Yes, there are some slower spots where the world takes precedent of the plot, but considering that this book is crafted around non-western settings and cultures I think that this extra detail is warranted.

I thought that everything was incredibly well crafted. Add in some luscious prose, snappy dialogue, and a diabolical eye for detail and this is the type of storytelling that might just leave you wanting more. And then it elevates them all to the next level with intense world building, complicated H/histories and politics, and a delightfully complex and unpredictable magic system. The main characters are 18, 20, and tangentially immortal so they will appeal to wide range of readers, while the story itself makes use of some much loved tropes including the unexpected discovery of magical abilities, missing/ dead parents, a hint of the chosen one, the makings of a love triangle, and a tyrannical ruler. This is a deliciously sumptuous read that toes the line between older YA and adult/ epic fantasy and makes the best of both worlds. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.Īfter all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for… That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. 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. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by-palm readings, zars, healings-are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.īut 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. Certainly, she has power on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. Themes: Djinn, Magic, Politics, Civil Unrestįeatures: Interview, Glossary, Excerpt, Reading Group Guide Publication Date (Paperback): July 3, 2018 Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who kept telling me to read it – I am officially in love. I know, I know, I’m late to the party when it comes to this baby. Yipee!Īnd my first review now that I’m back? The City of Brass by S.

The city of brass review