The City of Brass
Ratings273
Average rating4
Let me just cry myself to sleep over how amazing this book is!! When I tell you it had me laughing at one page and crying at the next I'm not joking. Can't wait to read the next part.
Even though i really like this book, I can't define what I think about it. I mean, I can't manage to sort out good and bad guys in it... The universe and the world building are awesome even though it's hard to follow names, tribes, statues... A good thing that the author decided to use two POV, we followed two very different characters so it helps to grasp every part of the story. But really, I don't know what to think about Dara : I like him a lot at the beginning, but there are some dark parts so I cannot decide. In all, I can't wait for the next book, maybe it would help me to have one more precise review ahaha
This book struggled with the muddy middle.
The beginning was good, fast paced enough to keep me hooked on the story, with the two characters being hunted but then it seemed to take them forever to get where they were going with no real change in either of the characters. Ali had more of a storyline through these moments and changed, but I do wish that he had a bit more to his character and he reached the moment that pushed him over the edge sooner
There were times when I rolled my eyes so much they hurt because of the characters' decisions. I know they are young, but no one can be that naive.
The world is interesting.
The ending was good. But I disliked the sudden change in Daras character. RED FLAG but that's a personal opinion not something with the story.
Overall I liked it. writing was smooth and the world Immersive.
Will be continuing the series.
3.5
This is a great debut novel and I am looking forward to more from this author.
This book follows Nahri, an orphan living in Cairo. Nahri makes her living from the marks that come to her shop. She has some healing abilities that she uses as well. Mostly, she survives by being a con artist.
Nahri is asked to perform a ritual to heal a girl. She takes the job, believing the family to be her next marks. The ritual requires her to call upon a Djinn warrior. Nahri doesn't believe in Djinn and she isn't superstitious. But, as she is doing the ritual, something definitely happens. Something that will turn her life upside down.
Meanwhile, we also follow Ali. Prince Alizayd Katani of Daevabad. Ali is second born and trains to serve his brother when he is king. Ali is a deeply devout Daeva. He sees the way the Shaffit are treated in his city. The Shaffit are not pure blooded and they are treated poorly by the Daeva. Ali hopes one day he can change all that. He knows they just want a chance to live and support their families. He dreams of creating jobs for them and improving their living conditions.
Fate will bring Nahri and Ali together. Hopefully they will survive it.
This book started out pretty slow for me. That is the only reason I gave it 4 stars. The second half was amazing! I loved the characters, the cultures, and the magic. I will definitely read the next book.
Amazing setting, promising characters but I'm 186 pages in and it's not very compelling. The characters' actions don't fully make sense. For instance, how on earth did Ali meet his “best friend” while in the notoriously isolated citadel?? I'm also confused by all the different groups.
If you are ready for a magic carpet ride, pick up this book. Filled with djinn magic, fights, and political intrigue. Although I am not a fan of the enemies to lovers trope, I did not mind this one as it wasn't so much enemies as hesitant to trust.
Easily read, mostly because this is more in the YA genre than in the adult genre.
The 20-year mc behave a little to often like a 15/16yo for my taste, and sometimes I really miss some more world-building. I often had a too hard time imagining the world they moved in, and placing the different locations in relation to one another.
And then there were smaller mistakes like a full moon's glow lighting up the night during a storm (with heavy rain).
The plot is the element pulling this book in direction of the adult-genre. It's complicated and filled with ancient history affecting the many characters motives and the plot in general. I appreciated that and kept me interested, even though I sometimes lost track because it went a tiny bit too fast.
It's decent. And yes, I'm picking up the next one from the library right away. I hope the mc grows with the challenges and becomes more adult than teenager with time.
Do I want to spend money on it, and have it take up space on my book-shelf to read again? Probably not.
DNF @ 22%. I just cannot be bothered to finish this. It read way too much like YA and I don't like YA. I was all into it being a story about a hardened young women who's a master thief in magical Cairo and that's not what I'm getting. Firstly, we only see Nahri being a thief for about 2 seconds before the plot line takes a sharp left into class struggles between the half bloods and the pure blood djinn in a magic city. Second, I was expecting Nahri to be smarter. She's spent this entire book so far just asking Dara questions that I feel like she should know considering she grew up in Egypt where these legends and monsters are from. The couple of chapters I spend with Ali the Prince were infuriating. He's a teenager by Djinn standards and you can tell. He's a spoiled, clueless boy who clearly has had horse blinders on his entire life because he doesn't seem to understand the depth of oppression that the half bloods are experiencing in his own hometown?! Even though he's secretly working with the half blood rebellion in a limited capacity when we first meet him?! The only character who wasn't getting on my nerves was Dara. And he's a battle hardened djinn with PTSD and a snarky attitude. So because these two idiots (Nahri and Ali) don't know shit about shit, Dara is the only person driving the plot forward by info dumping after being asked a million questions. I'll pass on this series.
I really liked it until 2/3.
Nahri abruptly stood, as angry with herself as she was with Dara. She was done showing weakness before this man. “Well, if that's all that matters, surely Muntadhir will do,” she declared, a savage edge creeping into her voice. “The Qahtanis seem fertile enough, and the dowry will probably make me the richest woman in Daevabad.”
She might as well have struck him. Dara recoiled, and she turned on her heel. “I'm going back to the palace.”
“Nahri . . . Nahri, wait.” He was between her and the exit in a heartbeat; she'd forgotten how fast he could move. “Please. Don't leave like this. Just let me explain . . .”
“To hell with your explanations,” she snapped. “That's what you always say. That's what today was supposed to be, remember? You promising to tell me about your past, not parading me in front of a bunch of priests and trying to convince me to marry another man.” Nahri pushed past him. “Just leave me alone.”
He grabbed her wrist. “You want to know about my past?” he hissed, his voice dangerously low. His fingers scalded her skin and he jerked back, letting her go. “Fine, Nahri, here's my story: I was banished from Daevabad when I was barely older than your Ali, exiled from my home for following orders your family gave me. That's why I survived the war. That's why I wasn't in Daevabad to save my family from being slaughtered when the djinn broke through the gates.”
His eyes blazed. “I spent the rest of my life—my short life, I assure you—fighting the very family you're so eager to join, the people who would have seen our entire tribe wiped out. And then the ifrit found me.” He held up his hand, the slave ring sparkling in the sunlight. “I never had anything like this . . . anything like you.” His voice cracked. “Do you think this is easy for me? Do you think I enjoy imagining your life with another?”
His rushed confession—the horror behind his words—dulled her anger, the utter misery in his face moving her despite her own hurt. But . . . it still didn't excuse his actions.
“You . . . you could have told me all this, Dara.” Her voice shook slightly as she said his name. “We could have tried to fix things together, instead of you plotting out my life with strangers!”
Dara shook his head. Grief still shadowed his eyes, but he spoke firmly. “There's nothing to fix, Nahri. This is what I am. It's a conclusion I suspect you'd have come to soon enough anyway. I wanted you to have another choice in hand when you did.” Something bitter stole into his expression. “Don't worry. I'm sure the Pramukhs will provide you with dowry enough.”
The words were her own, but they cut deep when turned back on her. “And that's what you think of me, isn't it? Regardless of your feelings, I'm still the dirt-blood-raised thief. The con artist after the biggest score.” She gathered the edges of her chador, her hands shaking with anger and something else, something deeper than anger that she didn't want to admit to. She'd be damned if she was going to cry in front of him. “Never mind that I might have done those things to survive . . . and that I might have fought for you just as hard.” She drew herself up, and he dropped his gaze under her glare. “I don't need you to plan my future here, Dara. I don't need anyone to.”
This time when she left, he didn't try to stop her.
The City of Brass has a fast-paced beginning that sucks the reader right in. Once Nahri and Dara reach Daevabad the plot slows down and gets a little muddled. There are a lot (maybe too many and underdeveloped) competing factions and conflicts: between pureblood djinn and shafits, between the different djinn tribes and other magical elementals, and between those who support the currently ruling Qahtani family and those who are intent on bringing back Nahid rule, using Nahri.
Although the plot was entrancing, I had some issues with the execution of some of the concepts. The parts that needed more elaboration were a bit rushed so you kind of lose track of the story and especially backstories of some characters and the world overall.
What I most liked about this is that it's a different type of culture that the influence is taken from, Middle Eastern rather than the typical Western, and focusing on a desert-based culture brought some great moments. I really loved the fact that although it's a longer read it feels very fast paced and easy to get into, and it's a really enjoyable one too.
This story is thick with politics and religion that make it painfully slow.
I disliked every character by the end of this book. The Ali POVs were especially difficult to get through, as he's an incredibly self-righteous religious fanatic.
I wish I had DNF'ed this one. I kept hoping it would turn around, but it did not. The cliffhangers didn't give me any confidence that the second installment would be worthwhile.
I'll give it 2 stars only because it taught me a little mythology I was previously unfamiliar with. Otherwise this story left me in an absolutely terrible mood.
This could have been a great book for me except I was confused half the time. There's an overwhelming amount of world building and politics going on. If I re-read this then the politics would make more sense, but I don't have time for that.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the end of the book I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much. I'm on the fence about continuing the series, I want to know what happens but do I really want to read another 2 books?
4.5 rounded up.
Dear god the end of this book is WILD! Can't wait for the next!!
Gave it another try — might write down thoughts after I process the book tomorrow.
Sadly, it's a dnf @ 55% initial rating 2 stars
So sad to dnf it as I was convinced I am going to adore this series but unfortunately it's been a struggle to get this far and I am not going to subject myself to this no mo. The world building was really nice albeit a little too complex at times but I would be very interested to learn more. However, I just cannot stand 2 out of 3 main characters, as much as i try to force myself to continue, whenever there is a chapter from Nahri's POV, the book becomes painful to listen to. They are simply uninteresting and whiny to me, and the romance makes me cringe. Also not digging the idea of reading about a love triangle with romance written the way it has been so far, im good, thanks.
I have heard that this series gets better near the end of the first book but sadly i dont think i have it in me to make it till the end, which is a shame cause i expected this to be exactly my kind of book. Giving 2 stars for Alizayd, who is the sole reason I made it this far.
I was very excited for this book, not only because everyone seems to love it, but especially because it is a #OwnVoice muslim /middle eastern fantasy and I have never read anything similar.
Despite reading fantasy since I was little, it was more difficult for me to picture and understand this world, which supports that there is little diversity in fantasy writing, being mostly based in Western culture and civilizations.
Chakraborty writing is detailed and beautiful, the world she creates is rich, and the characters are layered and credible. The way our opinions regarding characters actions are molded throughout the book and different POVs is a testament to her writing ability, and I am very impressed with it.
I found the pace of the book rather slow, which reduced my interest in the story to the point where I was determined to not continue the trilogy. However, the last chapter and the epilogue are fantastic, and that was enough to change my mind.
Recommended for fantasy readers in general
“The City of Brass” is the first in a trilogy written by S.A. Chakraborty. This novel follows Nahri, who lives in 18th century Cairo. One night while working on one of her cons, she accidentally summons a mysterious djinn warrior. The warrior takes Nahri to Daevabad, which is the legendary city of brass, which is the city that Nahri is permanently bounded to. The city's walls are walls laced with enchantments, and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are festering.
I found the setting quite interesting. I also enjoyed learning about the djinn and the different beings of the four elements. The story was very interesting, and I enjoyed the novel, I gave the novel a 4/5 stars.
I really enjoyed this! It’s not necessarily a must read, but it’s definitely intriguing. I think my main complaint is an overuse of the word “djinn” which given the setting is definitely forgivable. Very curious to see where this story goes.
I love this book so much! The characters are so complex and interesting. The political intrigue is fantastic. The history of the tribes and world building are fascinating. There were so many times when I gasped, laughed, or otherwise exclaimed out loud. What an excellent debut novel.
I relistened to the entire series after starting a River of Silver...what a comfort and joy it was to be back in this world. Absolutely one of favorite series of all time. I love the characters and politics, and I think it's one of the most realistic representations of cultural and generational hate, bigotry and trauma I've seen in spec fic.
Good! Different that the usual Fantasy templates. The supernatural elements are also different than anything I've read before. Looking forward to continuing the story in book two!
I find it funny that people are reviewing this book saying it has no plot... the plot is huge. There are so many different ways it could go. I listened to the audiobook which really helped me get into the story quickly.
Yes, the book is long, but Chakraborty is setting up a MASSIVE world on the scale of Game of Thrones with just as many warring factions. I loved this book. I guess if you don't like political intrigue, you may not like it.
Yes, it does take time for Dara and Nahri to travel to Daevabad - this is an epic, people! You have to establish Nahri's relationship with Dara. That does not happen overnight.
Anyway, I don't use GoodReads much anymore, but I had to come on here and say my piece. Totally out of my element here as far as the folklore that inspired the story goes - but I really enjoyed it.
–MINI SPOILERS–
I loved the feeling that Nahri was not sure who to trust when it comes to the oral history of Daevabad and the Djinn - is Dara just as bad as everyone says, or are the Qahtani's lying about a whole lot to keep the throne? Probably a little of both. History is written by the victors.
Totally ship Muntadhir and Jamshid. Excited to see Ali's fish powers.
Can't wait for Kingdom of Copper!