When I say these books took me by storm, I am not over exaggerating. I’d seen on Bookstagram a while back, a few people talking about The City of Brass. Book one in The Daevabad Trilogy by S.A. Chakraborty. Having already read and loved her newest novel, The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi I knew I had to give this trilogy about djinn a try. And oh boy, I have absolutely zero regrets!
This series hooked me with it’s political drama, magic system, lore, and the slowest burn ever!
Now, since this is a general review of the trilogy as a whole, I will not be breaking it down by each book for spoiler reasons. So this “review” is going to be my sentiments regarding all three books in a very abstract manner, with a slight emphasis on book one. And for the sake of avoiding spoilers I’m only including the blurb/book summary of the first novel. Hope that is okay with you all!
The City of Brass – Book One
In this first novel, we are introduced to most of the cast that we follow through this trilogy. Mainly following Nahri, Dara, and Alizayd aka Ali as we discover djinn, daeva, and their wonderful city of Daevabad.
The Blurb
On the streets of eighteenth century Cairo, Nahri is a con woman of unsurpassed skill. She makes her living swindling Ottoman nobles, hoping to one day earn enough to change her fortunes. But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, during one of her cons, she learns that even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
Forced to flee Cairo, Dara and Nahri journey together 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 birds of prey are more than what they seem, to Daevabad, the legendary city of brass.
It’s a city steeped in magic and fire, where blood can be as dangerous as any spell; a city where old resentments run deep and the royal court rules with a tenuous grip; a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound – and where her very presence threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Things I Adored in All Three Books
Political Drama
Now, at first I thought this was kind of odd for me. But then I started thinking about shows like Bridgerton, and Yellowstone which I really love to binge. Maybe I do in fact love me a good political drama.
Throughout the course of these three novels, we get the history of this kingdom and its ruling families, past and present. We get well acquainted with how each family has ruled these people. How their choices have brought happiness or harm to certain peoples. We get to see how their ruling has either fostered prejudice or distrust of others, and who has benefited or burdened besides royalty.
We get to see these things in the alternating third person perspectives of our main characters. And as we are in third person perspectives, it is fascinating to see all this political intrigue And how our main characters either fight to change things in city of brass, or fight to keep them as they have been for centuries.
The royal family dynamic and politics were simply enthralling. I wanted people brought to heel, I wanted others to take power. I wanted justice for so many!
The political aspect also serves as a great starting point to watch these characters develop into well-rounded and complex people. To watch as they come to terms with realizing how narrow a mindset they had, or to see them dig in to their convictions.
The Villain
Like many Disney movies of late, we’re seeing this shift of the villain being a singular person. Villains can be so many things. The elements, family, history, etc. This story I don’t feel like had just one villain personally.
We have several contenders, none of whom I will name here. But characters aren’t the only possibilities. From the blurb above, we know that Daevabad is a tense environment. Politics play into that, history plays in to that, and some of our characters do as well.
Each has their own reasoning or motive. And as the story develops, although some things stand out more as bad or villainous, it’s within the realm of possibility to see the perspectives of these situations and characters.
It’s one of those books where you start questioning yourself and the “bad guys” as the story evolves. Are they truly evil? Or have they been warped by history into this thing? If someone is convinced X is evil, then actions taken against X would be validated? Would they not? But then, has the someone in question considered X from all perspectives? The questions just keep coming.
I loved that, personally, I did not feel there to be one villain. Which felt super realistic to me. This isn’t some super-hero story where everything is black and white. This is a grey world…and so are these books.
I loved it!
Nahri
Our MFC (main female character) is fantastic in my opinion. Nahri is clever, yet makes mistakes, and is just a girl trying to make sense of a whole new world she didn’t know existed. She is pragmatic, and a quick study. She is a survivor.
Throughout this trilogy, I will only fall more in love with Nahri. Even if she pulls some really stupid stunts that make me drag my hand over my face, it just makes me invested more in her character. Her resolve when she finds her mark, is to be admired.
The Magic
Yet another thing I really loved in this series, is how magic was handled. Many are djinn, they’re born magical. Others are not. And still there are others who some believe shouldn’t have magic but do! Some magic is selective to certain regions, where one was born or who their ancestors are from, which ends up being a significant plot point in this trilogy. It was also very intriguing to me. Because no matter who you met, you didn’t know what the magic was going to look like, if it was there at all. And for being a trilogy about djinn, there are a lot of problems that can’t be solved with a snap of the fingers.
Possible slight spoiler below! If you want to skip feel free!
I also thoroughly enjoyed how in these novels magic is taxing. Maybe that’s a slight spoiler, and if so I apologize. But I get tired of magical beings being pretty much indestructible and having unlimited power. Not so in these books. Magic may be something they’re born with, but skill is also involved. Practice and training. So thumbs up from me, for making magic have a price!
The Slowest Burn…
Now, I know this trilogy doesn’t actually have the slowest burn. But by god did it feel like it!
And it’s for a superb reason. Love is not the primary objective of this series. This once again, is a fantasy series, heavy on the political and magical drama. Our MFC is introduced to several people, and you do get the sense that there is possibilities for romance should she want. But there is so much going on in these novels, romance is definitely not at the forefront.
However, it’s sprinkled throughout in such a way, that you are left wanting for soooo looongg… It’s one of those situations where you know that something may happen, but if it does it’s not going to be the headline. But damn if you don’t want it to happen. And though Nahri meets several contenders for such a role, the love geometric shape that can be seen eventually isn’t a simple clean cut one…much like many aspects of this wonderful trilogy!
Complex Characters, Complex World
I know I just mentioned Nahri, and how the villain(s) aren’t clear cut. None of them are, and nothing is in this trilogy. And it’s just the cherry on top of why I love it so much. Throughout this whole series, we are meeting characters who may have brief page time, but each is individual. You meet vendors on the street, and in just a short period you get the sense of why they feel the way they do. Of why they’re upset or happy. And sometimes that goes against the mission or feelings of our MCs, and so we get to experience that mental and moral struggle of why people do what they do.
We may think something should be a certain way, but hey, what about this random characters experience. It’s completely different and therefore they don’t agree. And after a short time of getting to know this other character, you realize that oh, no it’s not that simple. They have a point. And it just fuels the drama and the the dilemmas that fuel and progress this trilogy.
In Conclusion
I could go on and on about the things I really loved in this series. As far as negatives or things I could pick at, they are small and mostly are constrained to book one. But the positives heavily outweigh them, hence why I didn’t even bother writing about them. It may have been a sentence. Hardly worth it’s own paragraph.
This is a great and wonderful trilogy. If you love, strong female leads, truly motivating and complex political drama, morally grey characters and villains, this is for you. If you enjoy a woman having more than one love interest/option that results in the slowest burn ever, this is for you. S.A. Chakraborty’s works are simply stunning, and I cannot wait to read more from this author!
The Daevabad Trilogy – Ratings
Until Next Time,
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