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A review by wouterk
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
3.0
A fun and interesting story about Nahri who enters the mysterious world of Djinn, Ifrit, Deva and many more creatures grounded in middle eastern mythology. The story is set in our world, as the story starts in Caïro but soon moves to the desert and mythical places.
I feel Chakraborty created a really unique world with an interesting soft magic system based in mythology. The plotline is very interesting with both the political intrigue in Daevabad (the city of Brass) and the mysteries in Nahri's history and the history of the Deva and how they intertwine. The characters are generally well written but I can see that it is also aimed at a YA audience. I would not say the characters lack depth but they can be somewhat one-dimensional in their goals and considerations. That being said, I think the book is very fun and interesting for adults like myself as well. It delves into themes such as heritage, multiculturalism, discrimination and inequality.
I think generally that Chakraborty's writing style has much to offer. One thing that did get to me after a while, was the amount of times that some expression did not quite meet the eyes (although as the book progresses this did lessen a bit).
Another thing that I found personally annoying was in the dynamic between Nahri and some of the men. Given that the audience is also YA, I don't see the need to already condition them into a silly line of reasoning that it is never the girls/woman's fault and it is always the man who is inconsiderate. She is constantly only arguing about her future and situation with the different men around her. Especially when the arguments focus only on her well-being I'd say she could be less reactive and pointlessly blaming....ah well. It is understandable and probably realistic for a young person being swept from her normal life to go into arguments like that. But I personally did not think it was contributing to empowering the girl as the autonomous protagonist I think was aimed for in this book. Actually, thinking back, I think Dara was not an inch better at navigating feelings and arguments even though he is centuries older than Nahri and Ali. Who knows in the second book, which I will definitely watch.
I feel Chakraborty created a really unique world with an interesting soft magic system based in mythology. The plotline is very interesting with both the political intrigue in Daevabad (the city of Brass) and the mysteries in Nahri's history and the history of the Deva and how they intertwine. The characters are generally well written but I can see that it is also aimed at a YA audience. I would not say the characters lack depth but they can be somewhat one-dimensional in their goals and considerations. That being said, I think the book is very fun and interesting for adults like myself as well. It delves into themes such as heritage, multiculturalism, discrimination and inequality.
I think generally that Chakraborty's writing style has much to offer. One thing that did get to me after a while, was the amount of times that some expression did not quite meet the eyes (although as the book progresses this did lessen a bit).
Another thing that I found personally annoying was in the dynamic between Nahri and some of the men. Given that the audience is also YA, I don't see the need to already condition them into a silly line of reasoning that it is never the girls/woman's fault and it is always the man who is inconsiderate. She is constantly only arguing about her future and situation with the different men around her. Especially when the arguments focus only on her well-being I'd say she could be less reactive and pointlessly blaming....ah well. It is understandable and probably realistic for a young person being swept from her normal life to go into arguments like that. But I personally did not think it was contributing to empowering the girl as the autonomous protagonist I think was aimed for in this book. Actually, thinking back, I think Dara was not an inch better at navigating feelings and arguments even though he is centuries older than Nahri and Ali. Who knows in the second book, which I will definitely watch.