A review by johns_library
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

adventurous lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A temporary peace between the different tribes of the Djinn world is now at risk due to the arrival of Nahri; a human who is believed to be the descendant of the last line of healers who are worshipped by the Daeva’s. She stumbles into the world as she accidentally summons Dara, an old Daeva slave who is the ancient enemy of the royal family of Daevabad. Nahri navigates her place in both worlds as she finds herself attempting to make peace between her love for Dara and a political alliance with Alizayd, the royal prince. Chakraborty creates a beautiful world, steeped in mythology and fantasy, as a beautiful setting for this trilogy. 

 

I really liked the world that Chakraborty created; the characters of Dara and Alizayd were interesting in that they came from both groups who believe themselves to be the oppressed. The political intrigue is what captured me the most as I could never decide which group I wanted to root for. The love triangle between Nahri and the two men were intresting, but I’m glad that it wasn’t the main focus of the story. In a world set with so much going on, I’m glad we got to see more of the social dynamics once the story had reached Daevabad. The only part that I would have wanted to see more of was further explanation on what Dara specifically is, there were many descriptions of what he is but it all seemed a bit scattered depending on who was telling the story, which left me even more confused as I did in the beginning.

 

Overall, a really good start to this trilogy. There are enough unanswered questions and the reveal in the epilogue is enough for me to get excited to pick up the next book.