The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1)

by S. A. Chakraborty

Discover this spellbinding debut from S.A. Chakraborty.

'An extravagant feast of a book - spicy and bloody, dizzyingly magical, and still, somehow, utterly believable' Laini Taylor, Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author

Among the bustling markets of eighteenth century Cairo, the city's outcasts eke out a living swindling rich Ottoman nobles and foreign invaders alike.

But alongside this new world the old stories linger. Tales of djinn and spirits. Of cities hidden among the swirling sands of the desert, full of enchantment, desire and riches. Where magic pours down every street, hanging in the air like dust.

Many wish their lives could be filled with such wonder, but not Nahri. She knows the trades she uses to get by are just tricks and sleights of hand: there's nothing magical about them. She only wishes to one day leave Cairo, but as the saying goes...

Be careful what you wish for.

• ISBN13: 9780008239398
• Publish Date: 8 March 2018 (first published 14 November 2017)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 15 October 2021
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: HarperCollins
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 544
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

I was torn as to how many stars to give this book. It took me a long time to read it. The first half I found interesting as Nahri and Dara are on an adventure to get to safety. The second half the pace of the book changed and there were so many names/tribes/languages that I found it a bit confusing. Little did I know there is a dictionary of sorts at the back of the book. It had it's ups and downs, trying to do a little too much as well as build a whole magical world as part of a trilogy. In the end, I was satisfied and I care enough about the characters to want to read the next book when it comes out. I would give it 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4 for creating such a cool world, with magic and interesting characters.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Trigger Warning: This book features racism heavily, though between fantasy races.

Oh my god, this book! Everyone has been raving about The City of Brass by S. A. Chkaraborty, and for bloody good reason! It's incredible!

Nahri is a homeless con artist, orphaned as a baby, living on the streets of 18th Century Cairo. She's built herself a reputation as a healer through her schemes, swindling the rich and powerful Ottomans, just to get by. But what she really wants is to be a real healer. She's trying to save up as much as she can in order to study medicine, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. When she accidentally summons Darayavahoush, a Daeva djinn warrior, during one of her scams, her life is turned upside down. Not only does she discover that the magic she has always dismissed is real, but she also learns of her family history - and she's so much more than a homeless con artist. When she is attacked by a patient possessed by something, Dara tells her there is only one place she will be safe: Daevabad, the legedary city of brass. Her ancestral home - a place her very existence will turn upside down.

Alizayd is the second son of King Ghassan of Daevabad, a djinn of mixed heritage; his father of the Geziri tribe, his mother of the Ayaanle tribe. In Daevabad, the shafit - half djinn, half human - have no rights. They cannot leave Daevabad due to the magical abilities they have - the djinn believing they would cause havoc among humans - but they are treated despicably by the djinn, thought second class citizens not worthy of respect. There is a rebel organisation fighting for the right of the shafit, the Tanzeem, and Ali is secretly their benefactor, appalled at the ways they are treated, but powerless to bring about any change. King Ghassan takes loyalty very seriously, and if it was discovered that Ali is giving the shafit money, his life could be forfeit. And then the legendary Darayavahoush arrives. Long thought to be dead, he is a hero for the Daeva tribe, but someone to be feared by all other djinn tribes due to his bloody past, fighting under the orders of the Nahids - the Daeva family who ruled Daevabad before the rebellion 1,800 years ago. And along with him, Nahri, the only surviving member of the Nahid family...

I cannot even begin to tell you how incredible this book is! The City of Brass is inspired by Middle Eastern culture and folklore, with the Islamic faith present throughout, making this high fantasy a huge standout and so different from the plethora of high fantasies inspired by Medieval Britain. But it's not just it's difference, it's uniqueness that is so brilliant. It's the setting, the world building, the politics! This is a rich and lush fantasy that is so very easy to get lost in; I was completely captivated by the world of the djinn.

And the characters! Nahri is spunky and awesome. She hasn't led a great life, but she's not one to wallow. She does what she has to, to survive, and she's not opposed to breaking the law in order to do so. Then she's whisked away from all she knows to a world of luxury, where she wants for nothing, because she is so revered. She learns about her people as a whole, the djinn, and her tribe, the Daeva, and her ancestral family, the Nahids. But there is so much people want from her. She is seen as a light of hope for the Daeva, a return of the family they held so dear. And, as the Nahids have healing powers, she is in demand; the King is constantly sending her patients, yet she still has so much to learn. She had hoped Daevabad was a place where she would be safe and free, but she feels like a prisoner, with expectations and demands put upon her from every direction. Even Dara, who she has grown close to and developed feelings for, has expectations of her. The only solace she finds is in the tentative friendship growing between her and Ali, although she knows he's spying on her for the King.

And Ali himself is such a sweetheart. He so believes in doing the right thing, his faith influencing his morals, but being the second son, there's only so much he's able to do. Since he was five he has been trained to become Qaid, the leader of the Royal Guard, to his older brother, Muntadhir, the heir to the throne. That is his role, and he has no more power than that. There is quite a bond between Ali and Muntadhir, but they are so different, and Muntadhir follows their father, and their father will not be swayed. It's not necessarily that easy, anyway. It's political, and everyone needs to be kept happy; if the King is to help the shafit, the tribes - especially the Daeva, who think the shafit to be not far off an abomination, believing what the Prophet Suleiman decreed, and that djinn should steer clear of humans - won't be happy, and Ghassan wants to keep a peaceful city. If that's at the cost of the shafit, so be it. But Ali is such a good guy, he tries to follow orders while also doing what's right. He does form a friendship with Nahri, as a person, but he has issues with the Daeva and their treatment of the shafit, and abhors Dara for his past.

Prejudice lies at the heart of The City of Brass. And what is so interesting is seeing things through Nahri's eyes - she who has grown up away from Daevabad, so hasn't been brought up on the prejudices of any tribe. She hears about what happened to Daevabad from Dara, from his time when serving under the Nahids, and she hears about the rebellion that slaughtered countless Daeva. We hear from him the terrible things that have been done to his people. And yet, through Ali, we see how terribly the Daeva treat the shafit, and we learn of Dara's past, and the attrocities he committed. Both sides believe they were right, but we, the readers, and Nahri, sometimes, see both sides, and see the terrible, criminal things they've both done.

Who is right, and who is wrong? It's not as black and white as that. But the old resentments and suspicions are brewing again, and with the unrest between the Tanzeem and the Daeva, and with all the return of Dara and Nahri has stirred up, Daevabad isn't far off reaching boiling point. There is prejudice, bigotry and racism at every turn - even Ali is on the receiving end for being of mixed heritage - and it's not going to be long before it's acted on. The shafits are called "dirt bloods", and the Daeva "fire worshippers" - which, to the Daeva is just as grossly insulting as the n-word is in our world. Tensions are mounting, and it's not surprising when things become chaotic. And time and again - before things even reach boiling point - I was reminded of the racist atrocities and terrorism that happens in our own world. The City of Brass is a fantastic, involved, and wonderful high fantasy, but it's also a mirror, showing us how we, as people, throughout the world, are no less criminal.

The City of Brass is such an amazing fantasy, so complex and action-packed, and so deftly handled by Chakraborty! It set my imagination alight, took me on one hell of a ride, and with that unbelievable, climactic cliffhanger, has left me desperate for more! If you're a fantasy fan, this is definitely one not to miss. I absolutely cannot wait for the second book in the Daevabad trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper.

Thank you to HarperVoyager via NetGalley for the eProof.

[Leigha]

A young con artist in 18th century Cairo learns her heritage may be more than human in this adult fantasy.

I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, the mythology and the setting effortlessly wove together into one beautiful tapestry. The djinn culture felt rich. The sensory descriptions were well-written, creating a setting and environment that felt real. The Middle Eastern setting really stole the show for me. Can we have more books set here?

On the other hand, I never connected to the characters. The two narrators, Nahri and Ali, worked well as foils to each other. I enjoyed their friendship and sincerely hope the next book does not turn it into a romance. However, I didn't necessarily like them or their actions throughout the story. The characters tended to be reactive instead of proactive. In some ways, it felt very much plot driven despite the obvious effort on character development.

tl;dr While I was not a fan of the characters, I did enjoy the rich Middle Eastern setting and intriguing mythology.

[Quirky Cat]

I’m not going to lie; the cover for City of Brass was what first caught my attention here. What held it though, was the description. A tale of djinn and deavas like I’ve never read before; and even better, it explores a culture I’m not terribly familiar with (which is a great regret, for me), giving me the opportunity to read a fantastical series and learn something at the same time. I was lucky enough to get an annotated copy of City of Brass from Pagehabit, which offered additional insights to locations and other real world origins for parts of the story. This really helped develop the world for me.



I’ll admit, upon finishing this novel I was a bit torn on how to rate it. So I took a few days to make sure the emotions I felt during the final parts weren’t influencing my rating (and to be frank, I think they would have if I had gone with my gut instinct). I have a slight bias against stories that make me feel upset and/or weepy, especially if it’s towards the ending. Which isn’t exactly fair, especially when it’s the first book in a trilogy (and thus has plenty more time to cheer me up and continue the story).
Looking past that, I can honestly say this fantasy was unlike anything I had ever read. Along with the wonderful blend of fantasy and read (the locations described were often real ones, or at least based on real ones), the mix of young adult and adult was the perfect combination to make it approachable to many different audiences.
I really loved the interpretations of the Djinn and Daevas in this story; how their culture was so much more fleshed out (especially when one compares it to a specific famous genie). Everything was just so much more vibrant and alive. I loved every detail mentioned, and would happily have kept absorbing information/details had the author allowed it.
I very quickly took a liking to Nahri’s character. She’s quick, witty, and determined. That’s not all she is of course, it’s hard to summarize a complex character in so few words, but those are her dominant traits for sure. I love how she’s always on her toes, trying to outthink situations or people. Between that and her stubbornness it was hard not to like her. Having her for a main character, and thus main perspective was a brilliant more.
Nahri belongs in Daevabad, of that most of the characters would agree (even if they changed their mind back and forth at times), yet she didn’t come from that world. This gives us the opportunity to learn about Daevabad and its people through Nahri seeing and asking questions. It’s a clever solution to the show and tell problem.
The other characters introduced will absolutely create conflicts – even on the most simple levels (do I/should I like this character?). Two characters in particular stand out; Dara and Ali. Oddly enough, both characters are equally developed, even though Ali is given a perspective in the novel, while Dara is not. That’s not the only move Chakraborty made in contrasting these two characters. They’re night and day, and I mean that almost literally. They have different backgrounds, different beliefs, and different goals. Basically in everything that is major they disagree upon.
After taking a few days to think about this novel, I find myself falling further in love with it. I sincerely hope the second novel in the Daevabad series isn’t too far behind, as I’m very anxious to see what happens to our trio next.


For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Beth C.]

Review to come on vampirebookclub.net

Short version? Quite good ;)

[Ashley]

I didn't love it like I wanted to. I think the main problem was I got some of the terms mixed up at the beginning and that mix up stayed with me through the whole book. I think it affected my ability to enjoy the story to its fullest because I didn't fully grasp the history and culture so I felt a bit lost when the book talked about it.

Politics and culture play a HUGE role in the book but I really couldn't remember why X tribe hated Y tribe or why X tribe hated some word/slur (or what it meant). I lost a great deal of enjoyment purely because there was so much I didn't remember that ended up becoming immensely important.

[cornerfolds]

Read more of my reviews at Cornerfolds.com!

I have avoided The City of Brass for two years for one simple reason: it is massive. The book itself was intimidating at over 500 pages and the audiobook was approximately one million hours long. But recently the mood struck and I decided to finally give it a chance. Within a few hours of audio I was absolutely hooked and had to switch to the ebook halfway through because I just couldn't wait to see what happened! Suffice it to say I'm glad I took the chance.

Nahri lives in Cairo making a living through a combination of healing and stealing. At one healing ceremony she accidentally summons a djinn and is swept away on an adventure to a world she'd thought was only fantasy. Much of this story is about Nahri and her journey to Daevabad with Dara. There is a lot of walking and talking and I never grew bored of it because I loved every moment I got to spend with these two characters! Nahri is tough and smart and jaded and Dara is a mess of a warrior. I loved them so much, together and separately!

Of course, there are many more characters I could talk about, but my favorite (obviously) was Alizayd. He starts out as a supremely unlikable character who immediately dislikes Nahri, who distrusts him (as she should), but eventually he grew on me and their relationship was one of the most interesting parts of this story.

The world of The City of Brass was as amazing as its characters! Daevabad was fascinating and, while I never fully understood all of the lore, I did love spending time in the world the author created. The magic system was complex and the mythology built up around the world was one can't wait to dig into deeper. Every time we were given another glimpse into the vast history of the djinn I was on the edge of my seat.

There isn't much I can say about the story without giving things away, but I was absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. The City of Brass has definitely found a spot on my favorites shelf, which is unfortunate because it means I have to locate several editions to collect. There were so many twists and turns and the ending caught me completely off guard! I can't wait to dive right into book two.