Summary from Goodreads: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.
But 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. 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.
In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. 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 be careful what you wish for...
Review:
What I Liked:
Characters. The book is told from two points of view, Nahri and Ali, who have vastly different experiences. I was uncertain about the duel pov but as the novel went on I came to love both of the main characters. Overall, Chakraborty did a amazing job of creating characters, main and side that the reader comes to love.
Writing Style. I don't read a lot of high fantasy, I went into this one blind and found the writing beautiful and compelling. I found myself constantly listening to the audio book because of well-crafted characters and the writing.
World Building/Magic System. I loved the world that Chakraborty crafted, the mixture of setting, the real Cairo and the mystical city of Daevadbad. The author also did a great job of making the magic system, I cannot wait to see how it changes in the upcoming novels in the series.
What I Disliked:
Pacing. I only struggled a little bit with the pacing in the first part of the novel. However, when it got to the middle the story picked up.
Audiobook. I made the mistake of only listening to the audio book. It was well done but I found myself getting lost a lot compared to the reading the print version. And I did not connect with the characters as much with the audio book. I've already read book two, in print this time but I have a feeling that I will be rereading this before book three comes out. But I will need to buy myself a print copy!
I recommend checking out this epic adult fantasy, it took me a bit to get into it but once I did I was hooked!
Rating:
4.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars
No comments:
Post a Comment