The City of Brass

A Novel

S.A. Chakraborty

In this rich fantasy world, the streets of 18th-century Cairo are populated by djinn — shape-shifting creatures made of fire and air — nobles of all stripes, and our heroine Nahri, an orphan rogue with a remarkable gift for healing. And oh, yeah, the fate of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom might rest in her tricky hands.

One day, while walking past the necropolis, a.k.a., the City of the Dead, in Cairo after performing a healing ritual, Nahri meets Dara. Or, more accurately, Dara — a djinn with green eyes and perfumed with smoke — suddenly appears in a flash of light. Then he bellows, ‘Suleiman’s eye! I will kill whoever called me here!’

And that’s when the ghouls attack.

Fear not if you’re not up on your monsters because 1) ghouls are humanoid creatures that hang out in graveyards and eat human flesh, and 2) author S.A. Chakraborty does a nice job weaving the need-to-know details into the narrative.

From the ghoul attack, it’s nonstop action as Nahri navigates a world of enchantment, djinn tribes, and long, long history. There are shape-shifters, black and white magic, giant flying monsters, djinns who are sometimes loyal and sometimes not; flying carpets; and a magical city with brass walls, hidden from human eyes.

It’s an enthralling adventure with high stakes and surprisingly relevant political underpinnings. There are oppressed half-djinns, the pureblood nobility who detest them, a prince yearning for equality for all, and the damage that tribalism does, especially to the most vulnerable.

This is the author’s debut novel and the first in a trilogy that continues with The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold. If you want to get lost in a fantastical world along with a charming, trouble-making heroine, this is the adventure for you.

‘You’re some kind of thief, then?’

‘That’s a very narrow-minded way of looking at it. I prefer to think of myself as a merchant of delicate tasks.’ — S. A. Chakraborty

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