Reviews with content warning for Death - The City of Brass

This was an epic story for me. I was hooked from the very first page and did not want to put it down Chakraborty has a way of writing characters, plot, and world building that just sucks you in.

First, the world building is top notch. She incorporates so many fantasy elements into real world history and blends the religions and history fo the time period so seamlessly for me. I was mesmerized not only by the real world depictions but also the way she uses the characters to almost tell stories about the history of Djinn and Daevas.

Second, the plot was plottin all over the place. There were twists I didn't see coming and even the ones I did, her descriptions of the story just were chef's kiss.

Lastly, the characters were so complex and brought to life. Every single character had strengths and weaknesses and I could not figure out who were the good guys and who were bad.

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cpratreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.75

I really really liked this book. I loved the two POVs, the story was really engaging, and I am fighting the urge to immediately go buy the second book.

I was worried halfway through the action was going to slow down but I was very wrong. There were 3 pages near the end where I went on an "emotional rollercoaster" (my partners words). I thoroughly enjoyed this and think it is a spectacular adult fantasy.

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jovanh's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Not a bad book at all. Just not my genre and didn't grab my interest. Good world-building, and character motivation.

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excommunikate's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.75

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karydiazc's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

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

4.0

I remember seeing this book on social media and thought the cover looked cool, so I got it on audiobook.

I really enjoy the worldbuilding this book has, I don't think it's very detailed in some aspects, but still I like it. I must admit I know little to nothing about the regions and religions in which this book is based, so I had a hard time following all the concepts and beings mentioned. I think I'll get the ebook and read along the audio, so I can stop at every concept I don't know, so I'll have a better understanding of the story and mithology.

The characters were good, they felt interesting and tridimensional. We as readers still don't know much about Dara, so I hope the author gives us more info in the next book. I find Ali quite charming and I definitely want to see what happens to him after that ending.
Now, I feel like Nahri didn't grow much as a character during this book, but I feel like we'll see a lot more of development in the next one.
I've seen comments saying her POV was boring and while I wouldn't call it that, I do recognize she wasn't the most interesting person in the book. I believe she'll grow out of necessity due to the position she was put in.

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spacerkip's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

It's been a while since a book made me immediately run to borrow the sequel from the library. Vibrant and full of lively characters and well-crafted, multi-layered intrigue, I quickly found myself absorbed into this story and its world. I'm so glad I borrowed the physical copy my library had instead of the audiobook through hoopla. It was a lot easier to look up all of the names and words for clothing and architecture I didn't recognize, and my enjoyment was definitely richer because of it. I'm excited to see how our three protagonists (two protagonists and one antagonist? 👀) handle the fallout from the end of this book.

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yruss972's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

From a world building and fantasy fiction perspective, a good book. Would rather it if more of the magic system had found closure by the end of the first book. It's still unclear what the rules are.

From a message perspective, touches on lots of issues but, sadly, takes a stand on none of them. Comes disturbingly close to legitimizing terrorism especially naming the rebel group Tanzim.
Blurs all the lines on both sides of the conflict so no one is innocent and, when guilty, they are not at fault.
The author needs to visit Israel post October 7 and get some new perspective.

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matcha_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark 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? Yes

3.5

This could have been a great book for me except I was confused half the time. There's an overwhelming amount of world building and politics going on. If I re-read this then the politics would make more sense, but I don't have time for that.
Honestly, if it wasn't for the end of the book I probably wouldn't have enjoyed the book as much. I'm on the fence about continuing the series, I want to know what happens but do I really want to read another 2 books?

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