The City of Brass (Daevabad Trilogy)

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Create Your Own Villain: The Qahtanis' treatment of Manizheh, controlling her life, keeping her as a virtual prisoner in the infirmary, and punishing her brother if she ever stepped out of line caused a deep hatred and resentment in her which ultimately lead to her faking her own death and plotting to overthrow the Qahtanis. But nope!! None of that happened!! Somehow I sinned, and some entity thinks that my first one-star read of the year should also be the book I mentally five-starred and expected to become one of my favorites. I feel like someone just held out a chocolate-chip cookie to me and said I could have it, only to snatch it away from me when I reach for it. WHO DOES THAT. 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.

The epilogue for the trilogy also reveals the Egyptian shafit working in the palace kitchens was Nahri's grandfather. Anti-Magic: One of the basic powers of Suleiman's Seal is shutting down the magic of everyone but the holder, which Ghassan is only too happy to demonstrate. NAHRI, her daughter of uncertain parentage, left abandoned as a young child in the human land of EgyptDJINNISTANI: Daevabad’s common tongue, a merchant creole the djinn and shafit use to speak to those outside their tribe. Now together in one place, these stories of Daevabad enrich a world already teeming with magic and wonder. Explore this magical kingdom, hidden from human eyes. A place where djinn live and thrive, fight and love. A world where princes question their power, and powerful demons can help you…or destroy you.

Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out, pointing out the rotten roots empire grows from and making damn clear the work, the sacrifice, and yes, as the title says the necessity of violence in ripping it all apart. This book was also just so damn CLEVER in how it applied the magical aspects. If I can be a total nerd, the linguistic stuff was not just profound in how it was used, it was really neat to learn! Arranged Marriage: Ghassan plans to unite the Qahtanis and Nahids by marrying Muntadhir to Nahri. Both decide to be pragmatic about the situation. At the end, they happily burn their marriage contract and become Amicable Exes. I loved all the different characters, from Dara the big, strong Daeva who carries so much hatred in his heart, to Prince Ali the uptight second son who anchors himself to his religion. I likeThe Old Gods: The marid include a couple of these among their number. Sobek, the crocodilian god of the Nile in Ancient Egypt is one. Another is Tiamat, the primordial goddess of the sea (and one of the oldest known divine beings period, as she was worshipped by Ancient Babylon at the same time they were figuring out the whole writing business). Although their glory days of godhood and worship are over, they're still active and powerful. 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 mystical 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.

DJINN: A human word for “daeva.” After Zaydi al Qahtani’s rebellion, all his followers, and eventually all daevas, began using this term for their race. Cool Airship: The Tukharistani djinn tribe fly enchanted sailing ships as part of their extensive trade network. I felt an instant personal connection to her because, well, growing up, some kids dream of becoming a doctor or whatever but ever since I was a kid and watched some unfortunate TV show (or a movie that ruined all other dreams for me), all I'd wanted to become was a con artist. I proudly admit my childhood dream. Daevabad is the melting pot of several djinn tribes and has a bloodied history of its own. Established by the Daeva tribe (who happen to be Nahiri’s ancestors), it was overthrown by the Qahtani’s of the Geziri tribe many centuries ago. The two tribes have been living together begrudgingly ever since. Thrown in the mix are the human half-bloods, Shafits, who live a poor and desperate life in this city. At the start of the story, Ali finds himself embroiled in city politics much against the will of his father, King Ghassan. Nahiri’s arrival to Daevabad further complicates matters.My art for Struthless' alphabet challenge, where every week I will be creating one art for one alphabet letter. I plan it to be mostly character's portraits. Language: English Words: 0 Chapters: 10/26 Comments: 12 Kudos: 13 Hits: 357 Because like what’s the point of having a muslim fantasy if I don’t even feel represented :| the world shall never know

Nahri refuses to escape with Dara and the life she's trying to build in Daevabad, and Ali intervenes. Their battle ends with Dara threatening to kill Ali if Nahri doesn't agree to flee with him, and Nahri concedes. Ali is taken prisoner, and the three make their way to a secret boat by the lake shore. Their escape is soon interrupted by a hidden warship full of soldiers, and a massacre ensues when Nahri unintentionally unleashes Dara's slave powers and he murders nearly everyone on the ship, including Ali. Nahri manages to talk Dara down after he scourges Muntadhir, but their escape is hindered by Ali, who has been possessed by the lake marid. The marid kills Dara by severing his slave ring from his body, and King Ghassan and his soldiers retake the boat. Cool Chair: The Shedu Throne, located in the palace of Daevabad, carved to resemble its namesake winged lion and encrusted with jewels, serves as the seat for the ruler of the magical world; first the Nahids, and then the Qahtanis. Nahri has it sold off to fund the rebuilding of the city at the end of Empire of Gold, but not after she has a good old lounge in it first. The first half was very much foundational which introduced us to the world, the characters, as well as the inner workings and machinations of the city of Brass. Obviously, this is highly appreciated but I don’t think we needed to spend the entire three-quarters of the book just getting introduced to things. I get bored easily as it is.🤦‍♀️Djinn revived as slaves (usually by the ifrit) have powerful magic at their disposal, as the process weakens the effect of Suleiman's curse. The peris have a strict code of noninterference with anyone they consider an "inferior being" and execute any fellow who breaks it. However, they can arm lesser creatures with peri weapons or advice and send them out to do the dirty work. They give Nahri a daeva-killing dagger to kill Dara in The Empire of Gold. She winds up calling them on their "noninterference" bluff by using it on herself at a crucial moment. Really Royalty Reveal: Nahri is quite surprised to learn that she's actually the last surviving member of an ancient and revered lineage. Jamshid gets one as well when he learns Manizheh is his mother. The City of Brass was a finalist for several science fiction and fantasy awards, including the Crawford Award, Locus Award, British Fantasy Award, World Fantasy Award, and won the Booknest.eu award for best Debut Novel. Chakraborty narrowly missed the final ballot for the John W. Campbell award by a single vote.