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beccadamb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
emilyplun's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
(warning for very general spoilers, nothing specific)
I loved the world/setting, but the book overall left me frustrated. The whole story is full of "mysteries," but half of those are the main character just not knowing the basic workings of the magical world or its society, or an event in magical history that every other character is aware of. There are a lot of "who's behind this event?" mysteries too, but it's hard to get into that when the reader is only given a tiny trickle of info about how anything works. The ending was frustrating-- many mysteries weren't solved (which is fine) but a few that were solved weren't satisfying, and then more questions were introduced. I felt like I was drowning in things I didn't understand. As a reader, I wanted to know at least the basic facts that are relevant to a situation (like how x magic works, what happened during x event that everyone keeps referring to), even if the main character doesn't know.
This is really unfortunate since I love the world-building and the basic plotline. I might have to read the plot somewhere and intentionally spoil myself so I can read the sequels.
I loved the world/setting, but the book overall left me frustrated. The whole story is full of "mysteries," but half of those are the main character just not knowing the basic workings of the magical world or its society, or an event in magical history that every other character is aware of. There are a lot of "who's behind this event?" mysteries too, but it's hard to get into that when the reader is only given a tiny trickle of info about how anything works. The ending was frustrating-- many mysteries weren't solved (which is fine) but a few that were solved weren't satisfying, and then more questions were introduced. I felt like I was drowning in things I didn't understand. As a reader, I wanted to know at least the basic facts that are relevant to a situation (like how x magic works, what happened during x event that everyone keeps referring to), even if the main character doesn't know.
This is really unfortunate since I love the world-building and the basic plotline. I might have to read the plot somewhere and intentionally spoil myself so I can read the sequels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape and War
marissaboone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
A solid mix of slow paced, political challenges and quick adventure. I couldn't put it down truthfully and found myself rooting for all the characters despite their differences and rivalries. Excited to read the next novel in S.A. Chakraborty's trilogy!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
dayday_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Grief
sophieink's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
"You can't go back to the human world."
I had long been awaiting to read The City of Brass and going it I had expected it to be slow as I had heard it a fair few times.
It starts off following Nahri, set in 18th Cairo, when she accidentally summons a darkly mysterious djinn. After the events, they have to go to The City of Brass when the ancient djinn tribes live where Nahri might end up having quite a big role.
It is essentially about Nahri entering a politically charged city with ancient Djinn tribes all at each other throats and what her place in all of this means. If you are looking for a fantasy surrounded with magic, political intrigue, family court politics, old histories being brought up alongside the muddle of alliances and romances then I, personally, recommend it to you undoubtedly.
The writing is beautiful and I was able to sink into it easily, I could picture the landscape and I really felt dissolved into the world.
It starts off strong but I think the second quarter is a bit weaker as it feels dragged out, but then it picks up again leading to a really strong end. I was on the end of my seat as twists and turns happened.
I would also recommend if you are interested in what are the 'typical fantasy character types' as I think we have some really strong contenders here.
- DARA: the mysterious, brooding warrior
- NAHRI: the main girl with the potential power to save all us
- ALIZAYD: a nerdy prince who means well
and more. I found them all enticing and I really like seeing the relationships and interactions unfold as they were full of emotions. I think I was really interesting in seeing Dara and Alizayd's interactions, they were always exciting. I think Alizayd ended up being my favourite but that is honestly no surprise as the nerdy one always is.
I can kind of see why it has the mix of reviews that is does but for me, it really worked. It has so many of the fantasy elements that worked for me and I literally can't wait to carry on with this series !!
I can kind of see why it has the mix of reviews that is does but for me, it really worked. It has so many of the fantasy elements that worked for me and I literally can't wait to carry on with this series !!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Grief
colleen15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Sometimes when just about every boy fall in love the main character I don’t get it. This is not one of those times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime and Violence
Lots of in universe derogatory terms and violence between different cultures. One character is magically enslaved.