Reviews tagging 'Murder'

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

56 reviews

bookswithcuppatea's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A remarkable conclusion to this trilogy!

I was stunned by events more than once by this delightfully complex story. A lot of loose threads from the previous two books were picked up again and explored further and woven together into a fascinating tapestry.

The world building in this series is complex and rich, the most thorough I've read in a very long time.

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jiffygiraffe's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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sas_lk's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

I'm fascinated by how Chakraborty is able to make you understand the characters so deeply, making you feel sorry and love for even the villains, because even though you might not agree, or their actions are not justifiable, you still understand where the pain comes from and why they believe what they are doing is right. 

This is a story about how love and belief can blind us, and even though this was obviously mostly a fictional world, I could relate it all too well to the reality of our world.

Very well done series and characters, it kept  me on my toes and I just kept praying everything would be okay when I couldn't think of a way out.

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_forestofpages's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The perfect ending to this incredible epic tale. I loved it all, literally everything. 

All the characters arcs complete and in such satisfying ways. And not to mention even the marid and shaffit got their dues. I was so surprised by Dara's ending and the alternate epilogue gave me such joy.

I love this trilogy.

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dreadspawn's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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book_gremlin42's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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alixcalfa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad fast-paced

5.0


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dietlindrozekin's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Cawpile-method
  • Characters: 6/10: De band die ik in het vorige boek met de karakters had, of de verwondering voor de karakters, had ik in dit derde deel van de Daêvabad-trilogie minder. Vaker dan eens stoorde ik me zelfs aan de personages omdat ze er te lang over deden om dingen te beseffen.
  • Atmosfeer: 8/10: De wereld waarin het verhaal zich afspeelt blijft super.
  • Writing: 7/10: An sich is alles goed geschreven, maar ik merkte wel dat ik af en toe de beschrijvingen van alles oversloeg en me concentreerde op de dialogen om het vooruit te laten gaan.
  • Plot: 9/10: De schrijfster is echt een meesteres in het uitwerken van verhaallijnen! Love her for that.
  • Intrigue: 8/10: Ik had een tijdje nodig om in het verhaal te komen (de eerste 200 pagina's, bijna had ik het boek weggelegd), tot opeens de geschiedenis van de stad en van Nahri in puzzelstukjes werd blootgegeven en toen werd het interessant. Hoe fascineer je een historica? Begin met de geschiedenis! Eenmaal ik die rode draadlijn terugvond in het boek was ik vanzelf ook meer en meer geïnteresseerd in het verhaal en de huidige tijdlijn.
  •  Logic: 8/10: Je moet er wel je hoofd er een beetje bijhouden om de complotten en geschiedenis te verwerken.
  • Enjoyment: 6,5/10: Ik had echt lang nodig om in het verhaal te komen, ik heb echt passages overslaan omdat het mij te lang duurde maar uiteindelijk heb ik er wel nog van genoten omdat het wel een goed boek is.  

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boba_nbooks's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

HOLY CRAP. If I could rate this higher than 5 stars I would. This book was absolutely amazing and will be living rent-free in my mind for a long time.   

I was worried this book would be too long, but when I got to the end, I didn’t want it to be over. There were plenty of tense and tearful moments, and I cherished every second of it. 

My favorite thing about this entire trilogy is that no one was fully good or fully evil. Everyone has motivations for doing what they thought was right, and each and every one of them did something wrong at some point in time. I felt deeply for every character but especially for Dara, Nahri, and Ali since theirs are the perspectives we followed throughout the series. 

This is definitely going down as one of my favorite books / trilogies of all time. If you love political intrigue, power dynamics, magic, and morally gray characters, give this trilogy a chance. I hope more people read it and that it goes down as a favorite for years and years to come. 

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thenextbookdilemma's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Y’all, nothing I can write can do these books justice, just please go read them!

This series is one of my favorites EVER. I feel it embedded in my heart and I mourn having finished it, I grieve the end of these characters’ stories.

This is a luscious, tangled epic fantasy inspired by the Muslim faith, ancient myths and magical djinn spirits. It will so thouroughly sweep you away through ancient Cairo to magical cities, into the clouds on flying carpets and winged beasts and into ocean depths with scaled monsters and sunken ships. It will fill you with wonder and it will squeeze your heart (and your stomach) at every point.

Nahri. A thief, a liar, a consummate survivor, she always smiles at her mark. Nahri is my favorite kind of protagonist—an acerbic, take no $hit, beat you at your own game, I don’t need a protector, kind of gal. She is a mongoose in a den of cobras (if you haven’t seen these videos, youtube them), constantly underestimated, constantly surprising people. Nahri’s story is tragic and powerful and about making a home in a place determined to crush you, and then defending that home with everything you have.

Ali. A self-righteous zealot, a misguided and privileged idealist. Ali struggles to reconcile his faith with the politics of his royal family. While initially one of my least favorite characters, I so completely enjoyed his character arc and self discovery. Ali spends this series finding out who is is, and choosing who he wants to be.

Dara. Dara’s story broke me again and again. I raged against his circumstances, past and present and yearned for a future he could deserve. Dara forces you to ask yourself many questions and reminds you that we are products of the environment we are shaped in.

This book pushes you to question what can be forgiven. What does redemption look like? Will vengeance only ever beget more vengeance? Do our differences really separate us? I love these characters so much, deep dark flaws and all, and I thank Chakraborty for taking me on this magical and devastating journey.

May the fires burn brightly for you.

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