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A review by wandering_not_lost
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
I nearly gave up on this book a few times, but each time I then got caught up in a great scene or three and realized that no, actually, I was really invested in the characters and wanted to know what was going to happen next.
The book does sag a bit in the middle, since after Nahri and Dara's action-filled meeting and subsequent race to Daevabad, the machinations of the city itself take over, and it feels a bit more like a standard "special young person must learn to use their Special Powers while outmaneuvering the Mean People who don't like them" story. I feel like the politics itself is reasonably and entertainingly done - I can understand why everyone is doing what they're doing, and there are multiple factions in the city who all have legitimate grievances against each other. Nahri's being caught in the middle and constantly unsure of what her best move is is also understandable, because she ALSO has no idea what's going on, and the people who are her best "allies" constantly are hiding things from her to try to manipulate her.
This sort of politics-laden story can easily tick me off either due to a too reckless or too naive protagonist bumbling about, or to the other characters' motivations and goals not being convincingly drawn or paced. In the end, Nahri's character pulled me through, as she gets fairly screwed over from all sides, but doesn't make any boneheaded mistakes herself. Honestly, by the end of the book I was determined to read the next book just in the hope of seeing her get some payback for the wrongs done to her.
The book does sag a bit in the middle, since after Nahri and Dara's action-filled meeting and subsequent race to Daevabad, the machinations of the city itself take over, and it feels a bit more like a standard "special young person must learn to use their Special Powers while outmaneuvering the Mean People who don't like them" story. I feel like the politics itself is reasonably and entertainingly done - I can understand why everyone is doing what they're doing, and there are multiple factions in the city who all have legitimate grievances against each other. Nahri's being caught in the middle and constantly unsure of what her best move is is also understandable, because she ALSO has no idea what's going on, and the people who are her best "allies" constantly are hiding things from her to try to manipulate her.
This sort of politics-laden story can easily tick me off either due to a too reckless or too naive protagonist bumbling about, or to the other characters' motivations and goals not being convincingly drawn or paced. In the end, Nahri's character pulled me through, as she gets fairly screwed over from all sides, but doesn't make any boneheaded mistakes herself. Honestly, by the end of the book I was determined to read the next book just in the hope of seeing her get some payback for the wrongs done to her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault