Tag: the city of brass

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty

Nahri lives alone in Cairo and makes her daily bread by targeting gullible citizens and stealing. But one night, during a false ritual to free a young woman from an evil spirit, Nahri draws the attention of something magical and powerful, and her life is never the same again.

“I have made them both content, but the djinn is a strong one and has likely been with her since birth.” pg 20, ebook

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Prince Alizayd al Qahtani, the second in line to the throne, lives in Daevabad. He works to better the lives of the humans who live there, along with the different tribes of djinn. This is perilous work as his father, the sultan, does not value human lives the same way.

“A city rose from the smoky map in Daevastana, in the center of a dark lake. Its walls gleamed like brass, beautiful against the dark sky.”

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The City of Brass is told from Nahri and Ali’s points of view. It is a beautiful, multi-layered story that combines elements of Islam and magic.

At first, I had trouble keeping track of all of the different types of djinn. But, after about a quarter of the story, things clicked into place and I really enjoyed the tale.

“We’re souled beings like humans, but we were created from fire, not earth.” pg 101, ebook

From enslaved djinn to the evil ifrit, this story keeps the reader guessing what is going to happen next. There’s a lot of politics in here as well as a magical history that slowly unfolds as the tale progresses.

The characters are neither entirely good nor bad, but instead are a realistic shade of gray. Everyone, it seems, has committed actions they are not proud of, and cling to beliefs that may not necessarily serve them.

It makes for an engaging story as these warring beliefs bump into each other.

Highly recommended for fantasy readers. Thanks for reading!