The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

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.

Reviewed by cornerfolds on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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  • 24 October, 2017: Reviewed