"Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty--an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by--palm readings, zars, healings--are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. For the warrior tells her an extraordinary …
"Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty--an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by--palm readings, zars, healings--are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. For the warrior tells her an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling birds of prey are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass--a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. A young prince dreams of rebellion. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences. After all, there is a reason they say to be careful what you wish for"--
"A brilliantly imagined historical fantasy in which a young con artist in eighteenth century Cairo discovers she's the last descendant of a powerful family of djinn healers. With the help of an outcast immortal warrior and a rebellious prince, she must claim her magical birthright in order to prevent a war that threatens to destroy the entire djinn kingdom. Perfect for fans of The Grace of Kings, The Golem and the Jinni, and The Queen of the Tearling"--
Although the premise is fascinating, the narrative gets bogged down in a rather arbitrary (and massively age-gapped) romance, as well as some extremely inconsistent characterization for the protagonist. One minute, she's a bold and daring street hustler, the next she's suddenly gullible and helpless, and the next she is inexplicably head-over-heals for a man she hardly knows.
I had really high hopes for this book, but was ultimately pretty disappointed. It feels like there is a really good book in here, but a few darlings needed to be killed (like that romance), and the characterizations needed to be cleaned up.
That said, the world building is pretty interesting, and it kept me reading to the end.
ich mag die welt und die magischen wesen. besonders gut finde ich, wie dargestellt wird dass alle meinen das richtige zu tun, aber ihre vorurteile ihnen die sicht verstellen. leider langweilen mich der plot und der schreibstil. hab es bis zum ende durchgehalten, aber ich werde das zweite buch sicher nicht lesen.
Not really bad in the normal sense, it's well written. The start had me gripped. But then... nothing happened? No one had goals, it was just lots of people doing things. Like following around NPCs in Oblivion, like its cool and all but I'm here to get an escape from my life. And then at the end, it felt like Chakraborty realized nothing was happening and decided to go balls to the wall and have EVERYTHING happen.
Almost DID NOT COMPLETE - very close to dropping it and seeing what happened on wikipedia. But I kept going, and I'm not going to be one to say I'm glad I did, because tbh I'm not. I'm not attached to any of the characters, and tbf I forget their names and I literally just finished it less than 15min ago. I know there's Nahri, Ali, and Dara I …
daevaBAD cause its BAD
Not really bad in the normal sense, it's well written. The start had me gripped. But then... nothing happened? No one had goals, it was just lots of people doing things. Like following around NPCs in Oblivion, like its cool and all but I'm here to get an escape from my life. And then at the end, it felt like Chakraborty realized nothing was happening and decided to go balls to the wall and have EVERYTHING happen.
Almost DID NOT COMPLETE - very close to dropping it and seeing what happened on wikipedia. But I kept going, and I'm not going to be one to say I'm glad I did, because tbh I'm not. I'm not attached to any of the characters, and tbf I forget their names and I literally just finished it less than 15min ago. I know there's Nahri, Ali, and Dara I think. Here's my issues:
Nahri - cool af at the beginning, but then she's too much of a 'omg I love this tall dark handsome brooding guy???' Ali - one note, daddy's boy who finds out the world is gray but doesnt do much. Literally zero growth in the whole book. Dara - hot guy. then the end happens and ???? wtf
I appreciate having some arab fantasy but this wasn't it for me. I aint going to recommend this to my mom!!
I was recommended this by my coworker Ivy and it pains me to have to go back to work after winter break and act like I didn't read anything she suggested to me rather than letting her know that I think the book she loved was trash.
After multiple disappointing fantasy books, this one came through for me. ☺️ At first I thought it might be too lighthearted, but that tone only really existed in the banter between Dara and Nahri at the beginning. It got quite a bit darker by the end.
I like the world a lot, though I have to admit to being quite muddled about the history even now. It’s explained, but it’s complex (at least for my little brain), and involves some shifting alliances that are hard to track. I didn’t want to google anything for fear of accidentally reading spoilers! But the focus is political/court shenanigans which is a favorite for me in fantasy.
The last 100-ish pages are intense. I was surprised by how much happened and where it all went plot-wise. I was stressed. I also enjoy the characters - Nahri, Ali, Dara, Muntadhir. I like how Chakraborty …
After multiple disappointing fantasy books, this one came through for me. ☺️ At first I thought it might be too lighthearted, but that tone only really existed in the banter between Dara and Nahri at the beginning. It got quite a bit darker by the end.
I like the world a lot, though I have to admit to being quite muddled about the history even now. It’s explained, but it’s complex (at least for my little brain), and involves some shifting alliances that are hard to track. I didn’t want to google anything for fear of accidentally reading spoilers! But the focus is political/court shenanigans which is a favorite for me in fantasy.
The last 100-ish pages are intense. I was surprised by how much happened and where it all went plot-wise. I was stressed. I also enjoy the characters - Nahri, Ali, Dara, Muntadhir. I like how Chakraborty achieved writing characters who I had mixed feelings about (I am a fan of unlikable, truly flawed characters), but whose motivations I generally understood, and who had a lot of conflict with each other.
Reasons why it’s not a 5 star: 1. There are a couple of deaths early on in the book that felt like they should matter far more than they did. If I’m supposed to believe this character and the dead person were close, the character should have feelings of grief beyond the one time immediately after the death. 2. I enjoyed the romance between Dara and Nahri, but I didn’t quite believe how fast it happened given the interactions I saw. I wish there had been more vulnerable scenes on their journey and a little less banter. 3. Zaynab is introduced but little is done with her. Maybe she does more in the later books. Initially I thought the book was going to judge her for being manipulative and conniving, which always annoys me if the world is such that women don’t have any other way to hold power. But by the end, sympathy for her situation is on the page, so I was satisfied. I just wish she got more page time.
Overall, I had a fun time with this one! It’s got its problems, but I was able to be swept up in the story.
City of Brass is the first book in SA Chakraborty's Daevabad medieval Muslim fantasy trilogy. The premise is that an Egyptian thief with mysterious healing powers accidentally summons a warrior djinn; it turns out she is the last of a race of Nahid djinn and is whisked away to a hidden city of Daevabad where she is immediately embroiled in politics.
What I enjoyed the most out of this book was the multilayered and dynamic political and personal tensions. The current Geziri rulers destroyed the previous Nahid/Daeva rulers, now living as ~second class citizens in Daevabad. The historical (and present) conflict between them revolves around Shafit half-djinn who are both required to live in Daevabad and also forced to live in squalor. For me, this is fantasy politics at its best where everybody's grievances and actions are understandable and often there's no good answers.
The two alternating perspectives of this …
City of Brass is the first book in SA Chakraborty's Daevabad medieval Muslim fantasy trilogy. The premise is that an Egyptian thief with mysterious healing powers accidentally summons a warrior djinn; it turns out she is the last of a race of Nahid djinn and is whisked away to a hidden city of Daevabad where she is immediately embroiled in politics.
What I enjoyed the most out of this book was the multilayered and dynamic political and personal tensions. The current Geziri rulers destroyed the previous Nahid/Daeva rulers, now living as ~second class citizens in Daevabad. The historical (and present) conflict between them revolves around Shafit half-djinn who are both required to live in Daevabad and also forced to live in squalor. For me, this is fantasy politics at its best where everybody's grievances and actions are understandable and often there's no good answers.
The two alternating perspectives of this book are from Nahri (the aforementioned Egyptian thief) with her warrior djinn Dara (who is loathed by Geziri and celebrated by Daeva), and the second Geziri prince Ali (stuck up, rule bound, named after Dara's mortal enemy, supports Shafit to the consternation of his father the king and his older brother heir). All of this leads to complicated and messy interactions between the whole cast, where the backdrop of history tinges every relationship.
The start of the book was a bit rocky for me, and had a lot of what felt like info-dumping by Dara on their way to Daevabad. On top of that, it took me a little bit to digest all the different djinn races and fit that into the slow historical reveals. That said, once everything got going, the relationships and politics were great fun to read and the ending really landed a good climax with intriguing developments for the next book.
Sometimes you do something that feels like your whole life has organized itself to appreciate that thing. The one special class. That crazy trip. This spectacular book.
As usual I have no idea how much of a clone of me you’ll need to be for this book to land. But, a childhood steeped in North African and Arab and Persian and Indian cultures. A taste for multilingualism and cosmopolitanism. A deep desire to understand colonialism—and wasn’t the Arabs did to the Persians those centuries ago, mirrored by the Geziri takeover of Daevabad, just that? Loving Amitav Ghosh’s memoir of studying in Egypt and al-Fustaat (old Cairo). All these conspired to hook me on the first page till the last.
The City of Brass was a very conflicting read for me. Initially I was hooked, and intrigued by both POV characters (Nahri, Ali), as well as Dara. Although soon after introductions, the plot seemed to gradually take a backseat to world building. This, combined with jumps in time within the story, worsened the already semi-uneasy pacing. Prior to their arrival to Daevabad, I was very annoyed with both Dara and Nahri, and confused by their seemingly forced romance. I had put the book down a number of times already, and considered dropping it for good. I'm glad that I didn't, as soon afterwards the plot picked up substantially. Ali grew on me quite a bit more after his meeting with Nahri; his chapters becoming the highlight of the read. I was also mostly enthralled with Nahri again, although frustrated that she almost became a secondary character in much of her own story. Excited to see what role she takes on in the following books, as I was a big fan of the independent, resourceful thief we met in Cairo.
Ultimately City of Brass was a worthy read, if not bogged down a bit by it's faults. I felt the action scenes throughout were really well done, as were the court politics (if not a bit confusing); not to mention the city of Daevabad itself (hell, the whole setting) was absolutely captivating as it was described. I'm willing to forgive the pacing issues and clumsy, forced dialogue at parts as this was Chakraborty's debut novel. The ending really 'sealed' the deal for me, and I will be continuing the series as soon as I can!
A big story with a lot of humanity in its magical beings
4 stars
Content warning
major spoilers
This is kind of two books, of which the first half was fun but frustrating, and the second half generally better.
In the first half, we're introduced to two main characters in separate worlds. Nahri the orphan who has some strange powers and turns out to be at least partly Djinn-descended, possibly the last survivor of an important dynasty. And Ali a prince in a brutal dynasty that murdered most of Nahri's ancestors, and who is determined to do something about the cruelty. Nahri has to flee her old life for Ali's city. The writing is clunky at times, Ali's a little too good, and it's too obvious that Nahri's flight will succeed, so the epic battle with every kind of magical demon feels more farcical than exciting. But the book's great strength is that this "conclusion" is only halfway through it.
What made the second half work better for me is that Nahri's arrival is such a complicating event in everyone's life, most definitely including her own. Ali ends up thoroughly compromised in ways that make him a much more believable character, and the interwoven strands of everyone lying to and scheming around each other get much more interesting. And I think Chakraborty just took a while to hit her stride as a writer, which makes sense given that this was her first book and not originally written with publication in mind.
At the end I was still a little frustrated. The hooks for the sequel are slightly too obvious and undermine the completeness of this (already long) book, and there are a few too many deus ex machina. But considering how much better the book got as it went along, I am excited about the sequel.
4,5 Sterne. Die letzte Reluctance ist dem geschuldet, dass ich keine Rassismusanalogien mag in Fantasybüchern, die von tatsächlich neatly zu trennenden Rassen handeln. Ansonsten - fantastischer Gebrauch von arabischen, persischen, indischen Mythologien, überraschende Entwicklungen und eine sympathische Hauptdarstellerin, die sich nur zögernd in ihr von Intrigen, Racetalk und Genoziden waberndes 'Schicksal' begibt. Leider hat mich die Hetenstory enttäuscht und es bleibt nur wieder ein 'Dump him' meinerseits :P Ich hoffe, diese Story wird in den folgenden Bänden zufreidenstellender gelöst Auch das Häppchen Queerness im Epilog fühlt sich wie 1 schlechter Witz an. Ich hoffe ehrlich gesagt auch, dass die Protagonistin kein 'Pureblood' ist
Sadly, I was unable to finish this too long, too slow, uneventful novel. The book truly reminded me of the excitement associated with watching paint dry.
This story tended to drag for me, guessing I'm not the intended audience. The main idea was good, and the wriying decent, but the main character was not very engaging and found myself wanting to skip forward to get it over with.
It was a really strong first book, tho its 500+ pages felt long (especially the first half), but I never was "bored". The author introduces nicely this fantasy world and its characters, mixing fantasy, "djinn" (or Daevas), mythology, religion, politics, (even some romance) very well. I really liked Nahri, she pretty much raised herself on the streets and counts on her wits to survive, she can be cunning and brave and is thrown into this unknown world has to navigate politics and powers.. I can't wait to see her more in the future books.
A lot is revealed at the end and in the epilogue, making me très interested in reading the next book^^
Enjoyed the persian culture and setting, felt very different from the more typical european fantasy setting. The Daeva tribes were fascinating. Characters were complicated and their faith was important and nuanced. Great details of this magic system, like sweating ashes .
This book is a fantastic journey into another world, one rich with history and intrigue, steeped in magic, and lushly detailed.
A street-savvy charlatan with a few mysterious magical gifts finds herself whisked away into a magical world she never imagined. In some ways, it's almost like the classic magical academy setup, albeit without said academy -- a magical birthright pulls someone from their (comparatively) mundane existence, shows them undreamt power that is coupled with undreamt peril.
Despite that somewhat familiar broad outline, Chakraborty's tale manages to twist and turn throughout, presenting the reader with histories and expectations, letting them settle and then twisting them around entirely. She has a gift for making something feel established, then suddenly tossing it aside to reveal a new truth that feels as shocking as if you'd known the prior state of affairs all your life. An early chapter included a death I found …
This book is a fantastic journey into another world, one rich with history and intrigue, steeped in magic, and lushly detailed.
A street-savvy charlatan with a few mysterious magical gifts finds herself whisked away into a magical world she never imagined. In some ways, it's almost like the classic magical academy setup, albeit without said academy -- a magical birthright pulls someone from their (comparatively) mundane existence, shows them undreamt power that is coupled with undreamt peril.
Despite that somewhat familiar broad outline, Chakraborty's tale manages to twist and turn throughout, presenting the reader with histories and expectations, letting them settle and then twisting them around entirely. She has a gift for making something feel established, then suddenly tossing it aside to reveal a new truth that feels as shocking as if you'd known the prior state of affairs all your life. An early chapter included a death I found as shocking and powerful as if he'd been a long established character when he'd only been introduced a few pages earlier!
As a result of that skillful presentation, the story's depiction of the tribal politics in an unfamiliar magical world feels both ancient and alive. Those tribal politics are the central pillar of the plot, and the author really pulled me into a world steeped in ancient grudges and modern grievances. Characters would be a villain in one light, then seem suddenly heroic in another as new interactions or perspectives brought more of their identity into play. As a result, Daevabad felt rich and full, even though we mostly just saw it from the palaces and the eyes of nobility.
The historical setting means the use of Arabic and other terminology is sprinkled apologetically throughout, in a way that an entirely imaginary world would be mocked for using, but it remains mostly obvious from context, with the added benefit that for Kindle readers, the dictionary recognizes a majority of the words which are less common in English literature. While that's of little aid to fans of paper, the author also includes a helpful glossary which covers those, as well as the more fantastical additions, so it's something to keep in mind if you're tripping over it.
Fans of historical settings should be aware that while this story begins in 18th century Cairo, occupied by Napoleon, it quickly departs and never returns. If you're hoping for a historical setting with a dash of djinn, this isn't quite it. Perhaps that's something for the sequels, but in this book that is the stepping off point, rather than the true framing of the tale.
The author's writing is well-polished and filled with delightful twists of phrase. The characters are well-crafted, believable, yet distinct, and deep enough that they can each be cast as heroic or villainous from moment to moment.
While not a cliffhanger ending, I'm eagerly awaiting the publication of the next installment in this series.
