The City of Brass

What a delicious book. It's wonderful to read a fantasy novel like this set in Arabic and Egyptian cultural themes. Djinn, ifriti, it's a rich and fantastical heritage to draw from. I think the milieu walked a fine line between being exotic and yet also respectful. (The book and author could be open to complaints of appropriation but it didn't feel that way to me, not that I'd be the expert to analyze that.)* The strength of the writing for the narrator characters Nahri and Ali are good and help make all of this strange world relatable and, well, human.

The political context the book takes place in is also rich and complex. I was put off because up front the book has a clumsy little encyclopedia of the six major tribes and then a map. And I'm like "I'm supposed to remember all this?" But it's the background for the setup for the machinations that drive the main story. It's easy enough to follow once you're in the book. I particularly liked how the history of conquering and enslavement and exploitation and liberation was so rich and ambiguous.

The story is pretty dark. It reads up front like a princess fantasy, two handsome men vying for the affections of the Chosen Girl. But it goes somewhere much more complex than that, and interesting, and I won't spoil anything except to say I'm intrigued to read the next book. At times I found it almost too much, I wouldn't have minded a happier fantasy story. But the way the author takes it is quite interesting.

* I went looking for more information about the author and how she thought about using this Islamic cultural setting. This Reddit answer she gave to a similar question is insightful. So is this twitter thread. I particularly want to highlight the reading list she recommended for more sources about the cultural and historical themes her book draws on.