The City of Brass cover art

The City of Brass

A Novel

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The City of Brass

Written by: S. A. Chakraborty
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
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About this listen

Named one of The Best Books of the Year by Library Journal | Vulture | The Verge | SYFYWire

Step into The City of Brass, the spellbinding debut from S. A. Chakraborty perfect for fans of The Golem and the Jinni, The Grace of Kings, and Uprooted, in which the future of a magical Middle Eastern kingdom rests in the hands of a clever and defiant young con artist with miraculous healing gifts.

Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th-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 audiobook includes an episode of the Book Club Girl Podcast, featuring an interview with S. A. Chakraborty about The City of Brass.

©2017 Shannon Chakraborty (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers
Epic Epic Fantasy Fiction Historical Literature & Fiction Royalty World Literature Fantasy City Ottoman Empire Imperialism
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What listeners say about The City of Brass

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting, Exciting and fun

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I'm looking forward to book two. The world the author creates is full and vibrant.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pleasantly surprised…

Slow start abut quickly captured my interest and couldn’t stop listening, trying to find out what happened next.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Confused performance

I had a difficult time with the Audiobook differenciating between characters, male and female... I think I will will prefer the book version.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great trilogy!

I just finished all 3 and highly recommend them. Find myself sad that they’re done, I just want more.

I found the world and insight into traditional middle-eastern culture and settings soooo refreshing. There are also some very diverse characters and story arcs. You can’t help but get so invested in them and feel their pain, happiness and struggles.

I think it’s worth noting that the first book is a bit different than the next two. The trilogy takes a very dark turn after the first and can be quite ruthless. I personally love it, but just a warning for the light-hearted.

Narrator was okay. You get used to her, but her male voices can be weird and mixed up.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great

Really enjoyed it I hope the next books are just as good! I enjoyed the world building it took a while for things to really pick up during some points but that helped me keep up with all the different characters and plots the characters are all very pretty different yet similar in some ways which I found entertaining. The romance was nice but not fully explored. I’d recommend.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

well done!

I was unconvinced at first. The blatant north american accent of the narrator is a bit jarring, but she is actually quite good, and I ignored it soon enough. Also, I had trouble keeping up with all the novel names, terms and social relationships. I am still unsure what some of the races are and how they interact.

The story is refreshing and though the "love interest " aspect is entirely predictable it doesn't unfold predictably at all.

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3 people found this helpful

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Good

Really enjoyed it. Good pacing. Nice direction set for the rest of the books. Very good!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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3 stars

The first quarter of the novel was refreshing and well delivered, but the world Chakraborty constructs with its vast mystery and intrigue narrows each chapter, ending up in a small place with a handful of characters bickering incessantly.

It took a few hours to get used to Nankani's over-delivery. She stresses the first syllable of every other word as a teenage girl would in describing something she's excited about. Suitable for a teenage drama.

Not buying the sequel.

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5 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Genies and flying carpets

A wonderful romp through the political world of genies, efreet, and near-eastern mythologies. The characters are dark and stubborn.

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booka shake

really damn good now i need 12 words so i will finish my thought .

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