Fantasy Annotation

The City of Brass

S.A. Cakraborty

Synopsis:

Nahri was a survivor and a swindler.  Despite her ability to find easy marks that would pay well she was always trying to make more money.  In the city of Cairo she had bribes to pay and a dream of leaving the harshness of Cairo for Istanbul to study real medicine.  With an ability she didn’t understand she could read and sometimes heal others illnesses and help Yaqib in his apothecary.  Yaqib warns her that she is dabbling in dangerous magic when he learns she is leading zars and exorcising djinn.  While leading a zar she finds out that she is more than a trickster, and the djinn are very much real.  The magical stories she remembers hearing as a child weren’t make believe, and she summons a mysterious djinn warrior.  As she escapes the ifrit with the help of the warrior they cross lands unknown to her and face creatures of fire, hawks that aren’t what they seem and ruins of once prosperous human cities, all on their way to the legendary city of brass where she thinks she will be safe.  But behind the gilded brass walls are the six gates of the djinn and old resentments are brewing.  Magic and politics are dangerous and have deadly consequences. 

Characteristics of a Fantasy:

Setting:  Readers of a fantasy novel read knowing and expecting to enter the realm of another world and authors meet that expectation with complex details.  Rich descriptions evoc sights, feelings and smells of this other world.  While a reader knows it is fantasy, while reading they feel like it is real.

The City of Brass is written in a richly descriptive style, drawing the reader from the real world of Cairo to worlds unknown to Narhi. The magic becomes greater the closer she comes to Daevabad.  Readers will be woven into the story with the details of sight, smells and sounds.

Characters:  Typically characters are defined as good or bad, typically with magical powers.  Characters are often challenged physically and ethically.  Typical fantasy novels are heavily loaded with characters.

While some characters in The City of Brass are easily defined as good or bad, the details of some characters make you as the reader question their loyalty, their powers and the reasons for their actions. Like a typical fantasy novel readers will learn of a whole cast of characters.  While some play larger roles than others they all have part of the story to tell.

Language/Style:  The language of a fantasy novel can vary, however as highly descriptive novels there is no shortage of adjectives.  Unusual names are commonplace and some fans believe they have a true fantasy when a glossary is included.

The City of Brass makes an excellent audiobook with the language and names setting cadence for the story.  The words have a sound and while the rhythm can be found reading it to oneself, terminology used lends itself to a flowing engaging audiobook.

Read Alikes: The selection below are all influenced by the Middle East, legends and lore. Readers will recognize some modern day Middle East cities. The protagonists are strong and complex characters that have a supernatural heritage.

The Golem and Jinn by Helene Wecker

The Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri 

Dijnn City by Saad Z. Hossain 

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia