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The Bookish Owl – The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

Today Artemis presents the last book in the Daevabad Trilogy – The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty!

The first book in this series didn’t grab me from the beginning, but oh boy, how that changed. From halfway through City of Brass until the very end of the trilogy, this story was packed with action, conspiracies, personal drama, amazing characters and fascinating world building.

The Empire of Gold was a great conclusion to the saga, but I’ll keep my summary short:

  • Manizheh is seven kinds of crazy
  • Jamshid is the most precious thing ever
  • Damn it, Dara

But really, everything and everyone else could have gone to hell, as long as Mishmish – the apricot-loving shedu – would be all right in the end.


The Empire of Gold
by S. A. Chakraborty

Daevabad has fallen.

After a brutal conquest stripped the city of its magic, Nahid leader Banu Manizheh and her resurrected commander, Dara, must try to repair their fraying alliance and stabilize a fractious, warring people.

But the bloodletting and loss of his beloved Nahri have unleashed the worst demons of Dara’s dark past. To vanquish them, he must face some ugly truths about his history and put himself at the mercy of those he once considered enemies.

Having narrowly escaped their murderous families and Daevabad’s deadly politics, Nahri and Ali, now safe in Cairo, face difficult choices of their own. While Nahri finds peace in the old rhythms and familiar comforts of her human home, she is haunted by the knowledge that the loved ones she left behind and the people who considered her a savior are at the mercy of a new tyrant. Ali, too, cannot help but look back, and is determined to return to rescue his city and the family that remains. Seeking support in his mother’s homeland, he discovers that his connection to the marid goes far deeper than expected and threatens not only his relationship with Nahri, but his very faith.

As peace grows more elusive and old players return, Nahri, Ali, and Dara come to understand that in order to remake the world, they may need to fight those they once loved . . . and take a stand for those they once hurt.


The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty

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The Bookish Owl – The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

This Saturday, we’re showing off The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty!

I know I’m coming back with a vengeance after my earlier absence, but if I don’t do these daily for a while, I won’t be caught up before the end of the year. Hopefully you’re not sick of photos of my grumpy, one-legged owl yet. If you are, well… too bad.

The Kingdom of Copper is the sequel to The City of Brass, and the second book in the Daevabad Trilogy. And really, it has it all: politics, plotting, ancient djinn soldiers, scary-as-hell water demons, and a batshit healer or two.

Basically, I liked it a lot.


The Kingdom of Copper
by S. A. Chakraborty

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there.

Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the power it holds, she knows she’s been trapped in a gilded cage, watched by a king who rules from the throne that once belonged to her familyand one misstep will doom her tribe.

Meanwhile, Ali has been exiled for daring to defy his father. Hunted by assassins, adrift on the unforgiving copper sands of his ancestral land, he is forced to rely on the frightening abilities the marid, the unpredictable water spirits, have gifted him. But in doing so, he threatens to unearth a terrible secret his family has long kept buried.

And as a new century approaches and the djinn gather within Daevabad’s towering brass walls for celebrations, a threat brews unseen in the desolate north. It’s a force that would bring a storm of fire straight to the city’s gates . . . and one that seeks the aid of a warrior trapped between worlds, torn between a violent duty he can never escape and a peace he fears he will never deserve.


The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

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July’s Book Haul

July Book Haul Fantasy

Okay… I know I already bought a ridiculous amount of books in June, and shouldn’t be buying more any time soon, but it’s not my fault! What else am I going to do when my mom says she has free shipping and a 15% discount code and asks if I want some books added to her order?

But mind you, there’s only 7 books on July’s list.

(Luckily, the 9 I bought on August 1st doesn’t count yet.)

July Book Haul Fantasy

The books I got were:

  • The Kingdom of Copper by S. A. Chakraborty
  • The Empire of Gold by S. A. Chakraborty
  • The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
  • Truckers by Terry Pratchett
  • Diggers by Terry Pratchett
  • Wings by Terry Pratchett
  • War of the Spark: Forsaken by Greg Weisman

As usual, there’s some Terry Pratchett in the haul, as well with some sequels to books I read in June. Oh, and one new author!

Daevabad Trilogy

I enjoyed S. A. Chakraborty’s The City of Brass, so of course I had to get the last two books in the Daevabad Trilogy, The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold. And they’re beautiful, but it’s going to drive me absolutely crazy that The Empire of Gold isn’t the same height as the first two books…

The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold

The Court of Miracles

I believe Kester Grant is a debut author, and I look forward to reading her first book, The Court of Miracles. It promises criminal guild wars and personal drama in a Paris where the French Revolution failed, and I’m so in for that.

The Court of Miracles Kester Grant

The Bromeliad

July’s Terry Pratchett purchase was the Bromeliad books, one of his YA series. And for once I got a matching set!

It won’t be long before I own all of Pratchett’s books, but the next time I buy any, I will have to clear another shelf for this author…

(He already got two full shelves.)

The Bromeliad Terry Pratchett

War of the Forsaken

I continue my quest to learn about Magic: The Gathering lore with War of the Spark: Forsaken by Greg Weisman, the sequel to War of the Spark: Ravnica. This one is focused on hunting down the narcisstic necromancer Leliana Vess, and I have always had a certain weakness for necromancers…

War of the Spark: Forsaken Greg Weisman

That’s it, guys! Stay tuned for August’s book haul post, which will include half the contents of the discount boxes in Boghallen in Copenhagen…

Now, I’m off to rearrange my bookshelves!

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The Bookish Owl – The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

This time it’s The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty.

First off, I want to say that this book has great characters, amazing worldbuilding and the plot is also just fine.

Which is why I have absolutely no idea why it took me 300 pages to get into it. It just didn’t do it for me for a long time, but as soon as I hit that 300 page mark it suddenly became insanely exciting and before I knew it, I had devoured the rest of the book and ordered the sequel.

‘The City of Brass’ is filled with djinn, ifrits and other creatures from Arabic folklore, and all the political drama you could wish for. None of the subplots were resolved in this book, so I have great hopes that the next book in the trilogy sheds some light on a few of the mysteries. And of course there was also a total cliffhanger at the end, so I really have no choice but to read on, do I?


The City of Brass
by S. A. Chakraborty

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 trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new 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 hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she 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 be careful what you wish for… 


City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty