queer_bookwyrm's review
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
4 ⭐ CW: violence, torture, slavery, descriptions of blood and gore, kidnapping, rape, whipping
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is book one in the Daevabad trilogy. I've been meaning to read this for awhile, and I'm glad I finally did! I love intricate world building and morally gray characters, and we have plenty.
We follow Nahri, a thief in Cairo who can heal herself and others, although she mainly uses her ability to fleece her marks. During a "fake" ritual, she accidentally summons a daeva named Dara who is determined to take her to Daevabad, the City of Brass, because Nahri is not human. Dara is a daeva who was enslaved thousands of years ago, and was made to do terrible things, but Nahri trusts him anyway. I really like their dynamic throughout the books and the way it ebbs and flows.
We also follow Ali, the youngest son of the King and Future Qaid to his older brother, Muntadhir. Ali is young, brash, and self-righteous, which makes him quite annoying most of the time, ah youth. Ali is a bit of a contradiction, he believes in the rights of the shafit, a mix of human and djinn blood, but despises and wants to oppress the Daeva clan for their religion. Ali was a compelling character, though, being the second son, and fighting a moral war within himself: stop the mistreatment of shafit, or do as his father says. Speaking of his father, he is a fascinating character. He's not someone I'd say I like, but he's wonderfully complex and brilliant, if diabolical.
There is so much political and clan intrigue in this. It was all a little confusing and overwhelming at first, but it picks up once the world-building is established. Nahri makes a good stand in for the reader in Daevabad, so there is some exposition, but it doesn't feel like info dumping. I want to learn more about the Daeva religion and the shafit as well as more about Nahri's abilities.
Nahri is definitely my favorite character, but I also really liked Muntadhir, who is bisexual. He's your typical charming prince who often drinks too much and has too much fun with courtesans. I can't wait to see how he develops over the series.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty is book one in the Daevabad trilogy. I've been meaning to read this for awhile, and I'm glad I finally did! I love intricate world building and morally gray characters, and we have plenty.
We follow Nahri, a thief in Cairo who can heal herself and others, although she mainly uses her ability to fleece her marks. During a "fake" ritual, she accidentally summons a daeva named Dara who is determined to take her to Daevabad, the City of Brass, because Nahri is not human. Dara is a daeva who was enslaved thousands of years ago, and was made to do terrible things, but Nahri trusts him anyway. I really like their dynamic throughout the books and the way it ebbs and flows.
We also follow Ali, the youngest son of the King and Future Qaid to his older brother, Muntadhir. Ali is young, brash, and self-righteous, which makes him quite annoying most of the time, ah youth. Ali is a bit of a contradiction, he believes in the rights of the shafit, a mix of human and djinn blood, but despises and wants to oppress the Daeva clan for their religion. Ali was a compelling character, though, being the second son, and fighting a moral war within himself: stop the mistreatment of shafit, or do as his father says. Speaking of his father, he is a fascinating character. He's not someone I'd say I like, but he's wonderfully complex and brilliant, if diabolical.
There is so much political and clan intrigue in this. It was all a little confusing and overwhelming at first, but it picks up once the world-building is established. Nahri makes a good stand in for the reader in Daevabad, so there is some exposition, but it doesn't feel like info dumping. I want to learn more about the Daeva religion and the shafit as well as more about Nahri's abilities.
Nahri is definitely my favorite character, but I also really liked Muntadhir, who is bisexual. He's your typical charming prince who often drinks too much and has too much fun with courtesans. I can't wait to see how he develops over the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Rape, Slavery, Blood, and Gore
Minor: Kidnapping
sreddous's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The worldbuilding is really what shines in this book. The scenery and architecture is dazzling here. Every room, city, palace, stretch of desert, is described beautifully. There's a great sense of adventure here, and the sizes of the landscapes and how far all the characters go both in the city and around the region really have weight. This feels like a big, scary, magical WORLD, and that's super fun.
The princes and king are especially interesting characters -- it's really satisfying to watch Ali try to be a good leader but his naivete and youth make him not-always-efficient, and it's cool to watch his brother and father have to try to navigate political things as more-experienced people around him.
A few things didn't really work for me though -- in the beginning of the book, it makes sense that Nahri has a prickly personality and doesn't trust easily. But her quick temper started becoming annoying by the middle and ending of the book, because a lot of times she was pushing back on, and arguing with... people who were, like, definitely right and she was definitely wrong. This book is long, so the fact that she didn't really grow in that regard became pretty frustrating for me because by the time I saw her being snarky and causing fights near the end of the book, I was like, "lol, what are you going to ruin now, sigh."
I think that's partially the reason the romances didn't really work for me either. With all the fighting and bickering it's hard to see where any connections and love blossom, and it makes me not really care about rooting for which romance arc is "going to work out" per se.
The ending is high-stakes and terrifying and amazing though. For me personally, I'd definitely say that the plot overall is exciting and that the intrigue of the politics and magic and world itself can make up for any times that the characters themselves do things that aren't working for me.
The princes and king are especially interesting characters -- it's really satisfying to watch Ali try to be a good leader but his naivete and youth make him not-always-efficient, and it's cool to watch his brother and father have to try to navigate political things as more-experienced people around him.
A few things didn't really work for me though -- in the beginning of the book, it makes sense that Nahri has a prickly personality and doesn't trust easily. But her quick temper started becoming annoying by the middle and ending of the book, because a lot of times she was pushing back on, and arguing with... people who were, like, definitely right and she was definitely wrong. This book is long, so the fact that she didn't really grow in that regard became pretty frustrating for me because by the time I saw her being snarky and causing fights near the end of the book, I was like, "lol, what are you going to ruin now, sigh."
I think that's partially the reason the romances didn't really work for me either. With all the fighting and bickering it's hard to see where any connections and love blossom, and it makes me not really care about rooting for which romance arc is "going to work out" per se.
The ending is high-stakes and terrifying and amazing though. For me personally, I'd definitely say that the plot overall is exciting and that the intrigue of the politics and magic and world itself can make up for any times that the characters themselves do things that aren't working for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery
angharadmair's review against another edition
adventurous
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Death of parent, War, Gore, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
brynalexa's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
The world building is rich and the characters are complex. Hard to put down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Gore, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, War, Child death, Torture, Medical content, Violence, Racism, Abandonment, Blood, Alcohol, Slavery, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Child death and Rape
slythjetta's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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? Yes
5.0
Let me just say this audio is absolutely PERFECT to listen to as you drive.
City of Brass completely captivated my attention and I did not want it to end. Tbh, I have mixed feelings toward Dara and have no idea what to do with my emotions.
Nahri is in the worst situation possible and basically left to defenseless. Yes, she is a healer and has the attention that should have backfired in her face.
This series is a first for me where I basically got a "cheat code" after reading River of Silver. So I know who each character is and it actually helped me better get into the story. I tried listening to this audio first but got confused with many name mentions, but the novella helped me sort out who was who and I could envision them in my head better. (Yes, I did take thorough notes as where each novella story took place within the trilogy universe.)
So I am excited to delve into The Kingdom of Copper audio which LITERALLY became available today 2.20.23 form my libraries digital catalogue and I am so excited to start it!!! AAAAHHH!!!
City of Brass completely captivated my attention and I did not want it to end. Tbh, I have mixed feelings toward Dara and have no idea what to do with my emotions.
Nahri is in the worst situation possible and basically left to defenseless. Yes, she is a healer and has the attention that should have backfired in her face.
This series is a first for me where I basically got a "cheat code" after reading River of Silver. So I know who each character is and it actually helped me better get into the story. I tried listening to this audio first but got confused with many name mentions, but the novella helped me sort out who was who and I could envision them in my head better. (Yes, I did take thorough notes as where each novella story took place within the trilogy universe.)
So I am excited to delve into The Kingdom of Copper audio which LITERALLY became available today 2.20.23 form my libraries digital catalogue and I am so excited to start it!!! AAAAHHH!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Self harm, Violence, War, Gore, Slavery, and Vomit
lighterthaneyre's review against another edition
I just really didn't enjoy the male character that is the main character's POV into the magic world. He kidnaps her and is hostile and threatening and she keeps thinking "gosh he's got guess I should escape now"
I only got 1 chapter of the prince POV character and. He's just naive to the point of stupidity and has huge racism blinders. I wasn't having a good time so I stopped.
I only got 1 chapter of the prince POV character and. He's just naive to the point of stupidity and has huge racism blinders. I wasn't having a good time so I stopped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Blood, Violence, Slavery, Misogyny, and War
Minor: Sexual harassment
cutiemuffin23's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/injury detail, Genocide, Colonisation, Slavery, War, Xenophobia, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Infertility, Biphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Alcohol
leftielady's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
This is my first five star review of 2023.
I absolutely LOVE this book. I love the characters. The storyline and it's pace is fantastic. The world building and magic system is so unique. Amazing book and I will definitely be recommending it to others.
I absolutely LOVE this book. I love the characters. The storyline and it's pace is fantastic. The world building and magic system is so unique. Amazing book and I will definitely be recommending it to others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, Colonisation, War, Violence, Murder, Death, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Rape
saric7's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Great world building in a just ok plot.
Ali’s character kept this book from being terrible. I would love to have seen him get his own book instead of being tertiary and part of a subpar love triangle.
Ali’s character kept this book from being terrible. I would love to have seen him get his own book instead of being tertiary and part of a subpar love triangle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, War, Slavery, Trafficking, and Racial slurs
Minor: Homophobia, Rape, and Abandonment
andemilytoo's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Death, Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Gore, Cursing, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Fire/Fire injury