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The City of Brass

by S. A. Chakraborty

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Daevabad Trilogy (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
3,8401343,243 (3.97)189
"Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty--an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. 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 and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. For the warrior tells her an extraordinary 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 birds of prey are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass--a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. A young prince dreams of rebellion. 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 to be careful what you wish for"-- "A brilliantly imagined historical fantasy in which a young con artist in eighteenth century Cairo discovers she's the last descendant of a powerful family of djinn healers. With the help of an outcast immortal warrior and a rebellious prince, she must claim her magical birthright in order to prevent a war that threatens to destroy the entire djinn kingdom. Perfect for fans of The Grace of Kings, The Golem and the Jinni, and The Queen of the Tearling"--… (more)
Recently added byZ3N1A, codexastoria, mrecord, Irislover-4842, IriDas, EmmaVKrieg, private library, Karlinkj, g2-lpi
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» See also 189 mentions

English (130)  Dutch (1)  All languages (131)
Showing 1-5 of 130 (next | show all)
società, fanatismo e politica delle varie tribù Jiin ( )
  LLonaVahine | May 22, 2024 |
Loved it!
I hadn't come across anything in this genre, so it's quite welcome. It's like an Islamic (magical djinn) Harry Potter story, but not. The plot is completely different, it is only in how it pulls you in to an entirely new and intricate world that it is similar. As with Harry Potter, for those who know the myths, legends, and folklore, the stories are based on, the construct probably isn't *as* entirely new as it seems to one with far less exposure, like me.
The inspiration to listen to this well narrated (Soneela Nankani) book was actually the very attractive book cover of the 2nd in the series, "The Kingdom of Copper". (Who says you shouldn't judge a book by its cover?) I'd coveted it upon seeing it in Barnes and Noble, so snatched it up when my favorite Friends of the Library bookshop was selling it for $8.00. BUT, you can't read the 2nd book of a series without having first read the first, so I downloaded the audio from Overdrive.
Now I can dig out that beautifully covered Book 2 from my tower of "please read me NOW" books next to my bed and find out what happens next! ( )
  TraSea | Apr 29, 2024 |
An absolutely decadent and luminous fantasy novel- I loved every single page! Nahri is one of my new favorite characters and she really carries the novel so well. Ali became more interesting as the story went on, and I'm super curious to know what happens next with his plot. Super hyped that the third and final book in this trilogy comes out this summer so I can binge the second one and be ready for the finale. :) ( )
  deborahee | Feb 23, 2024 |
Kinda confusing but merman ending so what’s not to like ( )
  salllamander | Feb 11, 2024 |
I love this book. It has been while since I've read a good epic fantasy and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. I can't wait for book 2. ( )
  Woodardja | Jan 30, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 130 (next | show all)
At the moment, speculative fiction has an exciting relationship with protest fiction and feminist narratives, and while “The City of Brass” doesn’t blow away cultural notions of difference or reconfigure the male-female divide, it does exploit the genre’s penchant for inclusion. In fact, the novel feels like a friendly hand held out across the world. (I hope very much that it will be translated into Arabic and Farsi.) It reads like an invitation for readers from Baghdad to Fairbanks to meet across impossibly divergent worlds through the shared language and images of the fantastical.
 
The expected first-novel flaws—a few character inconsistencies, plot swirls that peter out, the odd patch where the author assumes facts not in evidence—matter little. Best of all, the narrative feels rounded and complete yet poised to deliver still more.

Highly impressive and exceptionally promising.
added by melmore | editKirkus Reivews (Aug 21, 2017)
 

» Add other authors (1 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Chakraborty, S. A.primary authorall editionsconfirmed
Alcaino, MicaelaCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Nankani, SoneelaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Information from the Dutch Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Wees voorzichtig met wat je wenst
Dedication
For Alia, the light of my life
First words
He was an easy mark.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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"Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty--an imaginative alchemy of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts. Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she's a con woman of unsurpassed talent. 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 and a reliable way to survive. But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she's forced to question all she believes. For the warrior tells her an extraordinary 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 birds of prey are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass--a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound. In Daevabad, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. A young prince dreams of rebellion. 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 to be careful what you wish for"-- "A brilliantly imagined historical fantasy in which a young con artist in eighteenth century Cairo discovers she's the last descendant of a powerful family of djinn healers. With the help of an outcast immortal warrior and a rebellious prince, she must claim her magical birthright in order to prevent a war that threatens to destroy the entire djinn kingdom. Perfect for fans of The Grace of Kings, The Golem and the Jinni, and The Queen of the Tearling"--

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Book description
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing—are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive. 

But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary 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 birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass—a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries. 

Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father’s corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri 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 to be careful what you wish for . . .
Haiku summary
In Cairo, Nahri
stumbles into magical
adventure with djinn.
(passion4reading)
Tribal infighting
and revolt – life at djinn court
is no fairy tale.
(passion4reading)

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