DNF Audiobook Review – The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy, Book 1) by S. A Chakraborty, Narrated by Soneela Nankani (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Length: 19 hours and 36 minutes (544 pages)
Publisher: HarperAudio
Release Date: November 14, 2017
ASIN: B075KWZZWR
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Daevabad Trilogy
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

“Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing—are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive.

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 mythical 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.

In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.

Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father’s corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri 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 . . .”

This is the first book in the Daevabad Trilogy. I was really looking forward to reading this book and had heard many good things about it. Unfortunately, I ended up stopping it about 60% of the way through; I realized I had a ton of this book left to read and just did not care.

I listened to this on audiobook and the narration was well done. If you enjoy audiobooks this is a well done one.

The story goes back and forth between Nahri and Alizard. Nahri is a thief with an interesting healing talent who accidentally summons Dara, a djinn warrior. As Nahri learns about her past she ends up embarking on a journey with Dara to a magical djinn city. Alizard (Ali), is a Prince of Daevabad. Ali has recently been given a position of power in the city and is trying to reconcile his religious beliefs with his father’s political ambitions.

I loved the beginning of this book. Nahri is a fun character with interesting talents but it felt like she left Cairo way too quickly. Her journeys with Dara are entertaining and introduce us to some intriguing magical races. I never really warmed up to Ali’s parts of the book; he has some very black and white views and spends most of his portion of the story trying to navigate djinn politics. The djinn were depressingly human-like in their pettiness and very little discussion about their magical talents was included in the story.

Things really slowed down for me when Nahri and Dara get to Daevabad. Suddenly Nahri loses all personality and Dara is hardly in the story at all. We mostly watch the noble djinn be cruel to Nahri and watch Ali be very wishy washy as he oscillates between trying to please his father and trying to stay true to his beliefs. I suddenly realized I was avoiding listening to this book and that I still had another 7 hours to go in the story. It made me groan in dread. This book needed much better pacing.

In the end I decided to stop listening to this because I was starting to dread the droning on about politics, Ali’s wishy washy indecision, and Nahri’s sudden inability to think or act for herself.

Overall the beginning of this book was pretty amazing; I loved the characters, the adventure, and the world. However it went downhill quickly in the middle of the book. If you like epic fantasy with a lot of complex politics and characters who don’t act, but are rather pushed, through the plot then you may like this.