Shannon Chakraborty

This book is much more than simply a Fantasy tale. It is a far-reaching discourse on prejudice, political manipulation, abuse of power, and the everlasting cycle of wars that the world appears to be unable to break. You can view this book as dealing with conflict on a regional basis or on a global scale; the parallels are there and are applicable everywhere.

The personal interest is maintained by having well rounded characters from every faction involved. Chakraborty used these characters show more well to inform the reader of the views of people in each faction. She also uses their personal relationships and feelings to portray the struggle of individuals tied up in undesirable situations not of their making. The sad thing I see is the repeating ebb and flow of cruelty and war in the book reflected in the real world with us currently witnessing the resurgence of behaviours and attitudes that we thought were stopped for good seventy-five years ago. show less

The intro of the book is heavily medieval Arabian Sea and drew me in very thoroughly. Then it gets into a "coming out of retirement for One Last Job" and "Getting the Band Back Together" plot and something about it just didn't feel right. Too modern a voice, maybe, not historical feeling enough?

Luckily, about halfway in, the fantasy adventure aspect took over and whatever was bothering me faded away. The adventures to track down the antagonist, and the magical realm/creatures Amina show more encounters, are vividly written and compelling. The way everything worked out is very satisfying.

I enjoyed reading about an older protagonist with the aches and regrets and wisdom of age. And that despite all that, Amina is still impulsive and not very subtle, leading to mistakes and danger.

But i was a little confused about her husband - is she supposed to hate him, like she does the villain? It seems to be a lot of bickering and not true dislike, even as she claims to loathe him. He's certainly interesting, though, and I can see why there might be difficulty in having straightforward emotions about him.

There is a lot of violence and bloodshed, as befits the story. Amina and her companions all have their own traumas from the past, which do affect how they interact or respond to the adventures. I wonder if these new, extremely traumatic events will also affect them, once they have time to rest, or if they'll be conveniently packed away in the tradition of fiction. show less

I came across this book a while ago, and promptly added it to my "Want to Read" list, intrigued by its Middle Eastern setting and use of Islamic mythology. Unfortunately it then languished on that list for much longer than it deserved to. Well, not any more! Finally I've taken the plunge into The City of Brass, and despite the slow first half, I ended up riveted and really excited to read the second book.

The plot itself, if you reduce it to the essentials, is perhaps not the most original. show more It begins with Nahri, a professional con artist in nineteenth-century Cairo, with magical powers of healing and no recollection of her childhood. One day she's attacked by malevolent demons called ifrit, and saved by a haughty magical being named Dara, and through this discovers she's actually some kind of long-lost Chosen One to a magical society she knows nothing about. Dara insists that, for her safety, he he has to take her to the city of Daevabad (and then her storyline slows right down because the journey takes up a huge fraction of the book).

The other POV character is Ali, a young prince (second son of Daevabad's king) who wants to help the oppressed shafit, residents of the city who are of mixed magical and human descent. He's a devout Muslim, someone who (at least at the start of the book) wants to assume the best in everyone, and painfully naive. He ends up feeling caught between loyalty to his family and his sense of justice, and I found him a really compelling character.

So you know, Chosen One outsiders to hidden magical societies and junior royals with consciences are not the most unique fantasy characters out there (not that lacking uniqueness would make them unenjoyable). However, the setting and world-building of this story are just incredibly absorbing. I'll admit that the world-building can feel very dense, especially if you (like me) are not very familiar with Islamic mythology, because then you have that to absorb on top of the history and politics of the kingdom of Daevabad. That said, I think it's well worth persevering! The book's last section is action-packed, and since all the groundwork has now been laid, I'm excited for how eventful the next instalment might be without so many hold-ups to explain the lore.

S.A. Chakraborty wanted to pursue an academic career in Middle Eastern history before life intervened and she eventually turned to writing, and I think that background is evident in the richness of the world she's created here. On top of the mythology she draws upon, there's also a lot of interesting stuff in the different tribes of Daevabad, the tensions between the different groups living in the city (which I could imagine mirroring other cities with long histories of diversity, like Jerusalem or Istanbul), and so on. I came to really enjoy the character of the king, calculating and ruthless, but you can follow his tyrannical logic, too. In fact, despite Ali's efforts, this is not really a story about good vs. evil at all, but about power. A lot of Nahri's story, too, becomes about how she can play the game before the other players play her.

So, I think I've made it clear that despite some slowness in the first half, I really enjoyed The City of Brass. If you like worldbuilding-heavy stories, I think this is well worth the read. show less

First off- the audiobook for this is phenomenal. Lameece Issaq really imbues Amina with chatty auntie catching you up on what she's been up to, her joys and her weariness, along with asides to the scribe Jamal (whom she's telling this tale to). This book also came at the right time for me, as a new mother while I think about who I am (and making room for motherhood in my nest of identities while not losing my former sense of self). I really enjoyed seeing an older protagonist- in a sea of show more teenagers dealing with immortal beings (which in hindsight the Daevabad trilogy kind of does- I still need to read [b:The Empire of Gold|52166786|The Empire of Gold (The Daevabad Trilogy, #3)|S.A. Chakraborty|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572578104l/52166786._SY75_.jpg|61384460]), it's great to see an older crew. I'm also not familiar with the medieval Indian Ocean and I like seeing rich historical environments for fantasy that I don't know!

I also recognize Dalila is like... every single D&D/Pathfinder character I've made, a vaguely creepy science lady who just... collects things in jars. Oops.

I got to the final 10% and I wondered how things would resolve and then realized oh, this is just part one of a new series- so hooray, more adventures of the Marawati crew! show less