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 ross91 on

2 of 5 stars

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Dnf at 65%
This one just wasn’t for me.
It’s a standard YA with the perfect-yet-“different from all the other girls”-“beautiful but she doesn’t know”-main-protagonist.
The romance was gagging.
I feel cheated! I thought this would be an asult fantasy with lots of political intrigue and different setting, but it was a YA with a non required angsty romance, lots of info dumpling, overly complicated social distinctions and an interesting setting that wasn’t very much described tho.
Maybe the last part is good. I don’t know. I don’t care enough to find out.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 4 September, 2019: Finished reading
  • 4 September, 2019: Reviewed