S. A. Chakraborty: The city of brass (2017)
532 pages
English language
Published Oct. 29, 2017
"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"--
I'm furious that I didn't buy the rest of the series when I originally bought this first book because now I'm desperate to read more and am forced to wait.
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.
I'm an avid rereader. I love rereading, I could do it all the time. But it doesn't happen often, that I close a book and immediately open it again, to make another read through. Counting the times in my life it must have been three books
- a childhood novel called Tanea
- Kushiel
- and pride & prejudice
Now City of Brass can count itself to this list, too, because I will read it again. In fact I already restarted. This book has everything I wish for. Action and adventure ✅
Sassy, lovable and funny characters ✅
A complex plot ✅
Intrigue ✅
Intense and deep Worldbuidling ✅
Well hidden Plot twists ✅
Social injustice with an uprising ✅
War ✅
B i r t h s e c r e t s ✅
A love story that moves the story ✅
and I could go on
AND IT'S …
I'm an avid rereader. I love rereading, I could do it all the time. But it doesn't happen often, that I close a book and immediately open it again, to make another read through. Counting the times in my life it must have been three books
- a childhood novel called Tanea
- Kushiel
- and pride & prejudice
Now City of Brass can count itself to this list, too, because I will read it again. In fact I already restarted. This book has everything I wish for. Action and adventure ✅
Sassy, lovable and funny characters ✅
A complex plot ✅
Intrigue ✅
Intense and deep Worldbuidling ✅
Well hidden Plot twists ✅
Social injustice with an uprising ✅
War ✅
B i r t h s e c r e t s ✅
A love story that moves the story ✅
and I could go on
AND IT'S ALSO WELL WRITTEN
this book is a gem 💎
DNF
