The City of Brass

By: S. A. Chakraborty

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 19 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 18th-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....

S. A. Chakraborty is a speculative fiction writer from New York City. The City of Brass is her first novel. www.sachakraborty.com

©2017 Shannon Chakraborty (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

it's a love/hate thing

There is alot to like with this book (it being based on Middle Eastern folklore is fun) BUT nahri. Man is she a hard character to get behind, Im fairly certain that her only emotion is surprise followed by either 1) an apology or 2) anger. Her backstory doesn't really match up with the way she's written. My favorite character was Alizayd for sure, he goes a long way to redeeming the story. I suffered through Nahri because the politics, religion, racism and tribalism in the society was actually rather interesting and carried the story along. Of course the end was super intriguing and now I will have to torture myself listening to nahri for another book.

16 of 16 people found this review helpful

weird mixed bag that left me confused

what is this story. some bits are fantastic. some are weak. the author narrowly misses turning it into a teen monster romance... but fails to make it into anything else.
not sure if there is meant to be a sequel because there was a lot left hanging or incomplete. the main protagonist never finds her power or overcomes any real challenge. .. rather she seems to meekly get played by everyone around her while muttering to herself why shes a victim.
like i said some parts were great but many were not. its kind of like a mish-mash of ideas, concepts and characters that never gains any real coherence or direction.
if theres a sequel planned i may be tempted to find out what the hell is supposed to be happening... but not sure if i cared enough to spend a credit on it.
bought it in the premise that it was like "the golem and the jini"... but sadly it was nothing of the sort.

26 of 27 people found this review helpful

Narrator ruined the charaters for me

This may have been better with a different narrator. All the characters sounded like catty teenage girls. I enjoyed the story. Maybe better to read the book instead of this Audible version.

47 of 50 people found this review helpful

The right side is often a matter of perspective

Set in 18th century Cairo and the magical lands beyond, this novel is based in folklore, myth, and history of the Middle East. That said, with it's political tensions over wars past and present, conversations surrounding "purity" within the races, and religious underpinnings, one can easily relate this story about a con artist with magical healing powers and the world of the djinn to much of what's going on in the world to this day.

The characters are diverse from their socioeconomic statuses and "bloodlines" to their religious convictions and sexual preferences. The romance will make your heart ache and leave you wanting more. The pace is quick with beautiful writing and characters both developed and developing that give the story a great deal of depth. I listed to this on audio, and it was a great listen on a long flight!

It is a trilogy, so keep in mind that you'll likely have to wait until late 2018 before you get a next installment. The ending was pretty predictable even in the cliffhanger. That said, it doesn't make you want to read the next installment any less! If you enjoy Leigh Bardugo, Sarah J Maas, or Sabaa Tahir you'll really enjoy this novel.

26 of 29 people found this review helpful

Just buy it. Seriously.

This book is amazing. The world built by the author is entrancing, the romance is realistic and filled a slow burn that burns deep. Best of all the female protagonist is strong and brave despite fear. She’s not perfect, she’s not blank...Nahri is her own person from page 1 to end.

My unexpected favorite feature about this book is the weaving of the city/court politics and realistic flaws for every character. You will get frustrated with your heroine and sympathize with antagonists....and that is what makes this book great. The payoff is filled with emotion and opens wide open for the next book.

I cannot wait for more.

16 of 18 people found this review helpful

Excellent concept, lackluster execution

This is an exciting, adventurous tale that should be more exciting than the resulting story is. it may be that the print edition is more effective in presenting the story, but the audiobook, I think, draws out the flaws in the storytelling more obviously and makes it harder to buy in to what should be a very enticing fantasy world.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

Good story. Annoying narrator.

I think I would have liked the main character if the narrator had not made her sound like a bratty 11-year-old, and use such an insincere voice to portray her. This might not bother some people, but authenticity is important to me.
The cultural mythological and magical aspects of the book come together in pleasing in interesting ways. It has good internal continuity.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

dreadful performance.

the narrator's performance was painful to listen to. the book itself is engrossing and enjoyable.

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

A Confusing Story

I was confused by this story. While I enjoyed the narration I found following the story difficult and mysterious. My attention was kept because I enjoyed parts but the outcome was not as I anticipated. In fact, I was unsure at the conclusion of the book just what the outcome was. Nevertheless, I think readers will enjoy this book and perhaps a second read will help answer my questions.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellent

Any additional comments?

I loved both main characters, and the wold building is great. I love how every character has a different relationship with their tribal identity.

The only problem is that towards the end, Nahri becomes very passive and stops being relevant to the plot except as something for others to fight over. She really needed to interact with the human faction in Daevabad. They are a HUGE part of the story. I kept waiting for it to happen, and it just didn't. She never tries to sneak out and see the city. Ali never takes her to the orphanage to heal that little boy. She doesn't take a stand on anything. She just kind of hangs around the palace and complains.

The result is that Ali becomes a much stronger story line. At the end of the book, I can see lots of things for him to do and accomplish. I see nothing for Nahri. She is even more trapped and helpless than she was before. I have no clue how she is going to effect the plot at all in the next book. Realistically, she did very little at the end of this book. That's why the ending felt disappointing.

Also structurally, it makes a lot more sense to have a romance between Nahri and Ali. They are the two main characters, but they hardly interact. Their friendship at the end is nice, but as I said, Ali is the one moving the plot forward and doing all the important things. Nahri doesn't have a strong enough reason to try and help him, especially since he didn't introduce her to the human underclass.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great work of fantasy mixed with Islamic inflhence

Needs a glossary because new and invented terms are hard to follow when spoken. However, story and characters are interesting. Exciting to have a fantasy novel from this perspective and look forward to future books in the series

Not full of Eastern Promise

I was attracted to this audio book by the Middle Eastern theme. Djinns and magic in eighteenth century Egypt. Shades of Scheharezade. However the dialogue was written and narrated in almost modern American. The story felt that it could have been anywhere. I am sorry to say that the reader also spoke in modern American English with no trace of accents to give colour to the characters.

2 of 4 people found this review helpful

Enthralled!

I knew it would be of a standard but wasn't expecting this; I have no critique.
Also the narration was just perfect.