S. A. Chakraborty continues the sweeping adventure begun in The City of Brass—"the best adult fantasy I've read since The Name of the Wind" (#1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir)—conjuring a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and waters run deep with old magic; where blood can be dangerous as any spell, and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom.
Nahri's life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad—and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.
Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of a devastating battle, Nahri must forge a new path for herself. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she's been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family—and one misstep will doom her tribe..
Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid—the unpredictable water spirits—have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.
And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It's a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city's gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.
S. A. Chakraborty continues the sweeping adventure begun in The City of Brass—"the best adult fantasy I've read since The Name of the Wind" (#1 New York Times bestselling author Sabaa Tahir)—conjuring a world where djinn summon flames with the snap of a finger and waters run deep with old magic; where blood can be dangerous as any spell, and a clever con artist from Cairo will alter the fate of a kingdom.
Nahri's life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad—and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.
Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of a devastating battle, Nahri must forge a new path for herself. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she's been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her family—and one misstep will doom her tribe..
Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid—the unpredictable water spirits—have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.
And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad's towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It's a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city's gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.
Reviews-
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October 1, 2018
The second installment of Chakraborty's stunningly rendered Middle Eastern fantasy trilogy (The City of Brass, 2017), which can absolutely be read independently of the first book.The setting is Daevabad, a legendary Eastern city protected by impervious magical brass walls and ruled by King Ghassan, whose Geziri ancestors overthrew the Daevas and captured Suleiman's seal, which tempers magic. To this bubbling pot of tensions, the powerful djinn warrior Dara conveyed young Daeva healer Nahri; in the process they developed feelings for one another. Five years later, Nahri has much to ponder. During the tumultuous events with which the previous book culminated, Ghassan's younger son, Ali, whom Nahri considered a friend, killed Dara and defied his father, an act for which he was exiled--a euphemism for "condemned to death." Ghassan forced Nahri to marry Ali's elder brother, Muntadhir; the union is childless thanks to potions Nahri secretly consumes, yet, oddly despite those five years of marriage, the couple seem to know very little about each other. She chafes under the restrictions imposed by the increasingly cruel and arbitrary Ghassan, who's threatened to slaughter the city's Daevas unless she cooperates. So she doesn't know that Ali, with his djinn's ability to survive in the desert and magic conferred by the fearsome water-spirits known as the marid, still lives, nor that Dara has been summoned back to life and now is embroiled in a conspiracy to overthrow the Geziri and reclaim the city for the Daeva. Against the city's richly immersive backdrop of suppressed and often contentious racial, familial, magical, and religious alliances and divides--although Chakraborty tends to forget how bewildering these can be, even with the helpful glossary--the conflicts, ambitions, schemes, and treacheries build powerfully toward what's rapidly becoming the author's trademark: a truly shattering conclusion.As good or better than its predecessor: promise impressively fulfilled.COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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Starred review from October 15, 2018
Chakraborty plunges right back into the action set up in The City of Brass with uneasy alliances, bitter rivalry, and explosive secrets in this richly developed fantasy set in an alternate 18th-century Egypt. In the aftermath of a thwarted escape and ensuing battle, heartbroken series heroine Nahri weds the king’s heir; Prince Ali, seen as a threat to the king, is exiled and flees into the desert ahead of assassins; and Nahri’s mother, Manizheh, uses warrior Dara’s ring to recall him into service. Five years pass and Nahri remains in Daevabad, trapped by a vicious king who’s using the lives of her people to force her compliance. But Ali’s return sets in motion a chain of events that pushes the kingdom to the brink of civil war and intersects with Manizheh’s campaign to recapture the city. Nahri must decide whom to trust when, once again, she is surrounded by death and betrayal. Chakraborty raises the tension and the stakes with emotional dilemmas that bring out the best and worst in these conflicted characters. This intriguing fantasy series appears to be well on its way to an exciting conclusion. Agent: Jennifer Azantian, Azantian Literary. -
December 1, 2018
In The City of Brass, an LJ Best Fantasy also short-listed for the Locus Award, a street hustler named Nahri in 1700s Cairo manages to summon up the dark and wily djinn warrior Dara, who takes her to the royal court of Daevabad. Now Dara has been slain in battle by Prince Ali, exiled for resisting his father, and Nahri finds herself alone and at the mercy of a king who could destroy her people. With a 100,000-copy first printing.
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The second installment of Chakraborty's stunningly rendered Middle Eastern fantasy trilogy...As good or better than its predecessor: promise impressively fulfilled." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Chakraborty plunges right back into the action set up in The City of Brass [...] This intriguing fantasy series appears to be well on its way to an exciting conclusion." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"With gorgeous world building, compelling characters, and clashing schemes, the second in Chakraborty's Daevabad trilogy will thrill her many fans." — Booklist (starred review)
"With a richly immersive setting and featuring complex familial, religious, and racial ties and divides, Chakraborty's second book in the trilogy wraps readers in a lush and magical story that takes over all the senses." — Library Journal (starred review)
"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
"Chakraborty manages what many epic fantasy writers have never achieved: a world where everyone can see themselves not only mirrored, but powerful." — New York Journal of Books
"[The Kingdom of Copper] is epic fantasy that is shrunk to the perspective of the individual. If you're looking for a compelling, heart-rending drama that just happens to also be one of the most thought-provoking epic fantasies to come out in a long time, look no further." — BookPage
"It was a treat to return to Chakraborty's richly drawn world. [...] engaging, satisfying, and left me looking forward to what comes next." — The Speculative Shelf
