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A review by dashie
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
5.0
The City of Brass is one of those lushly complete examples of worldbuilding, where it sort of drags you down like quicksand and completely immerses you with its rich descriptions of food, culture, ethnicity and religion; a complete circle, which I absolutely appreciate as a long term fantasy fan.
It also delivered as the first book in a trilogy by introducing the world and the main players, and giving us enough to know them by but at the same time leaving that looming cloud of "death, death and destruction" in the near future so you know, you got to go out there and preorder Book 2!
I felt like, after a day or so of ruminating, that the characters themselves were overshadowed by the sheer awesomeness of the setting. That said, Nahri remains one of my favourite female characters of recent memory because she's rather assertive, cunning and literally negotiates her own price! She's also the perfect kind of POV you want to get behind because she's so curious, so she'll go looking for answers which means, we the readers get to hear them as well. I also enjoyed the relationship she had with the boys, nay the djinn, at the beginning with Dara and at the latter part with Ali.
Which brings me to Ali; religious, staid and proper, he annoyed me at the beginning because he was soooooo passive. Things are happening to you boy! Do something! But he didn't, he just went aimlessly about letting his brother, his sister, his father, his enemies lead him from point A to point B and he never even questioned it. Such a Mary Sue - is that the phrase? While he did turn out a little better towards the end, the bottom line was that he frustrated me.
Speaking of frustrations, Dara, swoon-worthy Dara; while maybe not the best man to have on your side, is the kind of man you don't want fighting against you. I loved that Chakraborty actually gave him the sort of personality you'd expect in an ancient and fearsome warrior; because let's face it, when met with the naive and young protagonist 100 years your junior, how many ancient vampires or powerful dark wizards suddenly became normal boys? Not realistic, Margaret! But I'm glad the story went that way.
My only qualm was with the turning point that led up to the climax and ending. It was extremely out of character for both Ali and Dara to react the way they did in the infirmary. There was no build up leading to it. I felt like they overreacted. In that moment only, I was pushed out of the narrative and was suddenly looking at it from a writer's POV and thinking, "They had to react so violently so the next chain of events could happen." Which, well, 😑
Despite it all, I am dazzled by Chakraborty's sweet fried delicacies oozing honey kind of writing and I will preorder Kingdom of Copper as soon as the matching UK cover exists! 4.9/5 ⭐
It also delivered as the first book in a trilogy by introducing the world and the main players, and giving us enough to know them by but at the same time leaving that looming cloud of "death, death and destruction" in the near future so you know, you got to go out there and preorder Book 2!
I felt like, after a day or so of ruminating, that the characters themselves were overshadowed by the sheer awesomeness of the setting. That said, Nahri remains one of my favourite female characters of recent memory because she's rather assertive, cunning and literally negotiates her own
Spoiler
brideWhich brings me to Ali; religious, staid and proper, he annoyed me at the beginning because he was soooooo passive. Things are happening to you boy! Do something! But he didn't, he just went aimlessly about letting his brother, his sister, his father, his enemies lead him from point A to point B and he never even questioned it. Such a Mary Sue - is that the phrase? While he did turn out a little better towards the end, the bottom line was that he frustrated me.
Speaking of frustrations, Dara, swoon-worthy Dara; while maybe not the best man to have on your side, is the kind of man you don't want fighting against you. I loved that Chakraborty actually gave him the sort of personality you'd expect in an ancient and fearsome warrior; because let's face it, when met with the naive and young protagonist 100 years your junior, how many ancient vampires or powerful dark wizards suddenly became normal boys? Not realistic, Margaret!
Spoiler
Which is why Dara's breakdown at the climax makes actual sense, because he's from another era. He's done and seen things little Ali and Nahri would never even imagine. So obviously his priorities and the way he does things may come across as outlandish. I did fear for Nahri's life and well I don't ship them anymore.My only qualm was with the turning point that led up to the climax and ending. It was extremely out of character for both Ali and Dara to react the way they did in the infirmary. There was no build up leading to it. I felt like they overreacted. In that moment only, I was pushed out of the narrative and was suddenly looking at it from a writer's POV and thinking, "They had to react so violently so the next chain of events could happen." Which, well, 😑
Despite it all, I am dazzled by Chakraborty's sweet fried delicacies oozing honey kind of writing and I will preorder Kingdom of Copper as soon as the matching UK cover exists! 4.9/5 ⭐