The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty - OPTIONAL

The City of Brass (Daevebad Trilogy, #1) by S.A. Chakraborty, 532 pages.  Harper Collins, 2017.  $26  

Content: Language: R (39 swears; 7 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: R.  

BUYING ADVISORY: HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE  

Nahri is a 20yo thief who uses her ability to detect people’s illnesses and emotions to give her opportunities to fatten her purse.  While trying to help cure a young girl, Nahri sings a song that calls a djinn warrior named Dara, and Nahri finds herself at the center of a world that is caught up in old wars and political games.  Every other chapter is told from the perspective of Alizayd, who is the youngest son of the powerful king of Daevebad.  Alizayd wishes for more peace and equality among all the different races and uses his position to try and protect the less fortunate.  When Nahri shows up, Ali and Nahri become friends and they find themselves trapped in their roles by the world around them.  

This is a world full of magic and layered history with a lot of Middle Eastern names and places.  I liked the story line and loved the characters of Nahri, Dara and Ali and the political intrigue made for good twists.  The whole time I wished that I had a character list (some of the characters have more than one name) and a glossary because of the amount of unknown words.  Also, after reading 500 plus pages, it has an open ending which was disappointing.  The content includes gruesome deaths and torture.  This is a complex story and is well written, but I think the audience is adults, I’m not sure of many students who would stay with this series.  

Reviewer, C. Peterson