If you take any message from this trilogy, I hope it is to choose what’s right even when it seems hopeless–especially when it seems hopeless. Stand for justice, be a light, and remember what it is we were promised by the One who knows better.
With every hardship comes ease.
Acknowledgements, The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty
Table of Contents
Preamble
I read the first book in the Daevabad trilogy, The City of Brass, back in 2022 as part of my reading challenge that year. At the time I enjoyed that first book and put the second book in my wishlist/to-be-read pile for later. Well later in this case turned out to be nearly three years later.
I saw a video from one of the booktubers I watch – Tori Morrow – strongly recommended the entire trilogy which is why I ended up reading the entire trilogy in a week. I’ve been wanting to get lost in a fantasy world and there’s no better way to do that than a fantasy trilogy where I have already read and enjoyed the first book.
It has been a while since I’ve reviewed an entire trilogy of books in one review, the last time was the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E Schwab two or so years ago. My usual routine of reading a different author each week means that I actually very rarely end up reading a book series back to back so this review is a change of pace from my usual book review format.
Meta format note – I am dividing this review into three sections covering three aspects of the entire trilogy – characters, world, and plot. I won’t be reviewing each book individually because at this point I don’t think it is possible, I see the trilogy as one reviewable entity in my mind.
Let’s get into it.
The Trilogy
Something I was worried about going into finishing this trilogy was if I would still enjoy it. I had to re-read the first book since I had forgotten most of the details and events of what happened in it in the three intervening years. I was worried that I would not enjoy the book as much or at all when I re-read it.
Here is what I thought of the book three years ago:
It was nice to return to some fantasy set in Middle Eastern mythology after last week’s sci-fi jaunt. I loved the characters in this one, especially the main character Nahri. The complicated dynamics amongst the djinn was also very interesting and I’m sure that plays a major role in the sequel which I have added to my wishlist for a later date.
packetcat reads 2022 Week 22 – The City of Brass by S. A Chakraborty
This very short review of The City of Brass still holds up three years later and in fact I enjoyed the book more the second time around.
Characters
I loved the characters in this trilogy – the individuals and their interactions with the world and each other. Nahri, of course continues to be a favourite of mine but other characters like – Ali, Muntadhir, Dara, Zaynab, Hatset are all fantastic characters in their own right. This series has just the right mix of character and plot and as someone who appreciates character work but also wants the plot to move at a reasonable pace, this series is perfect for me.
The entire trilogy is multiple points-of-view with each chapter switching POVs between three of the main characters – Nahri, Ali, and Dara. I found this to generally be handled well throughout the series. Occasionally, I found myself wanting to get back to Nahri’s POV but overall every POV switch is used not only to develop the various characters but also to move the plot forward. There weren’t any characters I absolutely did not want to read their POV from which is often the problem with multi-POV books.
World
This trilogy does a fair amount of worldbuilding. I noted in my review of The City of Brass from 2022 that the first book had a lot of worldbuilding. That first book sets up the dynamics of the world and its factions for the next two books. In the second and third book the worldbuilding is still present but it is more targeted – more situational descriptive worldbuilding to flesh out the world rather than the explanatory worldbuilding of the first book.
I enjoyed the world in this trilogy; I found myself visualizing the various environments described often. Daevabad as a city filled with different quarters for the various djinn factions, opulent palaces, austere temples, the grand bazaar, the Royal Guard’s citadel – I remember all these aspects and it paints a coherent picture of Daevabad in my mind to the point where Daevabad itself becomes a character and not just the primary environment of the trilogy.
I also really enjoyed the parts of the book that took place outside of Daevabad, specifically the sections in Cairo. I rarely see Cairo being the setting for a fantasy novel so its always a treat to get it described in a book. There were also the transitory spaces like deserts, and oceans that the characters traveled through that were a delight to read about.
Plot
The plot is the crown jewel in this trilogy. It is filled with adventure, court intrigue, internecine squabbles, clash of loyalties and a dash of romance. One of the core aspects of the plot is a factional power struggle in the city of Daevabad that has been happening for hundreds of years by the time the main character Nahri lands in the city.
Daevabad is a powder keg of a city and everybody in the trilogy’s plot is running around with a lit match in the form of their own interests and there’s a variety of conflicts in play at any given time at all levels, from the hallowed halls of the royal palace down to the streets and neighborhoods of Daevabad. The author keeps a handle on all of this and I never felt that the events in the plot were confusing or overwhelming.
I mentioned earlier that there was a dash of romance. To expand on that, there is a romance sub-plot involving two of the main characters – Nahri and Ali. I think this sub-plot is written really well and has all the aspects of a romance plot I like – yearning, angst, heartbreak all in the form of a slow build romance throughout the entire series. As far as romance sub-plots in fantasies go, this is one I enjoyed.
The difference between a okay fantasy series and a really good one for me is consistency – that every book is enjoyable. Sometimes with trilogies, the second book can have a weak filler plot intended to fill the gap between the first and last books. That is not the case with this trilogy, I enjoyed the plot in all three books and all three books maintain a consistent level of quality.
The final book in the trilogy is the longest book at 766 pages. It is definitely a book that needs that length to really wrap up all the various plot lines that were happening. I thought the conclusion of the series was done really well. I am quite satisfied with where the ending of the trilogy left our main characters.
Conclusions
Reading this trilogy reminded me that one of the big reasons I enjoy reading fantasy is that I get to inhabit a fantasy world for a good while and really get immersed in it. Standalone fantasy novels are great but there’s nothing like a epic fantasy series for providing that kind of slow burn world and character development.
The Daevabad trilogy is a very well written historical fantasy with complex, well developed characters in a fully realized world that’s filled with magic, political intrigue, long running conflicts, romance — all in a tightly paced package that never feels overwhelming. I know a book is good when I have to snap my fingers in front of my face to get me out of the dream like state I get into when I am enjoying a book a lot. This series had me in that state all the way through.
Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give this series is that I read all three books in the span of a single week. That’s nearly 2000 pages of reading in a week. I went from reading one book a week to reading three books in a week. I wouldn’t have done that if I wasn’t enjoying the reading. The trilogy kept me hooked all the way through, as soon as I finished the first book I wanted to immediately start the second book and so forth.
This was one hell of a ride and I glad I got on it.
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