Rating:

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 One Thousand and One Nights, 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 18th 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.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new 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 hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. 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 be careful what you wish for . . .

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Nobles
Release Date: November 14, 2017

First of all, a huge thank you to the publisher (HarperCollins) and Edelweiss for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

City of Brass is a solid introduction to a vibrant new Fantasy series. The setting is rich and descriptive, the characters are well thought out and the plot is [mostly] unpredictable. S.A Chakraborty creates a complex Djinn society and as someone who is very interested in [more like obsessed with] djinns, I soaked it all in.

City of Brass is a book about oppression, how one group thinks they’re better or more deserving because of how pure their blood is. It’s also a book about Islamic traditions and mythology and is unafraid of showing off Islam and I loved the book for it.

I will say however, all the different terms took a lot of getting used to for me. I figured out there’s a glossary at the end after I finished the book… don’t be like me kids, check the glossary if you’re confused by all the terms.

It also took me some time to figure out everything that was going on in the world, the politics and the different classes/types of djinns. Because Chakraborty goes into a lot of the history of what happened in this world, it was too much for me to remember sometimes. And though the action started off pretty quickly, I wasn’t invested in the first few chapters. It took me until getting 50 percent into the book to have the “I really want to know what happens next” feeling.

The book eventually won me over with my two favorite things in the world: magic and sword fights. I mean, what Fantasy lover doesn’t love it when the characters are stabbing each other?

Snippets about the characters:

I liked all the characters well enough to be invested in their stories. Nahri is witty, headstrong and a survivor. She is similar to many other YA protagonists I love [Lila Bard from ADSOM in particular]. She has insecurities about not belonging in either of her worlds, neither the human world nor the djinn. Her insecurities were portrayed well and gave her character depth.

Dara is a Daeva warrior who Nahri accidentally summoned one day. He introduces Nahri to the djinn world and they go on a journey to get to Daevabad, the safest place for Djinns. We don’t learn too much about him honestly and I was the least attached to him when it came to the characters.

Prince Ali [cue the Aladdin song 😀 ] grew on me after just a few chapters. Ali is very religious and has strong moral and political opinions, many of which oppose his father, the king. He tries to do what’s right for his people, especially the shafit (half human half djinn who usually live in poverty). 

Muntadhir (Ali’s brother and future king) grew on me as well. Ali and Muntadhir have a deep and complex relationship that I loved. I love sibling storylines and theirs is a good one, with all the love and rivalry two brothers are bound to have.

My favorite character though, because I almost always tend to like side characters more [especially if they’re sweet and kind Hufflepuffs] was Jamshid Pramukh. He is the Daeva head of the guard and Muntadhir’s best friend. I hope to see more of him in the future books.

Is this on your TBR list? What do you like best about Fantasy books?