been curious about for a while and finally decided to pick it up and give it a try! I had heard so many things about this book and the series in general that I wanted to try reading it myself. I was glad that I did because this was one of the most interesting and richly built worlds I have ever read about in fantasy before! This book had a lot of things that I love in a fantasy series and had a mythology that I am very interested in reading about in books. Combine that with characters that I became more and more invested in as the book went on you have yourself a book that has become a new favorites series and has me eager to read the next book!
The writing to me flowed very naturally and not once did it feel info-dumpy or felt like it dragged on. The info about the Djinn tribes was delivered in very creative and clever ways and the elemental magic in the different tribes was so cool to see! It was also very atmospheric and applied to your senses making you feel like you were actually in Daevabad and all its various districts. The character development was on point and the world-building was very well done. It has made my excitement to get to the next book go up! At times it felt like I was watching a game of chess at play and I couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen next! The ending left me with many questions yet to be answered and some questions were answered in great ways!
In this book, we meet Nahri, A con artist in the street of Cairo. Nahri knows her way around Cairo and makes her living off a sleight of hand whether it’s palm readings, Zars, or healings she takes every opportunity to swindle the nobility of Cairo. One day she unknowingly summons a Djinn Warrior who is just as cunning as she is and is bound to her in ways she doesn’t yet understand. He tells Nahri of a place called Daevabad, a magical land home to A City of Brass. Dara also tells her of the magic in her blood as a Shafit and that she belongs in Daevabad where she will be safer than living in the streets of Cairo. This leads them on a journey to Daevabad where many threats and perils await them. We get court politics, Nahri training with her newfound magical abilities, and oppression. This book is a story of people who are being oppressed by the nobility for having something that is out of their control and even some of their people are losing their lives over it. It’s also about old tensions and how they can last for decades and cause more trouble the longer they last.
In the City Of Brass, we get a diverse cast of characters from different backgrounds. There are no purely good or purely bad characters in this book. I would say they all are in the morally grey area. Everyone has their agenda and even those looking out for the underprivileged will cross a line and do things they normally wouldn’t for the greater good. Nahri as an Mc was street smart and savvy and knew what she wanted for herself. At times the pressure put upon her was so much and I loved seeing her character growth when she realized her skills learned from the streets is exactly what she needed to survive in Daevabad. Dara is a complex character and I was honestly spilt down the middle with him. On one hand, he had such a tragic history of being enslaved and loss that my heartfelt bad for him but he also has a history of prejudice against Shafit that has been instilled in him through years of bad history. Ali is the second-born son of the king and trained fighter and very devout. His role is to protect his brother who is next in line for the throne. He has a strong conscious and believes in right and wrong. It will be very interesting to see where he goes in the next book!
This book takes place in a magical city known as Daevabad, A city where magical beings known as Djinn reside along with humans mixed with Daeva blood known as Shafit. The world is so lush and vibrant and is one of the parts this book shines in! It takes you from the city of Cairo in Egypt to the vast deserts to the beautiful city of Daevabad. The worldbuilding is very well done and serves an important part of the story. No place in this book was too similar and every place felt different than the last! I loved the lore and the magic in this world, how all the elements had their group of people and those groups of people had their own beliefs and cultures.
One of the main themes in this book was oppression and prejudice. How prejudice can lead to oppression and lead to harsh laws restricting people and even costing people their lives! In Daevabad, old tensions and prejudices have lasted for decades and have caused the nobility to unfairly treat the oppressed differently than the rest of the people. This has led to people fighting back against these laws and causing civil unrest in the city. This book also lets you see both sides of this conflict and at times you can sympathize with both. No person in this book is good or bad they are more on the neutral side of things.
In conclusion, this book was worth the read and very enjoyable right up until the very end where it leads off into the next book! Because of how much I enjoyed this book I want to read the second book and find out what happens next! I think this book can be for anyone and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
The writing to me flowed very naturally and not once did it feel info-dumpy or felt like it dragged on. The info about the Djinn tribes was delivered in very creative and clever ways and the elemental magic in the different tribes was so cool to see! It was also very atmospheric and applied to your senses making you feel like you were actually in Daevabad and all its various districts. The character development was on point and the world-building was very well done. It has made my excitement to get to the next book go up! At times it felt like I was watching a game of chess at play and I couldn’t anticipate what was going to happen next! The ending left me with many questions yet to be answered and some questions were answered in great ways!
In this book, we meet Nahri, A con artist in the street of Cairo. Nahri knows her way around Cairo and makes her living off a sleight of hand whether it’s palm readings, Zars, or healings she takes every opportunity to swindle the nobility of Cairo. One day she unknowingly summons a Djinn Warrior who is just as cunning as she is and is bound to her in ways she doesn’t yet understand. He tells Nahri of a place called Daevabad, a magical land home to A City of Brass. Dara also tells her of the magic in her blood as a Shafit and that she belongs in Daevabad where she will be safer than living in the streets of Cairo. This leads them on a journey to Daevabad where many threats and perils await them. We get court politics, Nahri training with her newfound magical abilities, and oppression. This book is a story of people who are being oppressed by the nobility for having something that is out of their control and even some of their people are losing their lives over it. It’s also about old tensions and how they can last for decades and cause more trouble the longer they last.
In the City Of Brass, we get a diverse cast of characters from different backgrounds. There are no purely good or purely bad characters in this book. I would say they all are in the morally grey area. Everyone has their agenda and even those looking out for the underprivileged will cross a line and do things they normally wouldn’t for the greater good. Nahri as an Mc was street smart and savvy and knew what she wanted for herself. At times the pressure put upon her was so much and I loved seeing her character growth when she realized her skills learned from the streets is exactly what she needed to survive in Daevabad. Dara is a complex character and I was honestly spilt down the middle with him. On one hand, he had such a tragic history of being enslaved and loss that my heartfelt bad for him but he also has a history of prejudice against Shafit that has been instilled in him through years of bad history. Ali is the second-born son of the king and trained fighter and very devout. His role is to protect his brother who is next in line for the throne. He has a strong conscious and believes in right and wrong. It will be very interesting to see where he goes in the next book!
This book takes place in a magical city known as Daevabad, A city where magical beings known as Djinn reside along with humans mixed with Daeva blood known as Shafit. The world is so lush and vibrant and is one of the parts this book shines in! It takes you from the city of Cairo in Egypt to the vast deserts to the beautiful city of Daevabad. The worldbuilding is very well done and serves an important part of the story. No place in this book was too similar and every place felt different than the last! I loved the lore and the magic in this world, how all the elements had their group of people and those groups of people had their own beliefs and cultures.
One of the main themes in this book was oppression and prejudice. How prejudice can lead to oppression and lead to harsh laws restricting people and even costing people their lives! In Daevabad, old tensions and prejudices have lasted for decades and have caused the nobility to unfairly treat the oppressed differently than the rest of the people. This has led to people fighting back against these laws and causing civil unrest in the city. This book also lets you see both sides of this conflict and at times you can sympathize with both. No person in this book is good or bad they are more on the neutral side of things.
In conclusion, this book was worth the read and very enjoyable right up until the very end where it leads off into the next book! Because of how much I enjoyed this book I want to read the second book and find out what happens next! I think this book can be for anyone and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery and War
Minor: Rape