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tani 's review for:
The Empire of Gold
by S.A. Chakraborty
After the explosive ending to book 2, The Empire of Gold picks up right where The Kingdom of Copper left off. I expected that this book would be a non-stop bit of action, but the first section of the book is actually quite slow. Nahri and Ali have to face a lot of choices: whether they should truly trust each other, whether they should continue to fight, and if they do fight, just how they should go about it. There's a lot of emotional development in this first section, which I appreciated, and although this section was slower, I think it was very important to the overall arc of the story. Nahri, in particular, needed to find answers to these questions, and I'm glad that this book took the time and space to do that.
I will admit, though, I enjoyed the second half of the book much more. In fact, I'll tell you a secret. I sat down and read more than half of the book yesterday. With it clocking in at over 750 pages, I'd say that's a decent accomplishment. But honestly, I enjoyed every minute of it! It felt like there was always something deeply important happening, and despite the length, I never felt like there was a tremendous lull once the book found its action. That's definitely an accomplishment, especially for a relatively new author, just finishing off her first trilogy.
Like the previous book, this book alternates between Nahri, Ali, and Dara for perspectives, but while the second book felt more like a Nahri book still, this one felt truly like everyone had equal time and space to grow. Each character is faced with tough choices and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I'm not always a fan of alternating viewpoints like this, since there's usually a stand-out POV that I care about most, but I was really drawn in by it in this case. Each character had a lot going on, and I didn't begrudge the time I spent with any of them.
In some ways, I actually think the Dara POV was the most compelling for me. I wasn't very fond of him in the first book, and I spent a lot of the second book wanting to bang my head against the wall because I was frustrated with him. But in this book, I felt like he came into his own. He finally starts to see and acknowledge reality and really question his path. We also get a lot more information on his past and how he became the Scourge of Qui-zi, which I really appreciated. I had always struggled with that part of his character. In the abstract, it's hard to imagine any sympathetic character doing such a thing, but I was really satisfied with the treatment it got in this book. It doesn't explain it away, but it does acknowledge how such a thing could happen, and it made him a much stronger character for me.
Which is not to say that Nahri and Ali don't shine as well. Nahri still faces struggles with her past and with her difficulty in trusting others. However, I would actually say she grows the least here. The Kingdom of Copper was very deeply her book to me, and this is just a minor continuation of the growth she started there. Instead, she shows her strength and determination, which are both very strong indeed. As far as Ali, we learn so much about his connection with the marid, and I loved how that deepened the world, as well as challenging Ali to learn and grow. Like Dara, Ali also gets confronted with some of his prejudices, and I loved how he was able to rise to the challenge and become a much stronger leader and person. Of course, Ali has been my favorite character from the start, so I'm probably a bit biased.
I think the only thing that could make this series better for me is to have just a few follow-up novellas.
This was a series that I started on a whim, not expecting much, but it's most certainly been one of my favorites in recent years. I have deeply enjoyed my time with these characters, and I'm looking forward with great anticipation to anything that S.A. Chakraborty writes in the future.
I will admit, though, I enjoyed the second half of the book much more. In fact, I'll tell you a secret. I sat down and read more than half of the book yesterday. With it clocking in at over 750 pages, I'd say that's a decent accomplishment. But honestly, I enjoyed every minute of it! It felt like there was always something deeply important happening, and despite the length, I never felt like there was a tremendous lull once the book found its action. That's definitely an accomplishment, especially for a relatively new author, just finishing off her first trilogy.
Like the previous book, this book alternates between Nahri, Ali, and Dara for perspectives, but while the second book felt more like a Nahri book still, this one felt truly like everyone had equal time and space to grow. Each character is faced with tough choices and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. I'm not always a fan of alternating viewpoints like this, since there's usually a stand-out POV that I care about most, but I was really drawn in by it in this case. Each character had a lot going on, and I didn't begrudge the time I spent with any of them.
In some ways, I actually think the Dara POV was the most compelling for me. I wasn't very fond of him in the first book, and I spent a lot of the second book wanting to bang my head against the wall because I was frustrated with him. But in this book, I felt like he came into his own. He finally starts to see and acknowledge reality and really question his path. We also get a lot more information on his past and how he became the Scourge of Qui-zi, which I really appreciated. I had always struggled with that part of his character. In the abstract, it's hard to imagine any sympathetic character doing such a thing, but I was really satisfied with the treatment it got in this book. It doesn't explain it away, but it does acknowledge how such a thing could happen, and it made him a much stronger character for me.
Which is not to say that Nahri and Ali don't shine as well. Nahri still faces struggles with her past and with her difficulty in trusting others. However, I would actually say she grows the least here. The Kingdom of Copper was very deeply her book to me, and this is just a minor continuation of the growth she started there. Instead, she shows her strength and determination, which are both very strong indeed. As far as Ali, we learn so much about his connection with the marid, and I loved how that deepened the world, as well as challenging Ali to learn and grow. Like Dara, Ali also gets confronted with some of his prejudices, and I loved how he was able to rise to the challenge and become a much stronger leader and person. Of course, Ali has been my favorite character from the start, so I'm probably a bit biased.
I think the only thing that could make this series better for me is to have just a few follow-up novellas.
Spoiler
I ended the book yearning for the tale of Zaynab and Aqisa's travels, for some of Dara's journey to find the slave vessels, for some outtakes from the beautiful life that Ali and Nahri seemed to be set to build together (and maybe a steamy wedding night as well).This was a series that I started on a whim, not expecting much, but it's most certainly been one of my favorites in recent years. I have deeply enjoyed my time with these characters, and I'm looking forward with great anticipation to anything that S.A. Chakraborty writes in the future.