But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.
In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for..."
I really enjoyed this book. It is not without its flaws, granted, but I still found it highly engaging and a whirlwind of fun.
Nahri, our main characters, is a twenty-year-old thief and con artist, working marks in 18th Century French-occupied Cairo. She has a gift for discerning medical maladies and treating them. She is supernaturally adept at languages and at parting the unwary from their money. Her character started out so well. She was a survivor; clever and mischievous, making decisions with her head rather than her heart, who’d do what needed to be done to make it through another day and though not all her decisions could be labelled as sound, they were necessary nonetheless. I appreciated that so much, after all, who isn’t a sucker for a survivor story?
Unfortunately as the story progressed her character seemed to become less and less important and less cohesive. Page after page she kept making one foolish decision after another which was so unlike her, as if the Nahri at the beginning of the novel transformed into a completely different character by the end.
All that pride I felt at the start was crushed. It was very disheartening and I am hoping that she becomes more like herself and, finds her power in Daevabad, in the next book.
My favourite character is the book has to be Alizayd. I really felt for him and his struggle to find out the truth and be morally upstanding in a world that seems entirely morally grey. The confusion of his alliances because of his mixed tribe heritage was also really interesting. He felt the most realistic and complex of the characters. It was a little odd to me that in a community that is depicted as largely Muslim, Alizayd was the only character who was remotely portrayed as being so.....only he was ostracized on account of being Muslim by pretty much EVERYONE ELSE.
Ali is a pious, self-serious and kind-hearted scholar, trying to understand his own privilege and to balance exercising his own power with the love he has for his powerful family. Yet he was perceived, by everyone else, as an oddity for simply being devout – for declining his brother’s invitation to drink alcohol, for not
frequenting parties, etc. He was even called a “religious fanatic”
And last but not least of the main characters is Dara. Here’s the thing: I’m of the firm belief that a great character does not necessarily translate into a “good person”. In fact, some of the best literary figures are completely horrible people, and that's because a character’s worth should always be hinged on how interesting and complex they are, not on their morality in case they were real. But you know what? Male protagonists whose arc revolves around growth and actual personality will always be more interesting than insufferable wankers who punch everything and treat everyone around them like garbage.
Dara’s character lacks any creativity, emotion, or purpose beyond carrying on a pointless ancestral grudge. It’s impossible to sympathize with him, let alone root for him. He is shown to be incredibly prejudiced against shafits (half humans), believe his tribe is better than anyone else's and all round so supremist and exclusionary. This was never combated by the author or Nahri, merely brushed off by the fact that he is sweetly old-fashioned. Like no women he is deeply racist and insufferable.
Now on to the plot, the book is quite long. It is definitely a set up for the rest of the trilogy, getting the stage set and the reader informed. However I didn't feel like the book dragged. I was interested and engaged the entire time. I am a sucker for fantasy politics and world building so it might be more my cup of tea than others. Daevabad is stunningly complex and vibrant. Ancient tribal hatreds are kept at bay by a strong, fabulously morally grey and ruthless ruler. King Ghassan ibn Khader al Qahtani must contend not only with inter-tribal tensions, he must cope with a growing insurgency. (Think sundry Middle East rulers with tribally diverse populations.)
The City of Brass is both smart and very entertaining.
The richness of the world we see here gives added heft to a wonderful story. The world Chakraborty has created hums with humanity, well, whatever the djinn equivalent might be for humanity (djinnity?).The writing is really well done.
You will smell the incense, want to keep a damp cloth at hand to wipe the dust and sand from your face, and a cool drink nearby to help with the heat. It is also wonderful to learn more about a culture that is not my own. This is a wonderful, engaging, and fun read. Will certainly stick around for the second one.
Age rating 14 +. There is quite a brutal scene where a man is crushed to death, people are burnt alive in molten metal and there are many concubines however nothing is explicitly sexual.
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