Daevabad Trilogy Collection (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1-3) by S.A. Chakraborty

Daevabad Trilogy Collection (The Daevabad Trilogy, #1-3) Reviews

• 
  Stuggie (Mainlyfantasy)

  “The king lifted his dark brows. "This should be an interesting story.”"
  
  5*
  
  The Daevabad Trilogy written by S.A. Chakraborty starts with The City of Brass, followed by The Kingdom of Copper, and finishes with The Empire of Gold.
  
  As I read the complete trilogy over the last month I have decided to cover them in one review rather than individually. Although I will try to avoid any spoilers for those who have not read any of the books.
  
  BACKGROUND
  
  The series takes place in the Middle East, with the main events of the Trilogy happening in the late 18th century. We see historical references to the occupation of Egypt as the backdrop to part of the story, but we find out that there has been a greater battle that has took place and this has involved magical races and beings, unknown and unseen to most humans.
  
  These beings are linked to the four elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth
  
  The main ones in the story are Daeva/Djinn who are an ancient race of fire elementals that could shapeshift and pass between various worlds, until the Prophet Suleiman repressed their magical abilities and were spread to the 4 corners of the world as punishment for harming and breeding with the humans.
  
  However, the mystical city of Daevabad, which the series is names after, remained a secretive city hidden from humans, where they would congregate and eventually it grew in popularity and power, with many of the tribes setting up their own districts, with their own customs. However, all is not calm with various tribes rebelling and trying to take control of the city of Daevabad and the magical powers it holds.
  
  MAIN CHARACTERS
  
  However, the story does not start there but in Cairo with a thief and conwoman called Nahri.
  
  As Nahri says “Someone steals from me, I steal from others, and I'm sure the people I stole from will eventually take something that doesn't belong to them. It's a circle.”
  
  Nahri, has some gifts which she used along with her quick mind to con those around her into believing that she was a healer and giving her money to help cure their relatives. However, she is suddenly and violently dragged into a magical world which she was not really aware of and then start to learn more about her abilities and also about her own past.
  
  She meets Dara, an ancient djinn warrior, who sees something special in her and he rescues her/kidnaps her to take her to Daevabad.
  
  We soon learn that Dara has led a terrible life, one which he cannot escape because of others who know his past and also his own guilt in what he did both as a warrior and a slave.
  
  As he says himself about the afterlife "If what I have seen is true, it means there is peace for the worst of us. Rest for those who do not deserve it. It was beautiful. And it spoke to a mercy this world does not deserve.”
  
  The last person who we follow in the series is the youngest prince of Daevabad, Ali, who although trained as a soldier/bodyguard, longs to see social justice and equality in his city. And he loves books (what is there not to like about him).
  
  He says about Daevabad "I'm tired of everyone in this city feeding on vengeance. I'm tired of teaching our children to hate and fear other children because their parents are our enemies. And I'm sick and tired of acting like the only way to save our people is to cut down all who might oppose us, as if our enemies won't return the favor the instant power shifts.”
  
  These three peoples lives start to intertwine, although at times we see distrust, deception and betrayal between them, they also realise that they are fighting a greater enemy(enemies?) but first they need to find themselves, sometimes forgive themselves and follow their hearts rather than do what others expect of them.
  
  
  
  WHY READ THIS SERIES
  
  As said in the book, “Greatness takes time, Banu Nahida. Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings.”
  
  This brings me to the first reason why I like the series, is the character development over the three books. We see the depth of their personality and as things are revealed or experienced we see this mould them, sometime through breaking them down and you start to understand their motivations for how they act. And as we hear each of their inner voices you hear their internal struggles and realise that they are not perfect characters which makes them more relatable and real.
  
  The relationship and interactions between the main characters and even some of the secondary characters, are well written and help pull you into this strange mystical world. We have sibling rivalry, a love triangle, family feuds, tribal politics, forced marriages and even a secretive romance.
  
  I also enjoyed the world and magic systems which is different to the fantasy I normally read, that it was rooted in the folklore of the Middle East where it is set. And the djinn (genie) are very different from what we see in the "Disney" family friendly version... although there is a flying carpet or two!
  
  Finally, I enjoyed the overall story across the three books and the twists in the story was not what I was expecting but it was a satisfying ending.
  
  RECOMMENDATIONS
  
  If you like this series then I would recommend The Burning series by Evan Winter and The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang.
• 
  Heidi Edwards

  I really enjoyed this series! it's the kind of series that makes you feel gutted when you finish the last book because you don't get to spend any more time with the characters. The Universe that Chakraborty has created is rich and full of complications, beauty and terror. There is a love story, but it's not overly predictable or cutesy. I thought the characters were interesting and not two-dimensional; Nahri is a wonderful main character, full of doubt, brave, smart and funny.
  The only thing that irked me about this book, was the bit-too-modern dialogue, but the plot was such a fun ride that I kinda got over that after a while.
  
  For teachers and librarians
  There is a couple of sexy-time scenes, but they are not too explicit. Lots of violence and brutality. Could be some great discussion about discrimination.
• 
  Teralynt

  Truly an amazing adventure. Strong, bad ass female characters. Wonderful character arches for all the main characters. Satisfying ending. Just every thing you WANT!!
• 
  Saramma Panicker

  I wanted to write a common review for Daevabad Trilogy. It's an amazing story which includes politically intriguing as well as socially relevant context. Though the story is fictional there are many situations that are socially relevant.
  Anyway right to the story.. Nahri, who is a con artist cum healer in Cairo happens to call a djinn over to her world by mistake. She gets involved with an ifrit (evil djinn) and accidentally calls upon Dara, the hot - cute warrior djinn who has lived for more than fourteen centuries 🤔. He realizes she might me the last Nahid that is the last healer in the djinn world and returns her to the city of Daevabad which is picturesque where Nahri gets thrown into the politics which she clearly has no idea about. Fi ding that she is a djinn is itself a surprise and getting all the importance of being the last healer. Phew!! All the more stress. The whole trilogy deals with politics and tribalism in the fictional world.
  Now the characters....well. If when we start the first and foremost is Nahri's character who is an amazing healer who wants to pursue in medicine. Whereas when she gets thrown into a new world she tries her best to adjust - compromise with negotiating her way through. And stays afloat.
  Dara... Well he is a hot warrior djinn who Nahri has fell for and is a strong character who thinks his tribes stands more chance than the whole djinn.
  Ali, who is a prince of the ruler Al Qathani, is a self righteous man who eventually falls for Nahri and teaches her to use magic plus reading. The relationship between them was platonic even though they had feelings for each other.
  However the relationship was build between them, the relationship between Dara and Nahri went through a lot. Learning about him as a person who can kill thousands of innocents made it all the worse but the final depart between Dara and Nahri brought a tear to my eyes. It was simply beautiful just for that part.
  I enjoyed this trilogy very well and it is definitely a gratifying experience.
• 
  Десислава Сивилова

  I can't review the individual books separately as I read them in immediate succession. And it was an amazing, magical, mesmerizing adventure.
  
  I've always loved genie stories (Disney's Aladdin being the primary culprit for that!), but here the djinn are taken to a whole new level. Their world is so vivid, so tantalizingly real I desperately wished for a drop of daeva blood so that I would be able to visit Daevabad. And that from a person who all but skips longish descriptive passages and inevitably gets bored. Well, here the world-building was done so masterfully that I kept my eyes glued to the page, careful not to miss a single thing! (Truth be told, I listened to the audiobooks from time to time – when my eyes started hurting from too much reading, or while in the car – but I consulted the ebook at the slightest suspicion that I may have misunderstood or missed a detail.)
  
  I simply loved the main characters, with all their complexities, faults, little quirks, ambitions ... The opportunity to witness the views of opposing sides in a conflict is always illuminating, and here we have competing djinn fractions + a myriad of other creatures, and it's never too clear who the villains are. The good guys, as usual, are even murkier -- and I don't believe any one group deserves the monicker, although separate individuals certainly do. Still, even the best of them are far from perfect, and that makes them all the more endearing. Ali, the socially-awkward-scholar-warrior-turned-leader is my personal favorite by far.
  
  The action ... What can I say, never a dull moment! Political maneuvering, court intrigue, individual ambitions, thirst for revenge, coups and counter-coups ... Again, not my usual cup of tea, but kept me biting my nails throughout. And I so hoped none of my favorites will meet a violent end all too early. Oh well, they all got lucky, I guess ;)
  
  To be honest, I cannot come up with a single criticism for this series. Except that it ended, and everything I tried reading afterwards pales in comparison!
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  Shannon Garner beaty

  Fantastic trilogy!!!
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  Robert Vazquez-Pacheco

  A really interesting and enjoyable trilogy set in a whole other mythic world, the world of jinns and demons. Very cool and well-written. It moves nicely, Liked it a lot.
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  curtis :)

  this is practically my favourite series of all time idk
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  Sam

  One of my favorite trilogies of 2021, and possibly of all time. Chakraborty creates an immersive world full of magic, political intrigue, adventure, and romance. Highly recommend this series!
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  lady_davidson

  I think it got better as it went. It dragged quite a lot but it had a steady rise to it.
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  Kristina

  Very good fantasy adventure books! From a unique universe of sand and subverse.