Offered Books:
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
The English Wife by Lauren Willig
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
Selected:
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
Also Purchased:
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
Part 1 of The Daevabad Trilogy, The City of Brass follows Nahri, a poor woman who commits scams who accidentally finds herself thrust into the world of djinns after unknowingly chanting a spell. And man, what a great start!
I cannot express how great I think this book is: too often fantasy tends to be the orc and elf kind, but this novel - set in the Middle East and using the fantasy creatures of that area - is a breath of fresh air for the genre. Fast paced and immaculate in its world-building, this debut novel from Chakraborty was a quick favorite of mine upon reading it.
Some might be a bit put off by all the dangling plot threads at the end of the book, but given that this is part one of a trilogy, that is to be expected. While it might be preferred that the novel be more self-contained, it's the most minor of quibbles to have, given the scope of just this novel alone, much less just the first third of a larger story.
In addition to Nahri, the novel also follows Ali, son of the ruler of Daevabad and the political intrigue he is caught up in. Chakraborty is clearing setting up for more to his story, but compared to Nahri, he isn't given as much to do, even if it is interesting.
This novel is a highly recommended one, and if you enjoy it, the other two parts of the trilogy - The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold - are also available.
5 out of 5
I cannot express how great I think this book is: too often fantasy tends to be the orc and elf kind, but this novel - set in the Middle East and using the fantasy creatures of that area - is a breath of fresh air for the genre. Fast paced and immaculate in its world-building, this debut novel from Chakraborty was a quick favorite of mine upon reading it.
Some might be a bit put off by all the dangling plot threads at the end of the book, but given that this is part one of a trilogy, that is to be expected. While it might be preferred that the novel be more self-contained, it's the most minor of quibbles to have, given the scope of just this novel alone, much less just the first third of a larger story.
In addition to Nahri, the novel also follows Ali, son of the ruler of Daevabad and the political intrigue he is caught up in. Chakraborty is clearing setting up for more to his story, but compared to Nahri, he isn't given as much to do, even if it is interesting.
This novel is a highly recommended one, and if you enjoy it, the other two parts of the trilogy - The Kingdom of Copper and The Empire of Gold - are also available.
5 out of 5
Man, what a disappointment. I want to apologize to the recipient of this book for giving it to them as a gift.
You know how The Walking Dead, at its worst, was guilty of constantly forcing cliffhangers at the end of episodes, only for it to mean nothing and be quickly resolved at the start of the next episode? How irritating it was for whatever character to be in mortal danger only for it to turn into a gotcha moment? This book is that trope in literary form.
The book flashes back and forth between the childhood and adulthood of main character Eddie, and Tudor feels the need to end every chapter with Something Dramatic happening, only for it to quickly resolved once it goes back to that time before moving on with the plot.
And the plot isn't bad - it's a bit of a murder mystery - but this constant fear that the reader will abandon the novel if the chapter doesn't end without a hook of some sort is a detriment that the novel cannot recover from.
The book has some strengths - most of the characters are clearly defined, and Tudor does a good job of changing the perspective of the character based on whether or not it is Young Eddie's or Older Eddie's view. However, there are a few characters that seem to act as the plot requires, and a few others that feel interchangeable enough that I had to remind myself which one they were in the greater story.
I think the most damning thing about this book is that it has an opening that is meant to be an additional mystery to go with the central one, and I had it figured out before I had made it a third of the way through it. And the central mystery wasn't hard to figure out either, even with the most nonsensical of plot contrivances used to get to that point.
1.5 out of 5
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