The Empire of Gold: A Novel

The Daevabad Trilogy, Book 3

By: S. A. Chakraborty

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Length: 28 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's Summary

"No series since George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire has quite captured both palace intrigue and the way that tribal infighting and war hurt the vulnerable the most." (Paste Magazine)

The final chapter in the best-selling, critically acclaimed Daevabad Trilogy, in which a con-woman and an idealistic djinn prince join forces to save a magical kingdom from a devastating civil war.

Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people. 

But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara's dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad's deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith. 

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved...and take a stand for those they once hurt.

©2020 S. A. Chakraborty (P)2020 HarperAudio

Ecumenical. Exquisite. Exemplary.

Once in a lifetime we are graced by an author who writes as naturally as we breath. Who can cross borders and boundaries through the merely stoke of own. S. A. Chakraborty is such an author. ⚖️ Plot: Being the final installment of the trilogy, I was expecting one big twist. Instead, we enjoyed a plethora of them, all seamlessly woven in and timed to perfection. And talking about giving us closure, we were gifted not with one epilogue but an entire Part of the book of what ensues after the inciting event. 🗺 World: I cannot impress upon you enough how enchanting the world of Daevabad is... You don’t only get one set of mythical beings but entire tribes of Daeva, Djinn, Ifrits, Marids, Shedu and Peris. I can confidently say that you have never read anything like it your life! 💑 Characters: As with her encapsulating story, Chakraborty never gives us anything cliche or sappy. From Dara to Nahri to Ali, each gets their just deserves and yet the characters and readers are empowered to imagine their futures as they would wish from there on out. I could not have asked for a better end to this sensational trilogy.

Great book

I enjoyed this book overall. The narrator did an awesome job. It definitely makes a difference when you listen to a book. I would definitely recommend this series.

Simply incredible

A perfect capstone to a spellbinding trilogy. One of those tales you wish you could read anew again and again. I highly recommend listening to this trilogy.

too long

felt like this last book didn't need 20+ hours to get to the end. felt like a lot filling and time killing in this book. The story was great as all of SA's books, but this one just dragged on. Dare I say, boring at times.

Wonderful story

wonderful story, kept attention throughout. Just wish there were more than three books in the series! Look forward to Future series from this author.

Phenomenal

Absolutely phenomenal series. One of my favorite fantasy series books I’ve ever read. This book built on the depth of the previous books and had an outstanding finish!

91 hours to get my heart broken

The story was written very well. Narrator did a great job. I do feel some injustice for my favorite character. The past three books tell a story of suffering and redemption. He was given power he never wanted when all he desired was connection. His fate at the end left me in tears. I know the world is cruel and unfair but I wanted a happy ending for for this character and I felt he was robbed. I found all the princes unlikable which is an unpopular opinion. They felt like entitled rich kids who end up getting everything they want. I guess that's how the world works? I love the main female character. She is head strong and made the best choices she could. I love her story. Fantastic character development and unique.

Twilight, but the choices are Hitler or a nice boy who is also nice to you

Oh man. I couldn’t put this book down, but I really couldn’t stand how the main character lines constantly for her love from the first book who is established to A. Basically be a total hitler, and B. Is resurrected and decides to LEARN NOTHING and be hitler again. But she’s all “I can see him as a true sensitive soul”. No, he’s hitler. As I said, I marched through this book like a soldier, and there was a lot of world building I loved. I also love that it’s high fantasy written by a woman with woman characters who exist outside of their relationships with men... kind of. The characters all had pretty much the same voice so it was hard to tell. Everyone was Jos Whedon sarcastic and quippy, and boy did it grind my gears. The world building is great and despite the narrative flaws I couldn’t bring myself to stop reading it. This book gets a “Respect yourself, Girl”/5

Great series for your Bookclub

I’ve been recommending this series to all my girlfriends. 4.5/5 - Pure 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 The fires burned so brightly for this series, there isn’t any oxygen left in the room. Whew. ME: I like to read/listen to multiple books at a time. THIS STORY: I’m an exception.

1/4 of this book needed to be edited out

First, Soneela Nankani did a fantastic job of narration. The shifts in characters from male to female, Daeva, Djinn and Marid were all handled flawlessly The story itself had some great moments, some very interesting intrigue etc. however it was far too “angsty” - waaayy too much internal guilt, moaning, complaining, and whining from several characters. I really could see 25% of this book chopped away by a good editor. Towards the end, after the climax, I thought the dénouement was excessively long. I enjoyed parts of the book, but really I was kind of relieved when it was over